So I am finally writing to you all from Kabul.

As the flight descended to Kabul, I could see clearly the ice and snow that I was getting myself in for. As the plane landed we taxied past numerous army helicopters and military looking small aircraft sporting logos of the UN, FAO and other such NGOs.

It’s uncanny how much this place reminds me of Omsk. The airport in particular. It was cold, wet, dark, open and just a simple lone building. I have to say, as I came through customs, I was greeted by the largest man I’ve ever seen in my life, dressed in US Army gear, asking if I was some person by the name of McCleod.

I was picked up at the airport at about 3pm, by a bunch of AIESECers who had been waiting from about 10am. They had thought that I was coming from Dubai, so they had been waiting since the first flight from Dubai had come in that morning. Unfortunatly, by this time, many of them had to go home, as it was getting late, and the girls especially have to be home by a certain time.

The temperature is about 2 degrees and the streets are like muddy rivers. The streets are lined with melting snow and you have to be careful where you step to avoid plunging your boot into a puddle that’s deeper than you expect. It’s is cold, wet and overcast.

I stick out like as a foreigner, not because of my sex or my colour, but because of my puffy down jackets. There are plenty of foreigners here and they are all recognizable by their puffy snow jackets.

The area of our office is in a district where there are lots of foreign organizations. On the way here I passed sever embassies and overseas aid agencies. The office itself is in the compound of Mediotek, a company which I am sure to lean more about, as I gather I will be doing some work for them as well.

The compound is pretty nice. It is one of the only places in Kabul where there is 24 hour electricity. It hosts the offices for Mediotek, and 2 of the employees that live here, as well as a guard that lives here as well. There is a kitchen. 2 bathrooms, that sometimes have hot water, and a couple of bedrooms. Not all of them are full. My room is actually quite large, and it is on the second floor, which helps to keep it warm. I have a desk, a chair, a bed and a heater. It really is more than I expected.

The AIESEC office is fairly well equipped with 3 computers. It’s actually 2-3 times the size of the AIESEC Sydney office. So it’s pretty good really. And it’s about 100 meters from my room, or less, so I can see myself getting quite a bit of work done, when I figure out exactly what it is that I’ll be doing. The office is actually on the other side of the city from the university, and where most of the AIESECers live, but they are coming to the office often at the moment, as it is holidays until mid-march.

Well, that’s probably it for now. I have been here for less than 24 hours, but I know that I lot of people were eager to hear how it is. Hope to hear from you all shortly.