apocryph.org Notes to my future self

Iraq Day 42

Today for lunch the Iraqis brought in kabob and some fried fish, which they stuff into semoon along with french fries (which they call ‘finger crisps’) and cucumber, to make an absolutely delicious sandwitch. They assure me the mezgouf I’ll have in Irbil will be even better than the fried fish I had today, which is hard to believe.

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This evening we set up our projector and some external speakers outside on the concrete patio and watched a couple pirate DVDs from the market in the palace. We watched Firewall (painfully lame) and Syriana (even more painfully lame).

I also bought a bottle of Jack Daniel’s at the bar in the palace, so I’ll have some in my private stash for special occassions.

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It’s now about a week until my first RRB. Rebecca, my housemate, will be meeting me in Amman, which will be nice. It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for so long already…

Red Zone Trip Canceled

Our trip to the red zone today to meet with some prison officials was cancelled, due to the security situation. A series of bombs went off yesterday, a large one exploded today outside one of the gates, a main bridge across the Tigris was closed due to a suspected IED, and riots are anticipated at a police facility near the prison due to lack of money for salaries.

Oh well; there’s always another day….

Iraq Day 41

Today was fairly uneventful for me. Some of our team went out today and were near an attack which hit another convoy, and there was some mortar fire in the distance mid-morning.

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A few days ago R and U (whose wives are sisters, making them brother-in-laws) left the office early to go to an engagement. Apparently, in Arab/Islamic cultures, when a man wishes to marry a woman, he sends the women of his family to her home to convey his proposal, and then the men of his family (himself included) make a subsequent visit to seal the deal. It’s an interesting tradition.

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Today the Iraqis were listening to the radio a bit in the office. Turns out they were streaming the Arabic language Voice of America radio station, which is one of their two preferred stations (the other being BBC). Apparently our tax dollars pay to broadcast alternating Arabic and American popular music, w/ the occassional break to play some talk or clips from President Bush’s latest speech. Quiet unexpected.

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I also went w/ Y in his car to the BearingPoint camp; him to get his pay (the locals are paid in cash) and I just for the hell of it. The Iraqis are not in the habit of wearing seatbelts, and it amused him when I reflexively put mine on. Of all the places where a seatbelt seems a good idea, Iraq seems the most obvious.

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This afternoon I went to the ‘bazaar’ on the other side of the palace, in the so-called ‘Black Hawk’ camp. This ‘bazaar’ included a small selection of tech stuff (I went looking for, and found, a USB hub), and an incredible selection of DVDs and games, all at prices which belie their pirate origins. Box set of 5 seasons of West Wing? $50. First three seasons of MI-5? $35. CSI season 1? $10. I was of course shocked and appalled that they didn’t have Enterprise Season 3, but oh well.

There was also a store w/ some cheap Arab kitsch, like ‘hand made’ rugs of the type I could get at Home Depot for $100.

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Tomorrow I’m going out w/ a team into the red zone. More tomorrow once we return safely.

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I’m thinking of extending until July, for a total of six months in. It’s nearly six weeks now and I’m not having any trouble, and in fact I’m rather enjoying myself. I’ll give it another few weeks to decide, but unless something changes dramatically (a toxic personality added to the group is my biggest fear…) it seems the logical course of action.

Sweet, A Raise

I just learned that the Department of State has increased the Post Differential pay and Danger pay for those serving in Iraq under State Department authority from 25% each to 35% each. In effect, this is a combined 20% raise over my base pay, on top of the 70% I was already receiving. Not bad!

Iraq Day 35

I’ve now spent the entire month of February in Iraq. I’ve come to hate the first of the month, as it’s when I must pay all of my stateside bills. Fortunately almost all of them are debited automatically, and most of the rest I can pay online. A few, like water, power, and rent, my housemate pays using my checkbook and a gross approximation of my signature. It’s not fraud if I’m ok with it…

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Yesterday I spent all day w/ the Iraqi devs. Some of them are working on our upcoming software delivery to Criminal Records Directorate at MoI, while others are working on more distant projects.

For lunch they brought in more warm semoon, which as you may recall is the most wonderful bread I’ve ever tasted. Rather than pick up some kiri (cream cheese), as this was lunch they brought some canned meat substance, vaguely reminiscent of Spam (although obviously not pork-based, being as Iraq is an Islamic country), composed of chicken products.

I immediately thought ‘bird flu’, but this was Jordanian meat. Then I thought ’stray dogs’ and ‘chicken colons’, but the Iraqis were enthusiastically cramming slices of the chicken loaf into their semoon, so I had no choice but to follow suit. The taste was between a hot dog and bologna, neither of which I am particularly into, but it didn’t taste at all like stray dogs or chicken colons. 24 hours later I’ve not experienced any violent gastrointestinal anomalies, so I think I’m in the clear.

During lunch the conversation inevitably turned to food. They have promised to bring in some kahi, which by the sound of it is a flaky thin pastry w/ sugary glaze; I’m obviously looking forward to that. They also told me of a fruit, naboog, which Iraqi children love and that apparently grows only in Iraq and Iran. Obviously, I’m having a great time sampling the local cuisine, and just wish I could go out into the city to get it fresh at the best Iraqi restaurants.

During a discussion of our favorite foods, E told me of one, ‘kin-TAKEE’, which upon further description turned out to be chicken, dipped in an egg base and breaded, then fried in oil. I can’t help but notice that their name for this food sounds an awful lot like ‘Kentucky’, of ‘Kentucy Fried Chicken’ fame. Upon learning of KFC and the delicious Extra Crispy chicken, the Iraqis came to agreement that their word for ‘fried chicken’ is in fact an Arab pronunciation of the word ‘Kentucky’. Remarkable. Across space and time, one thing binds all cultures and peoples: a love of the Colonel’s secret recipe chicken.

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As you may recall, one of our developers is ethnically Kurdish, though he grew up here in Baghdad. He and the other developers were telling me one of the many jokes Arabs tell about Kurds, much as we do of blondes, Irish, and lawyers. The joke in English goes something like this:

How do 40 Kurds change a flat tire?

One holds the lug wrench against one of the lug nuts, and the other 39 rotate the car.

It was funnier in person, I swear…

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Today we interviewed an American QA lead for possible service here in Iraq. The interview went fairly well, but it’s hard to guage personality suitability until someone is actually here.

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A couple days ago my father asked me if I’d thought about what will happen to Iraq over the next decade and whether I’d be willing to come back perodically to participate in more advanced reconstruction efforts once the security situation gets better.

I’ve thought about it, and like the idea very much, however I don’t think it’s at all certain that Iraq will play out that way. It is by no means out of danger of civil war, and in fact as the golden mosque bombing in Samara demonstrates is precariously close to the brink.

If in fact Iraq does survive this period of trials and tribulations, I would very much like to work further w/ the Iraqi people to bring them into the modern world, especially if the country calmed down such that friends and family could come and visit in safety.

Dad also asked me about the adjustment back to domestic life once I return. Certainly we’ve been told time and again that no one stateside will truly understand our experiences here, unless they’ve also been here, and that there is an awkward period of adjustment upon return to the US. However, I’ve heard 2-4 weeks is the longest this period will last, and it’s quite easy to learn to walk down the street, drive a car, or hear a muffler backfire without feeling severe anxiety and adrenaline-induced alertness.

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Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent in the Catholic liturgical calendar. I’m going to try to make it to the chapel at the palace at 1800, though Ash Wednesday isn’t even a day of obligation stateside so if I miss it’s no big deal.

I’ve decided I will give up American television and long showers for Lent

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Currently two of our expats and a couple Iraqi translators are in Irbil in the Kurdistan region up north, doing recon and advanced prep for a ‘conference’ we’re thinking of holding there later in the year. The plan is for the whole team to go up for the conference, which will be quite an experience.

Kurdistan is in many ways a different country, and compared to the rest of Iraq is much more secure. Thus, we are free to walk the streets, mingle w/ the locals, eat in restaurants, and generally do the stuff I wish I could do here. I can’t wait.

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I’ve spent the last two weeks healthy, so of course I’m starting to get another cold. This one is mild so far; just congestion, however based on my last experience I’m taking it easy. I’ve not been to the gym since Sunday, and will likely miss tonight (burger night at BE camp) and tomorrow (get drunk and sing Karaoke w/ a fat old woman I’d normally run and hide from night at the Lucent bar) night as well. Oh well; if I don’t eat anything maybe I can balance it out….