I am sorry I have neglected you all. In fact it has been well over a month since I have posted, wow. It has been crazy in Kabul. Holding both an administrative position and now a full time plus teaching position is rough. Barely time to think let alone sit down and even pen a sentence. Well I have a very short break so I will do so.
Spring Break is coming up which will be a much needed break. This year, due to the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) conference in Boston, at which I am presenting, I will be “home” for a bit during spring break. In fact, combining that with some business in D.C., I was able to maneuver a two week break out of it beginning in Boston and ending in D.C. Boy do I need the break.
I think I left off just after arriving back in Kabul. The first major thing was celebrating my birthday for the second time in Afghanistan. We also, again welcomed new staff and had a wonderful time doing both. See the photos for proof. That night Latmosphere, where we went after dinner was crazy as someone was also having a party there. Folks literally dancing on the bar. No not me or any of our other folks.
The first weekend in February was an enjoyable one as I treated myself for the weekend in honor of my birthday. If you will recall last year during Spring Break, I had stumbled across the Dubai Bike Week. From there I put it on my calendar for this year which was slated for this particular weekend. This year, however, I did the entire event and was able to get a photo pass out of them. The big draw to the event was the evening concert which featured Nickleback. Although my photo pass did not cover the big concert, I was still able to get the camera in and sneak a few shots from the crowd. Bike Week felt much bigger and better than last year but I will let my photos speak for themselves.
If you recall our swine flu closure from November caused a big stir and a big shakeup in the school calendar. Finals week forced a month long shift in the academic schedule. Finals week moved from December then to February. Immediately following Bike Week, therefore, I was forced to kick it into high gear for finals and grading for my three sections of my class. This also forced us to immediately recoil and get ready for the Spring ’10 term which was very tough. More so than any of us imagined as enrollment increased 30 percent and our sections swelled at the seams and forced many of us to teach more. It actually forced me into becoming a full time faculty member and full time administrator.
We were literally so worn out that by the end of the month, which also happened to be a three day weekend we needed a much deserved break and headed for Dubai. Seven of us in all decided to hang together in Dubai for the weekend. It was extra special as we were also welcoming Justin back to our midst as he had decided to return for a bit and we were able to catch up with him in Dubai and have a heck of a weekend.
Time is flying by so fast it is literally a blur. It is hard to recall what happened in the past day or so let alone what happened even the previous weekend. However, the big event was a Rock and Roll concert on our campus sponsored by or Music Club to raise money to buy blankets for the area refugees. The concert, probably the first rock and roll concert on a college campus in Afghanistan, and definitely the first of such featuring the all Afghan, Kabul Dreams rock band was a huge hit. It was sponsored in part by a local radio station, Kabul Rock Radio, Afghanistan’s only rock and roll based station and was even broadcast live for all of their listeners.
So I think you all are caught up. Once again Spring Break is coming and I will be back in the U.S. in less than 10 days and in the NOVA/D.C. area in just a bit longer. Although I now question where to call home as my bike is in Arkansas/Missouri and my stuff is in a storage locker in NOVA, I still have a few friends and such left. Those that have my U.S. number give me a call when you get a chance.
Lots of photos to follow very very soon.
Posts
