I'm here

It is officially day two at Camp Julien and so far I am doing pretty well. After Amsterdam I flew to Dubai where even at midnight when I arrived it was 32 degrees with 90% humidity! Never in my life have I experienced something like that. I found a cheap hotel so I could shower and when I stepped out of the air conditioned airport I had trouble breathing and my glasses even fogged up! The hotel was really nice (and on $66/night) and although I was tempted by the bed all I was there to do was shower - it really helped to wake me up to. At the Dubai airport I met a few people who were going to Afghanistan to do their own work. Three from Canada going to teach English in the North, one from the States going to be an intern for Save the Children, and a guy from London who was going to help with the elections in September. It was really nice to have people to talk to and go through the craziness with so I wasn't totally alone. The Ariana flight into Kabul wasn't even that bad and at passport control there were even lines. The camp security guy was there when I got out with my luggage and then me along with a guy who was coming back from Egypt piled into the armoured Bison and headed to camp. So far the camp is exactly what I was expecting. I got most of my paperwork done yesterday and today I have my in-theatre training. Tomorrow will be my first day of work. It's also been really nice having my PDT group already here because then I at least know some people. The only bad thing so far is that I have a heat rash on my legs. It's not too bad but I should probably get something to put on it.

Well, that was my first day. It will probably be more of the same from now on so I might not have anything really exciting to report on but I will definitely keep you updated.

Thanks for all the encouragement!