I have been in Kurdistan for four nights and 5 days now. My family arrived at the Arbil (Hewler) airport on June 16, 2011 at around 4 pm. There was my cousin Dasas, who is a captain in the Kurdish military, an important job that has caused him some trouble in the past, but more on that later.

The airport was big and airy, and our bangs once again went through security, but surprisingly, one of the guards that was doing our bags, didn't check them once he was we were hijbi's and just let us through, but they checked my dads bags in and out, and even took his camera out of his box. I guess his beard doesn't help. Kurdistan is very anti terrorist and anti Muslim group, there are virtually no men under the age of 60 with beards or even kufi's, and no niqabi's either.

We went straight to my cousins home in the middle of Hewler, and got settled. We spent two fun days in Hewler, where we went and saw the sights, including a multi million dollar mall/amusement park, that was unlike anything O'd ever seen. There was an ice rink in the mall, and the mall itself looked like a 5 star hotel, and had all the amenities of the West, only more elegant and expensive. Kurdistan does not have a money problem, this is probably the golden age, there are no poor people left. The government virtually gives out homes, cars, and salaries to everyone, all for meeting different criteria. More on all that later as well.

The past two days we have spent in my hometown of Silemani, the city where I was born, and where I spent the first 5 years of my life, and where I lived when I was 14 to 16. I did not enjoy my time here then, I didn't want to live here, things were very different than America, and we had already built lives there, so alhamdullilah we moved back after two years.

Now I am here again, but this time is different. The city has progressed enormously in the four yeas I've been away, and with the luxury of wireless internet, I am able to enjoy my time here, discover new things, learn new things, while still staying in touch with my loved ones and life back home. The trip is for two months, and already my mind has been blown by some of the things I've seen, I cant wait to see what else is next!