August 27, 2009
Dubai

Arrived last night at 7:30 Dubai time - very easy entry. If you hold a US passport you don't need a visa, and after my passport was stamped I didn't even have to offer up my luggage for inspection. No one seemed concerned about what I was bringing into the country. This morning I arrived at the airport at 9 am to catch my 11:30 flight to Kabul only to discover that it has been delayed 2 hours. Be thankful, a fellow passenger told me, that it wasn't canceled - something that happens on a regular basis.

I am eager to get to Kabul and stop traveling. I am also eager to meet my colleagues, visit the campus and get a sense of the student body.

It is hot and humid in Dubai and I expect only slightly cooler weather in Kabul. Hard on this westerner used to wearing sleeveless tops, capris and sandals to put on long sleeves, long pants and a head scarf!

The photos were taken from my hotel room at 6 this morning. Dubai, from what I could see during my cab rides to and from the airport is all new construction in the desert. An amazing contrast from New Dehli - my transfer point in 06 when donkeys, cows and dogs roamed between the terminal buildings. Here in Dubai there is no live stock in sight - only cement, cars and luxury hotels.