Monday, June 16, 2008

Initial Impressions of Iraq

This place smells and tastes like dirt. That is probably because there is dirt in the air. It wasn't bad first thing in the morning. By lunch time, visibility was down to a half mile or less. This is not a full blown sand storm. It is just a windy day in Iraq.

The area that I'm working in has lakes and canals, but the plant life only grows within 5 feet of the water in most places. If you were 10 feet away with your back to the water, you would think there was no water for miles.

Rabbits, dogs and jackals roam the area at night. I can't wait to see my first jackal.

The bunks are placed in trailers like you would see on a construction site. Each trailer has three units and each unit can hold 2 people. Each group of 4 trailers is surrounded by huge concrete walls that stand about 20 feet high. Imagine those portable concrete highway dividers at the same width and depth by 5 times higher.

The also have a bat house at the end of my row. It is about a quarter mile from my place. They encourage real bats to live there and to take care of the insects.

It is about 7:45 pm here and I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open. I felt good this morning, but the jet lag is catching up with me. I'm going to get some sleep now.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

keep the data coming, K.. thanks again for the few minutes the other day on your way out