Well it was a whirlwind tour but I am now back in Kabul as of Monday afternoon. I had a little time to myself while away but for the most part it was long days and hard work for me while in the U.S. The trip started in Boston and the ACPA (College Student Educators International) 2010 annual conference. Luckily, I arrived a day early for the conference as our travel folks could not get a flight for me so I got to check out a bit of Boston in some great weather. Boston seems like a wonderful city. I might have to go back for a visit one day. However, right on cue as the rest of the 3500 or so attendees started arriving the next day the weather turned terrible. Rain, wind, and cold were the key words. The conference was awesome. I presented on the next to last day so was able to concentrate and take in many session before having to present myself. This was the second international conference I had been chosen to present at and by far the largest so it was a bit unnerving to say the least at first. As I took in other sessions, all the while learning, I got my bearings and was able to kick the jet lag as well. I knew I would be o.k. I have not attended such a large scale conference in a number of years and actually forgot how busy one can be. Sessions started early in the morning and ended in the evening then there are events later in the evening and once folks found out where I was from I was invited to dinner following that. So really it was nonstop 13-14 hour days consistently for a whole 5 day period which is tough. It is so exhilarating it carries you through though. At the end you pay the price and by the time I got on the plane headed to D.C. I was utterly exhausted. The work was not done though.
Thursday night in D.C. was a reception for the legal education project sponsored by Stanford Law and hosted at our institution. Friday, I had to get up early and head to the Afghan Embassy to submit my paperwork for my visa and then start to help plan our board meeting. Saturday evening the board meeting kicked off with a dinner and then Sunday the meetings actually started and a dinner followed that day. Monday was another meeting day as well as a follow up trip to the Afghan Embassy to pick up my visa.
The board meeting being over on Monday did not stop things as I had to go to the passport office to add pages to my Visa. I had questioned once if I would ever even use a passport let alone and after 18 months of traveling around I would have to add extra pages. I did but that is basically another blown day as I arrived back at my hotel at 3:00 p.m. after leaving at 7:30 to head in.
D.C. is a pretty neat city. Though the one thing I hate about any city is the traffic and crowds. D.C. traffic was not as bad as I remembered it but I found out it was Spring Break which alleviates it somewhat so that explained it. I was thankful for that. It was, though, the opening week for the Cherry Blossom festival which always creates a bit of havoc as the tourists and the locals all flock to the National Mall to check the festivities out and oh and ah over the new blossoms on the cherry trees there.
I actually had Wednesday to myself and was able to wrap up some personal things. Then Thursday it was time to get on the plane and head back home to Kabul. I have found that when away from the U.S. I do miss it. Also, though, when I am away from Kabul I miss it as well. Two homes, if you will. I caught a bit of the HBO documentary Afghan Star and it actually made me a bit "home sick for Kabul." If you want to know what Kabul looks like and/or see a great documentary, I encourage you to check it out. It was shot during the winter of 2008/2009, which as you know is when I was arriving. I can remember the snow and the beautiful fully capped mountains of the time.
It was a pretty whirlwind tour. Despite the running around and rush to get things taken care of, in the week that I was there I was able to catch up with a few friends here and there. Thanks to those that took time out to meet up and good to see everyone. For those that I did not catch, see you on the flipside!
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