Years ago, before the blog became a mainstream concept, I produced a weekly dispatch from Brazil called “According to Carmen.” Sometimes my “pre-blogs” were about politics and other leading news events. It was 2002-2003 and Brazil was undergoing a transformation of sorts that was unexpected and ultimately fruitful.

Other posts, however, were about my own shenanigans. Often I found myself in unusual predicaments in Brazil that made for the occasionally amusing post.

I hope to continue that concept here. This time I’m filing dispatches from a corner of the world a little less idyllic than Brazil: the next few entries will be from Afghanistan, where I am on assignment to cover the ongoing war.

Stay tuned and hope you enjoy.

C