Hello from Ypsilanti, Mich.! I’m so glad to be back on U.S. soil and I’m so glad to be home. I feel like I could kiss the ground. I got in at midnight last night. I’m still trying to process everything that happened. I have a lot of good stories and pictures that I will try to get out later today and over the weekend. I just wanted to write another quick note to let everyone know that I made it back in one piece.

This photo of my suitcase is very telling of the trip. Before I left, it was brand new. After a week of travel through Afghanistan, it has some battle scars. I probably feel only a little better than it looks. I’m thankful for this blog because it was a fast way to let everyone know that I was okay. I just wish I would have been able to update it more I’m definitely glad I went on the trip. It was an experience of a lifetime, yet not a place I want to visit again anytime soon. I think it’s great that ordinary U.S. citizens like me can see what it’s like to live in a war zone and then share the stories. There will be stories coming soon.