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Standing in Iraq
At the top of the Ziggurat, with the city of An-Nassiriya somewhere behind us. It’s been over 2 years since we made our first transfer through Baghdad International airport. It reminded us of an old movie set that had been filmed many years ago and now was rarely used. After many trips that have filled our passports with Entry & Exit stamps, very little has changed. Small things such as the tiny Duty Free shop opening, electricity being restored and a few more Iraqi civilians spotted here and there. Still, very little when you consider it’s been over 4 years since the airport, and most of the country, came to a crashing stop.
So after 2 years, 3months and 12 days, we will say good-bye to this place. Good-bye to the long, hot dusty days; the 14 hour work days, 7 days a week. Soon this place will become a distant memory for us, but we will never stop thinking about all the people that have died here; both Iraqi and American. About the unbelievable cruelties to humanity or the innocent children that will carry the scars of this (war?) for a lifetime. We will take with us very few positive memories. Money is nice, but it does little for the soul.
So, what’s it like, living in Iraq? In general, life in the camp has been interesting with long days in rough conditions and temperatures topping 125 degrees every day, 90 days at a stretch. You eat the same food from a rotating menu, 3 times a day, at the same building, and usually sitting at the same table. Sometimes when the trucks don’t make it, the selection gets very thin. There have been good days and bad days, but all days are long. We have been lucky in that we rarely had to stay in tents and had air conditioning most of the time. We never got lost in a dust storm and never experienced an IED on the road. Had some close calls on camp, but nothing too serious, just lots of hours sitting in bunkers.
Time is different for us over here. With our 84 hour work week, what takes 2 months to occur in your workplace happens to us in 2 weeks. We call them KBR days, it’s just like comparing dog years to human years; you understand. One thing we have never been is bored. If you don’t like something or have difficulty working with
someone, don’t get upset, just wait a couple of weeks, it’ll all change. Someone will quit, get transferred, or if they screw up, probably promoted and then policies will change and different faces will show up; problem solved. Most important thing to remember: Don’t eat during a dust storm!
Ziggurat Ziggurats were a type of temple tower common to ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest examples of the ziggurat were simple raised platforms and date from the fourth millennium BC to the 6th century BC. There are 32 ziggurats known in the area of what use to be Mesopotamia; four of them are in Iran, and the rest are mostly in Iraq. We happened to have the most famous one just outside our military camp and were able to explore it early one morning, when the temperature was still a cool 92 degrees.
Ur was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia, located near the mouth (at the time) of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, near the city of Nasiriyah. It is considered to be one of the earliest known civilizations in world history. Ur is also considered by many to be the city of Ur Kasdim, mentioned in the
Book of Genesis as the birthplace of Abraham. Ur was a powerful sophisticated city located west of modern day Basra in southern Iraq, which prospered more than 2000 years before the birth of Christ and thought to be the place where Abraham spent his early years. Next to the Ziggurat was the home of Abraham; though we could not find any data to verify this fact. It was excavated by the British Museum in 1923 then the Iraqi Department of Antiquities began reconstruction based upon the foundation that was uncovered.
At this particular ziggurat, an Iraqi family living nearby are the caretakers/ tour guides and have been for over 3 generations. The mother and father operate a small souvenir/gift shop and the father gives guided tours with his son acting as apprentice. His son, one day will take over the tour duties and continue with the tradition.
What Now? From here, we will continue our exploring of the world, while at the same time revisit retirement, once again. Hopefully, the second time will stick. We’ve always talked about going to Mexico for an extended visit. Life south of the US border has always sounded great and the
Birds of War
Returning from another mission; after months of listening to the Rattle and Humm, you begin to tune it out. timing couldn’t be better. I know our original plan was to get back to the US, buy another RV and pick up where we left off before we joined KBR. We had gone as far as researching the RV’s, cars and even working out a budget. Yea, well regarding the $$$, we didn’t like the idea of returning to the US and immediately spending 100K of our hard earned money just to get back on the road again. Then we made a 180 degree turn and remembered MEXICO! Why not? Live cheap, let our interest pile up and check off another travel dream. We had always assumed we would go to Baja but knew it would just be gringoland. I was chatting with our HVAC foreman about our plans and the search for a destination and he recommended San Luis Potosi, in the highlands of central Mexico. Hmmm, has a ring to it. We did some online research and looked at some maps. We couldn’t find very much online beyond tourist information but you know, it just sounded good to us. Then we found out it seems to be a popular place with many of the Hispanics we work with.
A lot of them have family there, or have been there, and they all loved the place. Good enough for us.
So, after more research and connecting with some Expats living there, we decided this was the perfect starting place. After a few weeks in Oregon, it’s off to Mexico. Thanks to Polly (our main connection in SLP) we are signed up for a Spanish class at the university and feel very comfortable about arriving and finding a place to stay. We’ll most likely get into a hotel for a week while we find a furnished apartment to stay in until we decide to move on. Our big plan is a few months in Mexico then venture slowly thru Central America and on down into South America; Ecuador for the Galapagos and Peru for Machu Picchu. This is a one-way trip, with one-way tickets to Mexico. Where we finally end up, and when get there; who know.
We leave Iraq on June 4th and fly to Dubai where we’ll hook up with Nicolas (remember Nicolas from Berlin?). His company is doing a project for THE SHEIK of Dubai, so getting to spend time with him again is a
Dusty Days
The wind blows the sand Everywhere, Everyday... huge bonus and very lucky timing. We will only be there overnight, and then it’s the 14 hour flight to New York.
GOOD BYE IRAQ!!
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Stevie
non-member comment
Yea
I'm so glad you guys are coming home! The Americas will be glad to have you.