Herat

Yea!! I got to go on a trip because I thought we should go, not something pre-planned.

One of the things I'm doing is overseeing the Fulbright Program here. It's not in my long-term portfolio, but until all the other new people arrive, I've got it. I actually really enjoy it and kinda wish I could keep it... Anyway - we are finishing up the interviews of candidates and I realized we have a bunch of strong applicants from Herat. So, I said - let's go there and do the interviews instead of trying to get them all to Kabul and into the Embassy.

Herat is a really fun-seeming place. I wish I could have stayed longer and had the chance to really see it. Even in 24hrs though, it just felt like a more normal city. It didn't have the hectic, desperate feel that Kabul does. It felt like people are just living their lives. We take it for granted at home, but it was almost refreshing out here. I felt safe enough that I wanted to drive with the windows open.

Side Note - I miss open windows so much it is driving me batty. I have not been in a building or car with open windows since we left the States.

Back to Herat - The interviews went well. I think we have some contenders and I am really happy we went to them. This year was the first time we've done that and I like the precedent. It's also just fun to see why people want to come to the States, what they ask about and push them to see if they can handle it. We only send Masters degree candidates from Afghanistan, so they have to be really ready for what they're getting into. Although, by the end of the day I was tired enough to suggest that from now on we should just have a giant frat party, invite the candidates and the ones that don't freak out will be our nominees.

So, that was all yesterday. This morning, before the flight back, we toured around some of the historic/famous sites in the city. The pictures are of that and my Lincoln Center. Doing the interviews wasn't exactly a photo moment.