First Impresion

A picture of the streets surrounding the bazaar.

After MANY days of travel with my wife, Rachel and my Colombian passport, I got off the plane at the American Base (FOB Fenty) in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The sky was clear, the temperature was just right and parked just 10 meters from the plane were our friends greeting us with big hugs and a vehicle to take us to our new home. In less than 6 minutes we were out of the base and driving through the streets of J-bad. To my surprise Afghans drive worse than in Latin America. There are trucks, cars, motorcycle taxis, donkey carts, bicycles, pedestrians and animals here and they all approach in opposite directions! There is definitely something familiar and just a tad more chaotic than the populated streets of Trujillo, Peru and it is dirty like the bumpy streets of Atacames, Ecuador. Fresh meat hangs at the store entrances. For a moment, I was still back at home and smiled.