Salaam!

I am finally learning Persian! (Well, I thought I was learning Farsi, but according to my sweet language tutor, Maryam, Farsi is the Arabic term for Persian, and Iranians (and Afghans) refer to their language as Persian.) After meeting an Afghan woman at the park this week, my understanding that Dari (the language spoken in Kabul) is a dialect of Persian was also confirmed. SO, I am well on my way to being able to say hello if I were to land right now in Tehran or Kabul. Salaam!

I have a long way to go. Turkish suddenly seems easy. There are sounds I physically cannot make with my throat! But I am delighted. I can't stop smiling. I am taking baby steps to fulfilling a dream.

Rest assured, my husband and brother (who just spent a year in Kabul) have strongly urged (read: forbidden) me to not go. And there are no plans. But one day that region will be different. One day I believe Iran will open up and Afghanistan will stabilize and the doors will fly off...

and I will be ready!