I’m back for another round at the office in Erbil and have
been welcomed with open arms, hugs and pleas of “never leave again!” The people
here are so nice.
And the weather is much nicer than it was over Christmas. By
that I mean warmer, I suppose. The mornings and evenings have been chilly but
over the next couple of weeks they’ll warm up, I suppose. But it’s super wet
and has been for awhile.
There was to be an outside meeting somewhere an hour or so road
trip away the third day I was here. The sun had been out two days at that point
and it started out gorgeous, and then all of a sudden these Noah-like floods
came. They had to call off the meeting, and then a few hours later it was gorgeous
again. And then, again, it was time for the ark.
It’s wetter than it’s been in years, and I didn’t bring a raincoat.
I intended to, but I had to do some strategic packing this time around. Last
time I was here, my bag was so crammed going back that I decided to upgrade to
the big bag.
It’s not just a lot of root beer I need to unload. I’d sent
all my dry food from Istanbul to Baghdad, and with our cafeteria offering all
the already-cooked food I could possibly want, I haven’t used much of what I
have. So I decided to pack up a bunch of it and bring to Erbil.
This meant taping up packages of lentils, pasta and rice,
then gathering enough tea, Stevia, Crystal Light and hot chocolate for a month
here. Also cooking oil (we’re OK with shipping liquids) and three soft drinks. I
hit my weight limit or I would have brought more. I’m still seriously ahead of the
game on the A&W. I brought two of those and a Dr Pepper. I can’t remember
the last time I had a Dr Pepper.
It probably seems silly to have brought everything, but I
hate wasting food and have no idea what I’ll do with what’s left after this
tour. I was over the weight limit, though, and had to yank out a few things,
like the raincoat.
Going back, who knows? There is a rumor there will be a
carpet guy coming and I’m still working on the ACE Hardware mugs.
I should have room, though. On top of all the food, it
seemed like every toiletry item I brought was going to run out, so I had to
bring replacements. I thought about only taking the full ones but since I go
home and basically turn right around and go on a three-week R&R, I figured
I should just go ahead and unload.
So now I am settling in again. There’s an off-chance this might
not be my last trip here, but I’m playing it like it is. Hoping the Kurdagonia
T-shirts are available at some point, looking forward to seeing more carpets
and there’s another textile vendor I want to check out if I can.
Not sure if I’ll have the opportunity to go off-campus, but
I’m hopeful, not that I need anything. I have my staples and the veggie guy
comes here, so there’s nothing I really need.
Now I’ve hit up the book and DVD library and am watching “Heartbreak
Ridge,” an older Clint Eastwood one. I’ve got “Breaking Bad” in the queue again
but might opt for something new.
I’ll have to check to see if the masseuse will be around this
month, but if not, they have amazing massage chairs in the library room. Kind
of hoping for a haircut before I head out on R&R.
Speaking of, I got the information on my Peace Corps reunion.
We’re renting this place: https://www.vrbo.com/4754456ha.
I might not leave.
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