Two farewells - but my relief is here!

Lots of pictures for you tonight - hard to believe this is my 50th blog post! OK, that may not be a lot to other people, but it sure feels like a lot from this end!

Steve, one of my good friends who came through the training pipeline with me all the way from San Diego, is now happily on his way home. BBF! (inside joke, sorry!) Steve put in more hours than anyone I know, and that's saying a lot! He's off to another school before heading to his new job - best of luck my friend!


This was also the week that my boss Caren departed. We had to "suffer" through a week of three Afghan meals (delicious!), a movie night featuring all the chocolate ice cream we could stomach, and lots of people showing their appreciation for the great work she's done here. Below is a picture of the food our Afghan interpreter brought in (and no, we couldn't finish it all, but we gave it a credible try!). It's a tough job, but someone had to do it! :)


And one of the many farewell pictures taken this week. This is the two of us in our mentee's office with our co-mentors from EUPOL (European Police Assistance Mission to Afghanistan), Kari and Konrad. Safe travels Caren - I'm sure our paths will cross again!


But of course with the departures comes new arrivals - including my relief, Dave! Here we are back on top of one of the buildings at the Ministry (this is becoming a tradition!). Welcome Dave!


We also had an incredible opportunity this week to climb Mt. Ghar, a nearby mountain. It may not look like much, but trust me, it was a challenging hike! It's not Fuji, but it was a great escape for a little while...

Here's our group of intrepid climbers. This was a great mix of all three of our SJA shops - a good chance to hang out with other people I don't normally get to work with on a daily basis.

And finally, I'll leave you with the view we had the privilege to see. Yes, we really were that high! :)