Pacha, Eastern Toilets, and Other Ramblings

Still here in Taji waiting for a flight back to Warrior. Really looking forward to seeing my platoon again, but I'm counting down the days to R&R as well. It will be good to get home for a while before I come back and take the MiTT team. This course has been very interesting, and the experiences have been quite unique. I've tried things I didn't ever think about trying before. I've had about 8 different Iraqi dishes now. I've gotten myself hooked on this chewing gum that tastes like the Pine Tea I used to make in the field. Its an unusual but interesting flavor I can't get enough of. I'm trying to get my interpreters to get me some more for me when I get back to Warrior. I only have 7 pieces left. Cuzi, which is stuffed lamb with rice and a tomato and bread soup, is my favorite so far. The kebabs are also very good. Baklawa is about as good as it gets, although I prefer it from the Kirkuk area over the Baghdad area. The ingredients are richer and more flavorful. As you all know, I love cheese. Baladi cheese, Geimar, and Labaneh are all wonderful, with Baladi being my favorite. Pasha is a delicacy here in Iraq. It is made from the head and innards of a sheep or goat. Yeah, never thought I'd try it. Turns out its not so bad. Eastern toilets... pretty much a hole in the ground. They flush here, so it could be worse. Pretty much you pray you don't fall into your own, takes a little balance. Not great for slick floors. Can't wait to get back to the Western flush toilets of Warrior. Chai Tea here on the Iraqi post has been the closest thing to back home that I've had since I've deployed. Reminds me of the tea we have back at home right before it gets put in the fridge. So much sugar that it barely dissolves it all. Consequently, when added to their chain smoking habits, Iraqi's have a high rate of diabetes and heart disease. Learning the language has been hard, but I'm slowly progressing. It is going to take a lot of practice for me to be able to speak it well. I am getting pretty good at reading it though, and writing it has proved easy for me, although proper spelling is a bit harder. Still learning when to place the dashes and squiggles and dots that make words sound different. After talking with the COL, I found out there is a logistics course later on this spring that I should try to come back for. I'll have to talk to the commander about it upon my return. In other news, I'm turning into a gearhead. The more I read and learn the more I want to work on cars, even if just as a hobby. I'm trying to start a project truck when I get back to the states, I've already got lots of plans. It'll give me plenty to do in El Paso on those days when I don't really feel like wandering around aimlessly at Walmart or driving in heavy traffic. I'm not a huge fan of big city traffic, or big cities for that matter, but El Paso could certainly be worse. I'm planning on taking advantage of the things outside of El Paso as well... there's mountains and cooler weather just 2 and a half hours away, and plenty of weekends to make the best of Fort Bliss. However, having a hobby and a project like the truck will keep me busy and active back in the States where the op tempo will be drastically slower than it is right now for me. As long as I've got something dependable to get me from work and back (and of course walmart and back) the project has no limits. Its really whatever I want it to be. I realize its delayed gratification... it'll probably take me 5-7 years to finish it, but in the end it'll be worth it to me. So...here's the outlook for leave, best as I have it. I'm coming home, sometime... probably spending a couple days in GA followed by a train ride home to NC, spending some time with family with maybe a vacation somewhere in the middle. All in all its about 2 weeks. Not sure exactly when though. I'll get there when I get there. Wish I could tell you more, but "I got nothin'." Well, guess its about time for me to go sit around and wait a little longer, maybe read a little more. Will write again when I can.