Mosul, Iraq

Has it really been one month since my last post? Since this doesn't bode well for my book deal (haha), I suppose it is time for an update.

I will start from my last post, because I promised you all pictures. Like I said before, we flew out of Georgia into Bangor, Maine then on to Germany. We got fed just about every ten minutes it seems, but the food barely ranked above an MRE.

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However, there are not too many ways you can ruin a Little Debbie snack, so I didn't complain. Also, on this flight, the attendants walked around offering hot/cold towels every ten or so minutes. Had I known what military-ran flights awaited me, I would have enjoyed this more.

We landed in Leipzig, Germany a short 6 or so hours later.  They cleared out a section of the airport for us to relax in, use computers, and make phone calls (if you could figure out the stupid German pay phones...we could not).

The airport at Germany. There were two giftshops for us to go into. One was like a 7-11 in that they had a whole section with hot dogs and fountain drinks. Although we were not hungry in the least bit, we couldn't resist this local "treat"....

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Alright, so it actually wasn't good at all, but it was only one and half dollars, and we got a drink... And this picture. So... money well spent.

Josh kept saying, "smile for real, smile for real". And I kept replying, "I'm pretty sure I am!" I guess I wasn't. Oh well, how happy are you supposed to be after 24 hours of no sleep and a transatlantic flight?

We landed in Kuwait four hours later, and although we then had to take a convoy from the airport to the Air Base, Ali Al Salem. I was most nervous for any convoys, but honestly I was so tired that I didn't even register that it might be dangerous. Alas, we arrived at Ali completely safe.

Like I said in my previous post, once we got to Ali it was late, but we weren't tired, so we just walked around. (Also they don't give you bedsheets, and sleeping on a plastic mattress in 120 degree heat proves to be one of the hardest things I have tried to do.) This is a view of the McDonalds at the fast food court.

And of course, you can't not take a picture with Ronald, especially if you find him in Kuwait.

Ali was pretty disgusting, so Josh and I couldn't wait to get on our flight out. We waited two nights in Kuwait, and finally got manifested on a flight to Balad, Iraq. I was very excited to leave Kuwait, but then again I was pretty naive, because I had never been on a military flight before.

This is the morning of our flight out at Ali al Salem. Yes, we had to wear our vests on our flight, which only added (50 pounds) to the 120+ degree heat. We all loaded onto a cargo plane, and proceeded to sit for over an hour. This was miserable. We were strapped in, with our vests on, in a tiny metal tube sitting in the sun, with absolutely NO circulating air. After a 45 minute plane ride, we arrived in Balad, and thankfully, got off the plane. That was my favorite part of the day.

Balad was... wonderful. I really enjoyed it there. It is a rather big base, with two DFAC's, two shopping centers, paved roads... and I got a wet CHU (a housing unit with plumbing!) my first day there.

My room was the "Cadillac" of military housing, and really, exactly like a college dorm, so I didn't have anything to complain about. Josh, however, stayed in a room exactly like you would expect...

He shared a room with 20 other people, and got one itty bitty locker to put his stuff in. All I can say it.... it's good to be a girl on a military base... haha.

Balad isn't near as hot as Kuwait, but still extremely uncomfortable, so Josh and I once again did our site seeing after sundown.

This was at sunset, about six thirty at night. You can barely see the sun most of the time because of all of the sand in the air. The sky is barely ever blue, and because of the sand, eveything has a yellow-y/orangey hue to it.

Since most of the military bases in Iraq were overtaken from the Iraqi Army, a lot of the structures were built under Saddam's regime. This is Josh and I standing in front of a bunker. There are a lot of these on base, and although they are not being used, they are all left standing.

This is the food court at Balad. It has a Pizza Hut, Cinnabon, Taco Bell, Burger King, KFC, Popeye's... more than the Rivertown Mall. Josh and I ate here one night, but only because we got out of work too late to go to the DFAC. It is very overpriced- we paid 15 dollars for a 10 inch pepperoni pizza. And with weekly surf and turf night (yes, real steaks and lobster tails!!!) at the DFAC, I don't know why you would ever want fast food.

Josh in my room in Balad.

This is the outside of the CHU's that I stayed in. Yes, it is just two shipping containers stacked on top of each other.

Now we are in Mosul, Iraq. Although we don't have paved roads, the weather is on average 20 degrees cooler than Balad. This is where we'll call home for the next year. More to come...

Keep praying.