Baghdad Babble - volume 6

9/21/2008

It's hard to believe another week has flown by. I had a mildly crummy week - too much work to do and a bad headache and allergies exacerbated by the duststorms. By time Friday arrived, I was ready for a day of lying low. I avoided the office all day and was even loathe to answer my cell phones, but begrudgingly did so to prevent my co-workers from getting worried.

On Saturday, I had a very exciting day that completely changed my attitude. One of the people who works in my section at the embassy is the Conventional Weapons Destruction Advisor. He works closely with a couple Iraqi NGOs that are involved in demining. One of the groups he works for is called IMCO, the Iraqi Mine Clearance Organization. Over the weekend, they hosted a Children's Mine Risk Education Event. They invited Government of Iraqi officials, members of the diplomatic corps and the media to help raise awareness of the horrific problems posed by landmines and other explosive remnants of war. My boss, the Political Military Affairs Minister Counselor represented the embassy. He made a short speech and gave a few interviews to various media outlets. Sadly children account for many of the victims of landmines and other explosive devices. IMCO conducts education programs to help teach kids how to avoid these hazards.

Although it was very interesting to see IMCO's facilities where they train men to detect and clear mines, the best part of the day was interacting with the kids. For more photos, you can check out my photos on Pikasa. I used my feeble Arabic to the best of my ability and at one point when woman passing by saw that I was struggling to communicate, she stopped to translate for a bit. Our conversation started off innocently enough. We were talking about soccer. I asked the two boys if they were brothers. They said yes. I asked if they had other brothers. They said yes. I asked how many. Then without so much as a flicker of emotion, they matter of factly said they used to have 6 bothers but now there were only 5 since one had been killed. Even when you have words, what do you say to that? It really broke my heart. Poor kids. Some of the kids that were there were also direct victims. You can tell they haven't gotten the type of treatment we are accustomed to people receiving when they have lost a limb. One of the men there had one of the boys show me his stump. Even his good leg was badly disfigured. It was amazing that he got around as well as he did. Spending even a brief amount of time with these kids definitely put all my work related woes sharply into perspective. I left there feeling really lucky. Lucky that I had the chance to meet these kids, lucky that I got to get out of my office and see a bit of real life, and most of all lucky for my health and safety, which I take for granted all too often. I hope you are doing well. And I hope that regardless of what's going on in your own world, you can stop and take a moment to be thankful everything you have. I know I have.

Take care,

Valerie

P.S. Baghdad Babble will likely be on hiatus for the next month. I will be back in the DC area on Sept. 29th. Please let me know if you want to get together while I'm in town.

Baghdad Babble - volume 5

9/13/08

I'm having a lazy Saturday morning. Since the work week here is Sunday - Friday. Saturdays are like Sundays back home. The main difference between Sunday at home and Saturday here is that there's no Washington Post magazine and leisurely brunch. The worst part of weekends here is that you still have to get over to the dining hall for breakfast by 8:30, normally breakfast ends at 8:00, but on the weekend we get an extra half an hour. This is one of those militaristic aspects of life here that you have to adapt to. This is one of my least favorite parts of life here. I like having one day a week when I don't have to leave thIe house. Until I get some more Netgrocer provisions, that just isn't possible.

Despite this small complaint, housing at the NEC is pretty good. Embassy employees live in apartments on the New Embassy Compound. The NEC is just down the road from the palace that am currently working in, so I can't complain about the commute. The apartments have been reconfigured to accommodate more people so now we all have suitemates. My roommate is going to be moving in next weekend. The kitchen, dining area, and bathroom is shared with the other person in the apartment. I’m lucky that I lasted nearly a month without being assigned a roommate, but I'm optomistic that it will be nice having another person around. The biggest thing that could be problematic is controlling the thermostat. The temperature for both bedrooms is controlled by one thermostat. I’m hoping that there is no battle over the thermostat in the coming weeks. The air conditioning definitely works, and can be somewhat hard to control. I feel like I just got it to stay where I want it to. I hope my new roommie, doesn't like it super duper cold. Time will tell.

Baghdad Babble - volume 4

Here are some photos from my first Mil Air flight.

Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2008

Ahlan wa Sahlan! Finally some long awaited photos from my trip to Iraq. You can believe that the long sleeves and scarf quickly went away upon arrival in Baghdad. I had been freezing in the airport, but that was quickly a distant memory after touching down in Iraq. When I stepped off the plane I though maybe it's just so hot here by the plane, alas no, it was really 130 degrees and that his scorching regardless of where you are standing.

A final word about the heat for today. I really don't mind sweating when I'm working out or doing something active; but the worst thing is when you get soaked in sweat and all you've been doing is sitting. Waiting for my boss at the airport was the worst. We ended up sitting out on the asphalt for 90 minutes waiting in the beating sun. Despite the driver's best effort to keep car cool, there was just no way the air conditioner could overcome the sun and heat. By the time I got home, my clothes were literally wet with sweat. Let me tell you, laundry really piles up quick here. I hope you are staying cool wherever you are.

Valerie

Baghdad Babble - volume 1

Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2008

Greetings from Iraq

I just wanted to let you know that I have arrived in Baghdad safe and sound. It was a long trip, with an overnight stay in Amman, Jordan on the way; but so far I'm not feeling too jet lagged. Some work colleagues picked me up from the airport so I actually got to the International Zone (aka Green Zone) much faster than anticipated and I got to stop at one of the big PXs on the way to do some shopping.

Last night a group of people from my office also got together for some beer. There's nothing like sitting around in 100 degree heat at 8:30 PM. You have to drink fast if you don't want your beer to be warm.

My apartment is quite nice. I'm including a picture I snapped of my room shortly after I arrived. I literally had just thrown down my bags and stuff. I don't have a roommate yet, but will have one in the near future. It's nice to have arrived first to get settled in before the other person arrives. I haven't been to the office yet, but the compound is huge, so I'm sure I'll get lost a few times in the first weeks. I have to get going for now.

Take care,

Valerie

Baghdad Babble - volume 3

Date: 09/05/2008

Marhaba! Ramadan Kameer.

It's been an eventful week. Ramadan started this week. One of the main components of Ramadan is the fasting from sunrise for sunset. For more information on Ramadan, I will refer you elsewhere.

In training, I learned about this most important Muslim religious holiday and I was prepared not to eat at my desk and to be mindful of the local customs. However, despite my readiness and best intentions, I haven't have to alter my behavior. There are no local employees in my office (or on my entire floor for that manner). I'm just happy when we have to have light bulbs changed or some other work done in the office so that some local employees come in and I can attempt to speak some Arabic. So unless we have any office repairs, the constant eating in the office continues.

My desk is home to one of the most popular places in the office, the candy dish. I don't even fill this dish, it just magically gets filled by others. It's a nice fixture in the office, but doesn't do much for my productivity (or my waistline). Ramadan is interesting, for one thing it's hard to directly compare to other Christian holidays. Some people compare it to Lent, due to the aspect of sacrifice and increased religious practice throughout the month. Since I'm not particularly religious, I see direct comparison in a more secular/commercial realm. Ramadan is also accompanied by lots of good stuff on TV. I've been seeing lots of commercials advertising all the hottest movies during the month of Ramadan. I guess, just like we in the U.S. like to gather around the tv after a big feast, it's a popular way to pass the evening here too. After a big Iftar meal, you can kick back and watch Ice Age or other family friendly blockbusters on tv.

My TV situation has improved dramatically. I have double the channels that I had when I first arrived. I have a variety of regional tv shows, news, movies, an MTV equivalent. These cable channels have most of their programming in English with Arabic subtitles and most of the commercials are in Arabic. I also have some news channels in Arabic. Maybe I will buckle down to watch some news in Arabic and try to improve my language skills. I also have about 8 AFN (Armed Forces Network) channels. AFN broadcasts a variety of the most popular shows from network tv from the United States. There are no commercials in the traditional sense, just tons of PSAs - lots of messages about doing your duty and voting from overseas.

The big news of the week is that my boss arrived. He seems like a really nice guy. He has offered to make some calls or send my emails to help me find my onward assignment and he's only known me for a week. He's trying to get the office to stop working on the weekend; but so far hasn't had much success. I think he's finding out that even if we don't want to work on the weekend, there's no stopping the military from working and if we aren't there, we can't work together successfully. So for the foreseeable future, the long workweeks will continue. That's ok though, there's not much else to do, so the long hours make the weeks fly by.

My first R&R is rapidly approaching. I'll be back in DC for a conference Oct. 1-3 and will be staying in the area for some rest and relaxation following that. I'm looking forward to catching up with friends in the DC area again. I hope things are going well in your neck of the woods.

Tale care, Valerie

Baghdad Babble - volume 2

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008

Hello all! I've nearly made it through my first week in Baghdad. You'll be happy to know that I'm still able to get a daily latte. In the palace, we have a Green Beans Coffee shop. Much like Starbucks, you can even pay for your purchases using a card that you load money onto. Seeing as this is one of my only expenses, I don't mind spending $3 for a coffee every day. My coffee habit is going to be stronger than ever when I get back to the States.

It's been an interesting week. I'm still getting to know my way around the compound. I work at the palace, which is gigantic, and there are lots of little buildings in the surrounding area. I'm sure I'll get lost many more times in the coming weeks.

As usual, my apartment is a mess. Right now, I'm attributing it to unpacking my UAB (unaccompanied air baggage) as well as the 4 boxes of stuff that I mailed to myself from Virginia. I need to get things organized before I get a roommate. I'd hate to make a bad impression. I'm just hoping that I get some advanced notice before someone moves in. It doesn't have to be a lot of notice. It would just be weird to come home and have someone else already there. But who knows, anything is possible I guess.

In some ways things seem so organized and tightly controlled, but in other ways it seems like things just get made up as we go along. Yesterday and today (Friday and Saturday) were my first weekend here. I was in the office both days, but although the rest of the people in my section seemed quite busy, I was didn't have much to do. Until my boss gets here, it will be hard to know what a "normal" work week will be. I did get a bit of a treat yesterday. I got to go to the Al Rasheed hotel for a little shopping. There is a carpet merchant and 2 ladies with small shops with jewelry and other little things. My colleagues both bought rugs and a some jewelry to give as gifts to people back home. They are leaving in a couple days so this was their last chance to pick up some souvenirs. I have plenty of time left and didn't see anything I absolutely loved, so all I bought was a necklace made primarily from lapis and turquoise beads with one large silver bead. It was cool being in the Al Rashid hotel (or Al Rasheed, depending on what type of transliteration you use to write Arabic in English letters). One of the lessons in my Arabic class used the Al Rasheed hotel as the setting of the dialogue. The Al Rashid hotel is historic for many reasons. If you are interested, you can google it or read more about it on wikipedia.

Aside from this little shopping outing, a clear pattern to my days is emerging: sleep, eat, work, eat, work, eat, sleep. I'm hoping to add working out to the routine this week. There is a step aerobics and self defense class that I'm eager to check out this week. Or maybe I could draw some inspiration from Michael Phelps and try some swimming. There is a lap pool in the fitness center near my apartment, but I'm not sure I want to embarrass myself by trying that. I might need some remedial swimming classes first. I've also seen some fliers with contact info of personal trainers. I'm thinking about hiring someone to help me get a weight training regime set up for myself. Another thing I'm interested in learning more about is the Boy and Girl Scout troops in Baghdad. I saw t-shirts for sale and a short ad in the embassy newsletter asking people to volunteer, but I'm still sketchy on the details. I still have a lot to learn here. I hope you are doing well. Keep me up to date with what's going on with you. I'd love to hear from you.

Take care, Valerie

Baghdad Babble - introduction

I'm already back in DC on my first R&R and I'm using some of my down time to set up my blog chronicling my time in Baghdad.

I've been sending an email called the Baghdad Babble to my friends and family and people have asked me why I haven't set up a blog. The answer to that question is that I don't want to end up with a half hearted attempt at something.

I've been keeping up with the Baghdad Babble so far, so we'll see how it goes with this new format.