Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Quick update

I've been in country about a month now, but there isn't a whole lot to report on. Things on the camp are fairly quiet, although there always seems to be plenty of work to be done. I know many of you have heard about the bombings in Baghdad and have wondered about my safety. Believe it or not, it was so far away we didn't even hear it. First I heard about it was on CNN.
I got invited to a "traditional Iraqi meal" by one of the local contractors who has an office on our camp. I smoked a hookah pipe and ate with my hands, just like the locals. The main dishes were lamb and rice, which was very tasty, and a 5,000 year old recipe for what he called "River Fish." We call it carp. It wasn't too bad, actually, but you definately had to pick on it very carefully.
I woke up this morning to the sound of a windstorm, and then came the rain. Its been raining for about an hour now, which means that it will be nasty and muddy for about a week. People may call this the "Sandbox" but dustbowl is a better term. The soil here is very fine and just a little bit of moisture makes it stick to everything. This is the first rain we have had since I've been here, but the ground seems to ooze moisture from below. Some guys call it "the mud that never dries."
As far as daily life goes, I work in an office on camp most of the time, and when I'm not in my office I'm somewhere on camp trying to coordinate something. My job is all about coordinating life support functions for the people here that do go outside the camp. They are the ones with the really stressful jobs, but I have to tell you, they are doing a great job of keeping the rest of us safe.
Well, that's about all for now, its time to get the day started. There is an 8 hour difference between here and Central Time so when people in the States are getting ready for bed, I'm getting ready for work. Thanks again for all the support!
Shawn

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