24 Oct 10 Mosul - 'Drug Deals', GO1 Violations and Chai!

24 Oct 10 Mosul - 'Drug Deals', GO1 Violations and Chai!

 

The computers we work with get terrible dusty due to the conditions here in Iraq and I suggested that they get cleaned.   Unfortunately in Iraq, there's quite a bit of 'that's not my job' attitude I was the unlucky stiff who got to travel.  I'm at Mosul and have done what I can here and am now trying to get to Irbil.  Irbil bills itself as the world oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.  (around 5,000 years) It's only 50 miles away but getting there has been very difficult. 

So for the time being I've been stuck at Mosul for 4 days now.  Mosul is in Kurdish land, not Arab and there's a difference.  Also since Mosul is farther away from Baghdad (the flagpole) there are different ways of getting things done here.  In short, if you need something you make a 'drug deal' (aka trade this is unofficial) and things happen.  Need a container of parts?  Call up a 'friend', who'll put you in touch with a 'friend' and wham a box shows up.  No paperwork needed.  Also, it's much more relaxed here and alcohol is legal in Iraq but not on a military base.  But after the week is over (which it really never is) you might want to wind down with a gin and tonic or maybe a Jack and coke.  Pick your poison, it's there and very much on the DL.

There are also a few Iraqi restaurants on base.  I went to one when I was here last year that evidently is no-more as it was burned to the ground (supposedly a turf battle).  The drink of choice is chai which is simply a strong tea with LOTS of sugar (lots of sugar!)  We then ate lamb and kabobs (didn't get sick) and played dominoes which is very popular here in Iraq.  Chai is served in small glasses (just like the pic).

Hopefully I'll get to Irbil within a day or so.

R/Chris

 

 

 

 

 

It’s October in Iraq and the days are still over 100F. (yes, I'll try to post more often - how else would anyone know I'm alive?)

It's October in Iraq and the days are still over 100F. 

I came in to work this morning and there was an email to immediately remove a few people's access from the work order maintenance program that I support.  I knew this email ahead of time as I did some customer visits around 6 PM last night and the event that led to this had only occurred an hour or so before that.  It seems that a few employees had gotten off work on Saturday night and decided to celebrate another week gone by whooping it up and having a few drinks (of vodka).  Evidently they were being too boisterous and the neighbor called the police (military MPs who are generally pretty cool) came by and asked the couple to keep it down but by then they noticed the booze.  So one thing led to another and well, General Order 1A says no alcohol due to 'host nation sensitivities' (and no, NATO countries don't adhere to such a rule over here) and the two spent today packing and will be gone tomorrow.  The kicker is that it was a man and woman who got busted and the guy is married AND is wife works here as well! (she was not busted, but rather another woman)  I suppose when it rains it pours.

Speaking of rain, it did try to rain at JBB last night.  There were obvious dried raindrops on car windshields this morning. 

R/Chris