I figured out how to log into this thing so now I can post stuff myself...unless I don't have good internet connectivity at my next location.

So, I spent my first night in Baghdad last night and I want to clarify that I am not in the Green Zone/International Zone. I'm about 10 miles away in a huge complex of military bases/camps that is collocated with Baghdad International Airport (BIAP). This complex contains a military controlled side of BIAP called Sather Air Base/Camp Anaconda where I landed yesterday. Down a bumpy road from that a couple of miles is the Victory Base Complex (VBC) which is made up of various camps. This is where I am. The IZ is about 10 miles away, but you can only get there by chopper or by something called a Rhino, which is an armed mini-bus type vehicle that can withstand an IED.

The team and I started off the day meetin our POC for breakfast at 0700...yes, I know, if you know me you know that I don't usually get up that early unless I'm up from being awake all night. For some reason when I travel I need less sleep than usual and I can actually get up really early and be on time. Maybe it's because I work with the military so I feel I have no other choice... or maybe it's because I don't have any distractions when I get up in the morning (ie. playing with my pups)...or it might be (probably is) because I remain in a complete jet-lagged state the entire time. I also typically have so much adrenaline from these trips and from information and sensory overload that I go into a weird survival mode. In any case, Michael would be very impressed...although probably wondering why I can't function this way at home. Anyway, we had breakfast at the Oasis Dining Facility (DFAC) which has any kind of breakfast food you could imagine. They don't have Korean breakfasts, however, which sometimes include kimchi and miso soup.
We headed for a pre-brief with the COL of Multi-national Corps-Iraq where he provided us with good planning guidance for our work over the next couple of weeks. Then, our POC, took us on a short driving tour around VBC. You wouldn't believe it, but it was raining...not hard, but big rain drops. It rained for about one hour and then it was over, but I just had never thought of it raining in Baghdad...I had always thought of it being so arid over here. They have a rainy season and sometimes the streets flood. Actually, it happened about 2 weeks ago and we've been told the ground is finally drying out. Our tour took us around 3 lakes and many sandstone carved buildings. The buildings are really incredible from an architectural standpoint. Aesthetically, they are really nice and you can see the craftsmanship in pretty much every detail. My architecture side really appreciated them, but my humanitarian side was thinking about how much slave labor probably went into their construction. I mentioned there are 3 lakes. One of the lakes Al Faw Lake is in front of the Al Faw Palace. Yep, I said palace. There is a palace here with a lake and a moat around the front of it...a real-live moat! The lakes have white-healthy looking ducks with big orange bills and lots of birds flying around. There are also HUGE carp in the lake. We saw some Iraqi army guys fishing for carp with a net. It's actually really pretty to look at the palace and lake...like a painting, but it's depressing to see all the military vehicles everywhere on the lawns.

I'm signing off because my co-worker, a 6'5" dude from Oklahoma of Norwegian descent is challenging me to a game of ping-pong. I can't pass up a challenge so I'll finish my narrated tour soon. Take care, Erika-I-sat-on-a-porcelain-toilet-with-gold-leaf-today McGinley.....yep, that's a teaser for the next post!