I've been on R&R (Rest and Relaxation) from 20 -30 April. Unfortunately it takes a day to just get out of Iraq and then one spends anther day in Kuwait before one generally catches a flight going west. All flights (generally) going to Europe from Kuwait leave at 1-2 AM in the morning. The flight is about 6 hours or so. It also takes several days just getting back into Iraq. Sometimes you must go through Baghdad, sometimes you don't. It just depends. Needless to say, traveling to anywhere further west than Europe is exhausting. I went to Seatle and did some stuff but mostly recoved from the flight.


Once recovered, I did what socializing I could do and got ready to return to Iraq. It was good to be back in Seattle but I felt a bit out of place just doing nothing at times. The job is here in Iraq and I 'my purpose' is here in Iraq. I also sneeze quite a bit in Seattle but I have no problems in Iraq. It seems that all that depleted uranium dust really agrees with my sinuses.







Iraq is in summer already. At night it cools down to the low 80s and during the day it's over 100. This creates some sand storms and here are a few pics of a sandstorm from yesterday. Sandstorms are like a huge blog on the horizon as they approach and it's not windy outside the storm but once enveloped, it's dust and sand everywhere and then you run for cover.