Over the mountain peaks

Ahhh...what an amazing ride as we glided along in a Blackhawk from Kabul to Methar Lam!! As our helicopter landed, I felt as if we had dropped into a movie set, the green sloping hills, the snow-capped mountain peaks in the distance, the sun casting a bright light down as we debarked onto the dirt path. And before we knew it, we were clinching to the inside corners of a truck bed, trying to hold on as they drove us on a winding path to the entrance to the base. It was surreal, sensory overload as I tried to take it all in as the picasso landscape moved under our feet. We arrived at the base camp and were welcomed by soldiers who looked like they were preparing for a ZZ Top look a like contest!! Full beards, longer hair and no sense of uniformity with their uniforms b/c they did not wear rank or name tapes. But, these guys do this on purpose I soon discovered and boy can they take care of business...the media we escorted were kept busy with interviews and several of them were captivated by the amount of training space that was available for the Afghan National Police and other trainees. The graduation event we were attending only lasted 1 hour yet we spent time before and afterwards just gazing out at the natural beauty of Eastern Afghanistan. Over 243 Afghans graduated from a 3-week community security training program and most of them, I think, have never seen a woman without her face covered in public! How do I know this...well, let's just say there are about 15 pics on my camera of me and different groups of Afghan soldiers wanting to pose with me. Also, their eyes followed every woman around as if they were a freshly baked chocolate cake. But others did walk around holding hands and hugging (this is a part of their culture-does not always relate to homosexuality). As we said our goodbyes and departed in the white trucks up the bumpy road to the helicopter, we noticed two young boys standing across on a hill about 200 m away. They waved and smiled at us as we closed the helo door and started to lift from the ground. So many people here want to have happiness and prosperity just like you and I. Let's give it to them in whatever way we can. I've added a few photos for you to see the splendor of Methar Lam.
Today is day two of three in our PA Training for the Provincial (state-level) PA reps. The attendees range from extremley modern to wearing the traditional headdressing and man-dress. But, all of them have been very kind and respectful, always asking permission to leave and offering me tea and/or cookies. The best part about this training is that they each have a different perspective and list of aspirations for their part of the country. It is exciting to see Afghanistan move from a centrally powered government that lacks coordination with the lower level communities to a country that understands the need to allow the Provinces to build a relationship with their constituency and with the media in order to increase flow of information and combat insurgent propaganda.
Off to sleep now...teaching tomorrow and planning a long trip very soon!!