I thought that I knew about heat having grown up in the sweltering, wet heat of the deep South, but I was WRONG! Here in Iraq, as summer gets into full-swing I am truly coming to understsand HEAT. It was well over 40 degrees centigrade in the shade today, with temperatures closer to 52 C in the sun. It actually burns your skin...when you walk out in the sun it feels like needles. And dehydration sets in with almost no warning...one minute you are fine and the next you feel faint (they do a good job out here of keeping water always at arms length and shade in abundance to help you escape the furnace easily enough, but still there are casualties). Today also the wind is just intense...we are on standby due to it , again. Probably blowing close to forty knots out there...sand and dust get everywhere. I am currently developing a nice little dune just inside the door of my sleeper...the fine sand comes in through even the smallest chink in the seal.
So, I went out into the field the last couple of days, and my initial impressions about this part of Iraq continue to be reinforced...it is so desolate, post-apocalyptic even (which given the troubled history of this area over the last forty years or so, I suppose it may actually be). We travelled the whole of the prospect today and took a close look at some of the conflict areas that we are fixing to go into to shoot. To be honest, it is hard to understand what the problem is...the desert all looks the same. It is strange that on one side of the levee it is no problem but on the other it is. They are now talking about adding back other problem spots too...ugh. I am pretty ready for life on the other side of Iraq, but it is starting to look like I will never leave this country.
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| Flooding in the prospect with a derrick in the background |
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| This is the Mosque of a tiny village inside of the prospect |
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| Typical landscape for this part of Iraq |
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| Again, this is typical of the area |
On a brighter note, we did get to visit briefly a couple of the little villages up near the Euphrates River today...suddenly it is like being transported back in time. You can actually see up there why this area was once known as "the Fertile Crescent". There were palm trees and growing things and wild life in abundance. The people up there even seem to smile and wave more. I tried to get a lot of pictures, but I haven't yet really scanned through to see how many turned out okay. We aren't allowed to stop or get out of the vehicles very often, so you typically have to take your chances from a moving truck on abysmally bad roads. Not a great platform from which to take wonderful photos, sadly. I will include a few of the better images so that you all can share in my wonder and excitement at discovering a bit of greenery in this dusty world.
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| What?! Water and trees! |
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| This was right next to a little village...the canals run from the Euphrates River |
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| Sort of pictureque even...am I still in Iraq? |
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| Wait...razorwire...yes, still in Iraq. |
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| Basically the same picture as above but don't you guys like seeing me? |
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| Kids and water buffalo...there are LOTS of water buffalo around this village |
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| A whole herd of water buffalo and their owner... |
So, I am really getting excited to be heading home to vacation...I am a man in need of one! I have been at work for almost five weeks already, and I still have a couple more to go. Spirits are quite high, mind you, but I definitely am ready to see my kids and have some real R&R. There is so much that I want to do in Houston and on vacation, but I have now been informed that I am going to be on short break again...I will be back out at the very beginning of August. Further, I am informed that I likely will "just stay until the survey is complete", which at this point seems to be anyone's guess...could be four more weeks, six, ten...who knows? I guess that this is the seismic life...I am not all that upset about it except that I have a training class in mid-September, and I do have a family back home that I want to see and spend time with as well. With the two-week training class my next break is looking to be short again...accruing all of these "plus" days isn't worthwhile if I never get to spend any of them.
Well, I guess I need to stop bitching about it anyway...I love my job, for all of my complaining. I am excited to be here in a weird way...the work and life is very challenging but quite interesting as well. I do sincerely hope that the schedule normalizes a bit so that I can get one more actual vacation in before the end of the year...Napa Valley is looking a bit like the promised land. I haven't been there in forever, and I wasn't in the financial state to really enjoy it the last time, so I am excited to do it all again as an adult with some means behind me. Like so many plans hatched in Iraq though it won't happen if I don't make it happen. As soon as I can find some guaranteed off days in the States, which include enough buffer to really spend some quality time with the kids, I will put it on the books with reservations and financial commitments to ensure that this trip, at least, actually takes place.
That's about all that I have for today...have a great weekend, world!
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