Shortly before our glorious trip to Spain, I went to Iraq for a week. Like most of my travel to locations that rank high on the “most likely place to catch scabies” list, it was for work (duh). And, like most of those places, I wouldn’t recommend going there for any reason whatsoever … unless that reason, of course, is money. Or great work experience. Or, let’s see, free movies, free housing, great gyms within walking distance, eight hours of sleep every night, interesting work, foreign experience, and all the food you can imagine.
Oh man the food…the FOOD! We’re not talking “Army chow” (usually summed up by the onomatopoeia “glop.”) We’re talking lobster and steak dinners … maybe a pastrami on rye from the Panini bar. Or maybe quesadillas with a side of butter chicken. And all the cake, ice cream, cookies, and frozen yogurt to fill out those remaining belt notches. (No wonder the Army is as fat as it’s ever been!)
Seriously, though, the trip was great. I went “outside the wire” a few times to visit some project sites, but wasn’t as neurotic as I thought I was going to be about noticing peculiar objects on the side of the road that could contain explosives. In fact, I was so trusting of the civilian security team that I fell asleep in every excursion we went on. Maybe it was my way of dealing with anxiety. Or all the ice cream.
I went to create a few amazing recruiting videos and will perhaps show them here when they’re done. Perhaps.
I didn’t see anything THAT out of the ordinary when I was there. Other than this little girl in a wedding dress in the village of Serishka, which I was told was a village of Satan worshippers. Yes, Satan worshippers. The truth, it turns out, is that they believe god created the world and left its care to seven angels, one of these being “Shaytan,” the same name the Koran has for Satan.
Anyway, I ate well, slept well, worked hard, saw two dust storms, and was rained on. That’s about the extent of my trip. Good thing I’m not single, or I’d most definitely consider going back....mostly for the food.
4 comments:
Paul said:
Too bad you you were not able to see some of the outstanding historical sights that make a trip to Iraq more than worthwhile.
I am sure you thought of the many Iraqis who have little or no food while you were enjoying yourself.
Hope you can make it back there
some other time, under normal circumstances, to experience the true Iraqis the way I have seen them in peace time.
Wow, what a trip. What base were you working out of in Iraq? Where was it? Please provide exact coordinates if you know them...;)
It does sound interesting, and I'm glad to hear they're feeding the troops well over there. It's a small token compared to the risks and the pay, from what I hear. What was it like wearing the gear? Did you feel like GI Joe? Did you carry a gun? Or night goggles? Or a grenade or something cool like that???
From what I hear (from a guy who knows the National Geographic-recognized "World's Most Traveled Man"), the Kurdish city of Erbil in northern Iraq is worth a visit as are the sites of Babylon and Ur. Maybe in 20 years or so I'll go back under different circumstances.
I did not feel like GI Joe. I felt like a lethargic cow carrying all that weight. There's no way I could run, jump, or grab anything (like a gun) quickly in all that gear. Plus, thankfully, I had no gun. I didn't want one. Nor did I want to think about people who didn't have ice cream with every meal. I wanted to eat and sleep a lot, which I did. God bless the USA! We sure know how to fight wars.
Well if the world is in the care of 7 angels and only one is Satan, won't all be well?
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