Summer in Baghdad

Hello Family and Friends,

I hope all is well with you wherever you may be. Things are going well in Baghdad. I'm afraid this is going to be a long one. But what do you expect, when I haven't written for about 3 months or so. So....when last we left off, Jill was on her way to her first R&R. I had a great time in Costa Rica with my stepsister, Christol, my niece, Kylie and my friend, Hector. We hung out in San Jose, we flew to the west coast where we went scuba diving, swimming, boogie-boarding and got massages. We ate delicious food and enjoyed the beach. On the third day, we headed inland to the rainforests of Monteverde, where we laughed through a canopy tour, learned all about Costa Rican insects, bats, etc. and enjoyed the rainy season in Costa Rica. It was a great vacation!!

Well, you may have read about the not so pleasant trip back to Baghdad, but in the end, I got my luggage and I made it back on time, so all is well that ends well, although I would still avoid traveling American Airlines at any cost. Anyhoooo, when I got back to the office, I waded right into all kinds of things to get done. June was an incredibly busy month and I was working 16 hour days. I was trying to get my programs up and running and monitoring the ones that were running and was trying to find staff to hire. I have finally hired two staff members who are both amazing and fun. We laugh a lot together, but they are very hard workers and we have gotten a lot done. We have 9 programs up and running in Baghdad and will start 4 more in the next couple weeks. I really like our projects and think that we are getting good work accomplished. We are working with families who have been displaced by violence or families who are vulnerable economically or women who've lost their husbands. We have done three distributions of non-food items, such as water filters, cooking utensils and hygiene bags. We are currently running a women's literacy program through a local partner. In addition to learning to read and write Arabic and learning basic mathematics, the women are also exposed to workshops on first aid, women's health issues, women's rights, etc. It is very exciting. We are also working with youth to explore alternatives to violence. I am really enjoying being in Baghdad and my work here. I love the heat, although I may be the only one. We moved into a new office, which is beautiful and I love, love, love my room. It has windows, which is very exciting!

On June 30th, the US troops pulled out of major cities and into their posts. The cities were handed over to Iraqi Army and Police. Baghdad was in celebration for several days and the police vehicles were decorated for the occasion. There were a few extra security incidents in the city leading up to the handover, but things have been relatively calm since. While we are cautious and travel carefully, I feel safe here and am very fond of Baghdad. I love our staff. They are great people and we have a lot of fun together and we all work hard together.

The duststorms have been pretty bad in June and July. Sometimes the dust gets so bad you can barely see. It's looks a lot like a very foggy day, only it's a very fine dust in the air, like baby powder or something. Sometimes it's white, sometimes it's orange. Not long ago we had a bad orange duststorm for two or three days in a row. The windows were glowing orange where the sun reflected off the orange dust. This photo was taken during the day...not at sunset....just keep that in mind. It's pretty amazing. I have never seen anything like it. Planes are grounded during these duststorms and no one can get in or out. When you go outside, it's a little hard to breathe. I started caughing after just a few minutes outside. A colleague went outside in dress shoes for about two minutes and came in looking like he drug his shoes in the sand.

There is a kitten hanging around the house, so of course I give her a little food now and then. I sometimes heat up some milk and have taken to petting her. She's pretty cute! When we first got here she was all skinny and pathetic looking and didn't have a lot of energy. We named her Meskina, which means "poor thing" in Arabic. She's perked up quite a bit with the food, milk, and loving she gets. The expats feed her, the watchmen feed her, the landlady feeds her. She's a happy fat cat now. How cute is she??

Well, I suppose that is about it. I have just been work, work, working. The handover was interesting and the duststorms have been an incredible thing to see. Other than that....not much to tell. Please keep in touch. Don't forget....I love hearing what's going on with you too! This way, when I get back home, people don't say, "Haven't you heard this story? Where have you been?" : )

Lots of Love and Misses!! Jill