Back on Line Now

Hello Family and Friends,

Sorry for the long delay, I've had a few blog technical challenges since my arrival here... all the blog commands were in Arabic and in different order than what I was familiar with and as most of you know I'm rather technically challenged.

I arrived in Dubai, a very large and most modern city in the United Arab Emirates, after flying for 13 hours. We arrived there about 7 PM (8 hours ahead in time to the EST) easily got through customs and checked into a most beautiful hotel with all the modern amenities. Fortunately, I traveled with 7 gentlemen also working for my firm and we quickly became friends. Needless to say, it was too early for sleep so we gathered in the hotel bar for some pretty good food and a couple of beers. We then all tried to force ourselves into the local sleep pattern, which didn't work so well for me. The next day a number of us headed out to explore the city. You've got to see this place someday... it's amazing beyond anything I can describe. Seemed everything was new and the high rises put Manhattan to shame. Miles and miles of high rises... the shopping malls huge beyond scope and imagination. Our group then went to visit the tallest building in the world, taking the fastest elevator in the world after walking through a mall for about 1 1/2 miles. I've attached the picture of that. Unfortunately, we had a flight departing that night at 2 AM so had to head back early to get a little sleep before heading into Kabul.

I will save my Kabul experiences to date for the next blog as I have to get back to work soonest. Needless to say, I am safe and adjusting to life here.

Love and miss you all terribly. But now that I'm getting into the swing of things and meeting a number of Afghan people, I know this was the right choice for me, for you, for our country and for the country of Afghanistan.

PS: I tried to quickly attach pictures, but have to figure that one out for another day, sorry.