I’ve wanted to visit Afghanistan for most of my life. During the 1960s, two of my aunts and two of my uncles lived in Kabul. Their stories during family dinners in Pasadena influenced me to think of travel as exciting and important. Since then, I’ve read many books about Afghanistan and learned about it from my Afghan family who, in 2015, arrived in Europe as refugees.

After more than 40 years, Afghanistan is at peace and the Taliban government wants visitors. So I signed up for a 12-day tour and bought a plane ticket from Delhi to Kabul. When I told friends and family about this, some gasped (except I told my sisters not to bother, so they didn’t). “Aren’t you afraid of the Taliban?” “Aren’t you worried about being a woman there?” “Won’t you be unwelcome as an American?” The short answer is three “no’s.” My experiences in Afghanistan confirmed that I didn’t need to feel afraid or worried or unwelcome.