Saturday, August 4, 2007
My blog is moving
Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my blog and thanks especially to those who left comments. I will continue to post on this blog every once in a while when , but I will mostly be posting on a blog connected to the FresnoBee.com web site. Check out my new blog and feel free to post your comments there, too. Thanks!
Friday, August 3, 2007
in Baghdad
I made it. And now I'm exhausted, or maybe just drowsy with the sudafed I've been popping for the last few days (still feeling sick). There's so much new stuff to take in at once. It's overwhelming, in a sense. The people. The culture. The food. The living situation. The tight security. The news environment. The stories. I consider myself someone who adapts relatively easily to new environments, but this is crazy. I would feel much better if I had a week to sort of get a feel for what is going on. But no such luxury.
The people here are very nice, though, and the hotel room is small, but not too bad. I'll write more soon.
The people here are very nice, though, and the hotel room is small, but not too bad. I'll write more soon.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Shootings in the streets... and STILL not in Baghdad
Hi Mom, don't read this.
Everyone else, here's how my 40-hour day has been going so far:
I woke up at 6 a.m. in DC, got a cab to the airport, flew out by 8:30, landed in Detroit, then had exactly one hour and seven minutes to scramble out of security, grab a shuttle to another terminal, go to the international ticket counter to get my passport checked and pick up by ticket to Jordan, run through security again and find my gate. I boarded on time... but not without clear divine intervention.
The flight was 11+ hours, but it went smoothly despite the fact I got very congested and felt blah-ish the night before (still recovering... hitting up the sudafed and ibuprofen). I sat next to a 25-yr-old University of Michican chemistry student who was born in Iraq and was on his way to visit family in Najaf, Iraq for a month. He was a pretty nice guy... and he also was trying to figure out whether while he's in Iraq he should become engaged to this high school graduate who he had only met a couple times before. I told him not to rush it.
I got in to the Amman airport at 5:50 a.m. local time, which meant I had an entire day ahead of me. I was completely exhausted. Some travel agency folks whisked me through the visa process and I arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman a half hour later. It's the fanciest hotel in town. The bathroom is about as big as my room back home. I'll post photos later. It's swank.
After taking a three-hour nap, I grabbed some ground lamb in pita bread at the hotel restaurant and then hit the town. I had only a vague idea of what I was doing... I thought: Here I am, in the middle of the Middle East (a region I've never been before), in a city I know little about and amongst a culture I'm slowly becoming familiar with. When do I get my own reality TV show?
The mode of transportation in Amman is taxi. Unless you're dirt poor (as many here are) -- then you use run-down, decrepit public busses (which look more like large vans. Thankfully taxis are cheap here.
I hit up the Mecca Mall, which lives up to its name. It was the Westernized center of Amman... tons of cell phone shops, lots of American restaurants, and Play Stations everywhere (though overpriced... as was everything: A Tommy Hillfigure shirt -- $126). I bought a DVD recorder the Baghdad bureau needs. Besides that, I kept my wallet sealed.
Then I taxi-ed over to the Citadel, an area in the middle of the city with Roman Empire-like ruins from teh 8th century. My taxi driver didn't speak English, so he kept pulling over to the side of road -- bringing traffic behind him to a grinding halt -- and asking random strangers how to get to where I wanted to go. The traffic there is insane. No one uses turn signals, all the lane marker lines are faded, and people are constantly running across the middle of the road.
The Citadel, however, was pretty amazing. I'll post pics soon. There I met an American and his son and his brother-in-law. The American, Tom, had been living in Amman for about a year. We ended up touring the ruins together, and then catching a cab together. I was going to go to some downtown shops and they were heading to dinner. But the cab stopped when the road we were going to travel on was blocked off by dozens of soldiers who were monitoring a rally off in the distance that had something to do with the local elections that day. We ended up getting out of the cab and walking down a street lined with small hole-in-wall, run-down shops. We stopped at a restaurant. Tom suggested that I don't eat any of the vegetables. I agreed. The dining experience was bizarre, yet awesome -- it was just what I was hoping for: Not the touristy stuff, but the greasy place where locals hang out in the not-so-rich hoods. And the food was great (the cooked parts were... we didn't eat anything not cooked).
As we walked out, six tanks sped toward us from out of nowhere and abruptly turned a U. I was about to take a picture, but Tom suggested I not get shot. As we continued walking, we noticed that everyone was closing up their shops even though it was only 7 p.m. Not normal, Tom said. It was like the weird calm you feel in the air before a storm. "By all rights, we shouldn't be here," Tom told me. A few minutes later, we decided to turn around and we walked back the way we came. After we got a few blocks away from the hub-bub, we heard the distinct sound of a machine gun in -- coming from where we had just been. Soon we found a taxi and drove off. My nerves were a bit rattled.
With how crazy the last two days have been, I can't wait to get to Baghdad tomorrow for some peace and quiet.
Everyone else, here's how my 40-hour day has been going so far:
I woke up at 6 a.m. in DC, got a cab to the airport, flew out by 8:30, landed in Detroit, then had exactly one hour and seven minutes to scramble out of security, grab a shuttle to another terminal, go to the international ticket counter to get my passport checked and pick up by ticket to Jordan, run through security again and find my gate. I boarded on time... but not without clear divine intervention.
The flight was 11+ hours, but it went smoothly despite the fact I got very congested and felt blah-ish the night before (still recovering... hitting up the sudafed and ibuprofen). I sat next to a 25-yr-old University of Michican chemistry student who was born in Iraq and was on his way to visit family in Najaf, Iraq for a month. He was a pretty nice guy... and he also was trying to figure out whether while he's in Iraq he should become engaged to this high school graduate who he had only met a couple times before. I told him not to rush it.
I got in to the Amman airport at 5:50 a.m. local time, which meant I had an entire day ahead of me. I was completely exhausted. Some travel agency folks whisked me through the visa process and I arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman a half hour later. It's the fanciest hotel in town. The bathroom is about as big as my room back home. I'll post photos later. It's swank.
After taking a three-hour nap, I grabbed some ground lamb in pita bread at the hotel restaurant and then hit the town. I had only a vague idea of what I was doing... I thought: Here I am, in the middle of the Middle East (a region I've never been before), in a city I know little about and amongst a culture I'm slowly becoming familiar with. When do I get my own reality TV show?
The mode of transportation in Amman is taxi. Unless you're dirt poor (as many here are) -- then you use run-down, decrepit public busses (which look more like large vans. Thankfully taxis are cheap here.
I hit up the Mecca Mall, which lives up to its name. It was the Westernized center of Amman... tons of cell phone shops, lots of American restaurants, and Play Stations everywhere (though overpriced... as was everything: A Tommy Hillfigure shirt -- $126). I bought a DVD recorder the Baghdad bureau needs. Besides that, I kept my wallet sealed.
Then I taxi-ed over to the Citadel, an area in the middle of the city with Roman Empire-like ruins from teh 8th century. My taxi driver didn't speak English, so he kept pulling over to the side of road -- bringing traffic behind him to a grinding halt -- and asking random strangers how to get to where I wanted to go. The traffic there is insane. No one uses turn signals, all the lane marker lines are faded, and people are constantly running across the middle of the road.
The Citadel, however, was pretty amazing. I'll post pics soon. There I met an American and his son and his brother-in-law. The American, Tom, had been living in Amman for about a year. We ended up touring the ruins together, and then catching a cab together. I was going to go to some downtown shops and they were heading to dinner. But the cab stopped when the road we were going to travel on was blocked off by dozens of soldiers who were monitoring a rally off in the distance that had something to do with the local elections that day. We ended up getting out of the cab and walking down a street lined with small hole-in-wall, run-down shops. We stopped at a restaurant. Tom suggested that I don't eat any of the vegetables. I agreed. The dining experience was bizarre, yet awesome -- it was just what I was hoping for: Not the touristy stuff, but the greasy place where locals hang out in the not-so-rich hoods. And the food was great (the cooked parts were... we didn't eat anything not cooked).
As we walked out, six tanks sped toward us from out of nowhere and abruptly turned a U. I was about to take a picture, but Tom suggested I not get shot. As we continued walking, we noticed that everyone was closing up their shops even though it was only 7 p.m. Not normal, Tom said. It was like the weird calm you feel in the air before a storm. "By all rights, we shouldn't be here," Tom told me. A few minutes later, we decided to turn around and we walked back the way we came. After we got a few blocks away from the hub-bub, we heard the distinct sound of a machine gun in -- coming from where we had just been. Soon we found a taxi and drove off. My nerves were a bit rattled.
With how crazy the last two days have been, I can't wait to get to Baghdad tomorrow for some peace and quiet.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Tired, feeling sick, overwhelmed... and I haven't even left the U.S.
I flew into DC last night and got into my hotel near midnight. Today was just as tiring.
I visited the McClatchy DC bureau for the first time today and met some of the editors. While I was there, I found myself shopping in Macy's and Radioshack (the only stores around the downtown DC area I was in) at the last second to try and find items I didn't know until today that I needed. Didn't have much luck... In the end, I spent much of the day going up and down the 10 stories to the office and walking around the blocks trying to buy things for my own trip and also items that the Baghdad folks had requested from the DC folks . Tiring. Also, I feel like I'm coming down with something.
Despite the craziness, I'm feeling OK. I'm still excited about the trip. In the last few weeks, I feel like I've come to know the Iraqi people in a small way just by paying more attention to news stories and, I guess, dwelling on the fact that I'll be in their country soon. I wish I had been there yesterday when they won the Asian Cup. What an amazing feat. And it shows just how desperately the people want to have a united country and a sense of pride in being Iraqi.
As a side note, I happened to switch on CNN's Wolf Blitzer (who if you ever meet him you will know stands about two feet shorter than he appears on TV), and he had a scholar from the left-leaning Brookings Institute on talking about his recent trip to Iraq and his article in today's NYT that says that "things look much better than before" in Iraq than late 2005, when the op-ed writer took his last tour of the country. That analysis is sure to be controversial, coming from someone and an organization that hasn't always set an upbeat tone about the war.
I want to go in there with an open mind. I feel I'm somewhat aware of the reality (without having been there yet), but obviously hope for the best.
Tomorrow, I will fly to Detroit, wait an hour, then haul it 12 hours to Amman. Because I will be flying forward in time, I will arrive in Amman in the morning the next day, even though I'll have left DC in the morning. So tomorrow will be the longest day of my life. Literally.
In Amman, I will chill out for a day, and then fly into Baghdad. Pray for me.
I visited the McClatchy DC bureau for the first time today and met some of the editors. While I was there, I found myself shopping in Macy's and Radioshack (the only stores around the downtown DC area I was in) at the last second to try and find items I didn't know until today that I needed. Didn't have much luck... In the end, I spent much of the day going up and down the 10 stories to the office and walking around the blocks trying to buy things for my own trip and also items that the Baghdad folks had requested from the DC folks . Tiring. Also, I feel like I'm coming down with something.
Despite the craziness, I'm feeling OK. I'm still excited about the trip. In the last few weeks, I feel like I've come to know the Iraqi people in a small way just by paying more attention to news stories and, I guess, dwelling on the fact that I'll be in their country soon. I wish I had been there yesterday when they won the Asian Cup. What an amazing feat. And it shows just how desperately the people want to have a united country and a sense of pride in being Iraqi.
As a side note, I happened to switch on CNN's Wolf Blitzer (who if you ever meet him you will know stands about two feet shorter than he appears on TV), and he had a scholar from the left-leaning Brookings Institute on talking about his recent trip to Iraq and his article in today's NYT that says that "things look much better than before" in Iraq than late 2005, when the op-ed writer took his last tour of the country. That analysis is sure to be controversial, coming from someone and an organization that hasn't always set an upbeat tone about the war.
I want to go in there with an open mind. I feel I'm somewhat aware of the reality (without having been there yet), but obviously hope for the best.
Tomorrow, I will fly to Detroit, wait an hour, then haul it 12 hours to Amman. Because I will be flying forward in time, I will arrive in Amman in the morning the next day, even though I'll have left DC in the morning. So tomorrow will be the longest day of my life. Literally.
In Amman, I will chill out for a day, and then fly into Baghdad. Pray for me.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Colbert speaks for... all of America?
I happened to catch part of the alter-ego-of-Bill-O'Reilly show tonight. He went off on how the media's job of reporting on Iraq is too "easy" -- all you do is plug in a death toll and throw in some background, was his point, I guess. I don't blame him, in some ways, since it's easy to become apathetic or even tired of hearing about the violence in a country far, far away. But at the same time, what he said obviously hit me in a very personal way. I wonder how my articles will be perceived or read. Will they just be formulaic and mundane -- and even if they are not, will people simply gloss over the headline and not read the story?
I guess I'd be naive to think that it wouldn't be the case for at least a good chunk of readers. Before finding out I was going to Iraq, I paid a decent amount of attention to what was going on over there, but there were definitely times when I simply didn't feel like reading about the latest bombing. So how can I blame others... or Colbert?
This all leads to the question: What, if anything, can I do in my stories to bring to life the significance, or, perhaps more importantly, the anecdotal, real life experience that Iraqis endure? It'll be a thought I'll be mulling arond in my head.
I guess I'd be naive to think that it wouldn't be the case for at least a good chunk of readers. Before finding out I was going to Iraq, I paid a decent amount of attention to what was going on over there, but there were definitely times when I simply didn't feel like reading about the latest bombing. So how can I blame others... or Colbert?
This all leads to the question: What, if anything, can I do in my stories to bring to life the significance, or, perhaps more importantly, the anecdotal, real life experience that Iraqis endure? It'll be a thought I'll be mulling arond in my head.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Baghdad Beard
During my week of vacation, I started growing a beard in the hopes that it will help me blend in with society in Iraq a little better... but I'm not sure if it's turning out the way I had hoped. It's pretty reddish, which gives away my Dad's Irish background, and isn't necessarily a middle eastern look. Should it stay or go?
Friday, July 20, 2007
back home, eating salt
This week I've been on vacation with the fam. We hung out in Seaside, Oregon, and did some boogey-boarding and body surfing... both of which involve eating salty sea water in involuntarily large amounts. Tomorrow, I go paint-balling with my my younger brother and his teenage friends for his birthday. Is this really a vacation?
I'm reading Rajiv Chandrasekaran's "Imperial Life in the Emerald City" after getting almost half-way through the 600-page tome "Cobra II" (I got to the end of the pre-war politics and more into the logistics of the battles... interesting stuff, but I'll read it later). Rajiv's book is pretty interesting, but a little more pointed than Cobra II, which has the feel of a fascinating history book. In "Imperial Life" there is the story of a 24-year-old who had no training in economics but was given one month to prepare for a trip to Iraq and then, when he got there, was told he was in charge of restarting the Baghdad Stock Exchange. As you may expect, the guy was bewildered at how quickly he got shipped off to Iraq and at what an awesome responsibility he was given. As I read about this guy's experience, I found myself easily empathizing with him. Hey, that's how I feel, I thought. But I guess that's Iraq.
This next week will be busy. I'll be doing a lot of prepping for leaving to Iraq, and prepping for leaving my job for two months. Pray it goes smoothly.
I'm reading Rajiv Chandrasekaran's "Imperial Life in the Emerald City" after getting almost half-way through the 600-page tome "Cobra II" (I got to the end of the pre-war politics and more into the logistics of the battles... interesting stuff, but I'll read it later). Rajiv's book is pretty interesting, but a little more pointed than Cobra II, which has the feel of a fascinating history book. In "Imperial Life" there is the story of a 24-year-old who had no training in economics but was given one month to prepare for a trip to Iraq and then, when he got there, was told he was in charge of restarting the Baghdad Stock Exchange. As you may expect, the guy was bewildered at how quickly he got shipped off to Iraq and at what an awesome responsibility he was given. As I read about this guy's experience, I found myself easily empathizing with him. Hey, that's how I feel, I thought. But I guess that's Iraq.
This next week will be busy. I'll be doing a lot of prepping for leaving to Iraq, and prepping for leaving my job for two months. Pray it goes smoothly.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Mines, snipers, IEDs, mortars, and ... badgers
What will they think of next?
The dangers are clear, folks. I think this is the last straw. I'm staying in my hotel and never sticking my head out. And I'll probably set up some large rodent traps in the hallway, just in case.
"Giant 'corpse-eating' badgers terrorise Iraqi city": (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22056697-2,00.html?from=mostpop)
The dangers are clear, folks. I think this is the last straw. I'm staying in my hotel and never sticking my head out. And I'll probably set up some large rodent traps in the hallway, just in case.
"Giant 'corpse-eating' badgers terrorise Iraqi city": (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22056697-2,00.html?from=mostpop)
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Report the good news!
Maybe it's just because I'm living in the conservative Central Valley, but it seems that many who hear that I'm going to Iraq tell me something like: "Good, go report the good news. All the media focusses on is the bad news."
Of course, any good journalist's gut reaction to that statement is: How about I report whatever news is going on, good or bad?
Although I hope to find encouraging stories during my time in Iraq, I can almost guarantee that the majority of them will not be rosy. Part of the problem is that the bad news vastly overshadows the good news. Anyone who reads McClatchy's daily violence report gets a sampling of just how much bad news is out there. Although the two countries obviously can't be compared, the crimes committed in Iraq that amount to only one-sentence blurbs would be headline-grabbing stories if they were committed in the states. And these crimes are committed on a daily basis.
For example, take yesterday's violence report (read it regularly at http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/). By themselves, the incidents could be explained away as just the things that happen in a big city that is suffering from sectarian killings. But taken together, and compounded every day, they paint a frustrating picture.
---
Baghdad
- Three civilians were killed and four others wounded in a parked car bomb explosion near Al Hurriyah square in Karrada Kharij neighborhood (Karrada out) downtown Baghdad at 10:34 a.m.
- Ten civilians were injured in a parked car bomb explosion near Ali Al Lami restaurant in Jadriyah neighborhood downtown Baghdad around 10:35 a.m.
- Gunmen assassinated a high ranking officer working for the Ministry of Defense. Col. Jawad Kadhim was assassinated near the building of the Ministry of Finance in Waziriyah neighborhood east Baghdad early morning Sunday.
- Three policemen working for the Ministry of Electricity were killed by gunmen in Waziriyah neighborhood east Baghdad around 11:30 a.m.
- Gunmen broke in the house of a four-member family in Ghazaliyah neighborhood west Baghdad and took them in a car then killed them few meters away from their house. The incident happened around 1:00 p.m.
- Around 2:00 p.m., gunmen broke into a house in Al Jami’aa neighborhood west Baghdad killing the father and injuring his two daughters.
- 10 volunteers were killed and 30 others injured when a suicide truck bomb broke in a volunteering center in Al Haswa neighborhood west of Baghdad around 2:00 p.m.
- Twenty-nine bodies were found in Baghdad Sunday. Seventeen bodies were found in Karkh, the western side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (seven bodies in Al mail, four bodies in Al bayaa, three bodies in Saidiyah, two bodies in Doura and one body in Ghazaliyah). Twelve bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (four bodies in Adhemiyah, three bodies in Sleikh, three bodies in Ur and two bodies in Baghdad Al Jadida).
Diyala
- Two gunmen were injured and captured by the Iraqi security forces in clashes in Al Mualimeen and Salama neighborhoods in Miqdadiyah town northeast Baquba early Sunday morning.
- The morgue of Baquba public hospital received Sunday the bodies of five civilians, which were evacuated from Buhruz town 5 kms south of Baquba. The hospital also received 25 injured civilians from the same town. A security source said that gunmen attacked the town with mortar shells early morning today.
- Secuirty forces in Khalis town north of Baquba city said that two civilians from one family were killed and another seven wounded when gunmen attacked the town with mortar shells Sunday morning.
Kirkuk
- Gunmen attacked the building of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party (PUK) in Al Uroba neighborhood south Kirkuk Saturday night. The guards of the building responded to the fire killing one of the gunmen, police said.
- Police patrols found two unidentified bodies Sunday in Domeez neighborhood south Kirkuk.
----
Of course, any good journalist's gut reaction to that statement is: How about I report whatever news is going on, good or bad?
Although I hope to find encouraging stories during my time in Iraq, I can almost guarantee that the majority of them will not be rosy. Part of the problem is that the bad news vastly overshadows the good news. Anyone who reads McClatchy's daily violence report gets a sampling of just how much bad news is out there. Although the two countries obviously can't be compared, the crimes committed in Iraq that amount to only one-sentence blurbs would be headline-grabbing stories if they were committed in the states. And these crimes are committed on a daily basis.
For example, take yesterday's violence report (read it regularly at http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/). By themselves, the incidents could be explained away as just the things that happen in a big city that is suffering from sectarian killings. But taken together, and compounded every day, they paint a frustrating picture.
---
Baghdad
- Three civilians were killed and four others wounded in a parked car bomb explosion near Al Hurriyah square in Karrada Kharij neighborhood (Karrada out) downtown Baghdad at 10:34 a.m.
- Ten civilians were injured in a parked car bomb explosion near Ali Al Lami restaurant in Jadriyah neighborhood downtown Baghdad around 10:35 a.m.
- Gunmen assassinated a high ranking officer working for the Ministry of Defense. Col. Jawad Kadhim was assassinated near the building of the Ministry of Finance in Waziriyah neighborhood east Baghdad early morning Sunday.
- Three policemen working for the Ministry of Electricity were killed by gunmen in Waziriyah neighborhood east Baghdad around 11:30 a.m.
- Gunmen broke in the house of a four-member family in Ghazaliyah neighborhood west Baghdad and took them in a car then killed them few meters away from their house. The incident happened around 1:00 p.m.
- Around 2:00 p.m., gunmen broke into a house in Al Jami’aa neighborhood west Baghdad killing the father and injuring his two daughters.
- 10 volunteers were killed and 30 others injured when a suicide truck bomb broke in a volunteering center in Al Haswa neighborhood west of Baghdad around 2:00 p.m.
- Twenty-nine bodies were found in Baghdad Sunday. Seventeen bodies were found in Karkh, the western side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (seven bodies in Al mail, four bodies in Al bayaa, three bodies in Saidiyah, two bodies in Doura and one body in Ghazaliyah). Twelve bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern side of Baghdad in the following neighborhoods (four bodies in Adhemiyah, three bodies in Sleikh, three bodies in Ur and two bodies in Baghdad Al Jadida).
Diyala
- Two gunmen were injured and captured by the Iraqi security forces in clashes in Al Mualimeen and Salama neighborhoods in Miqdadiyah town northeast Baquba early Sunday morning.
- The morgue of Baquba public hospital received Sunday the bodies of five civilians, which were evacuated from Buhruz town 5 kms south of Baquba. The hospital also received 25 injured civilians from the same town. A security source said that gunmen attacked the town with mortar shells early morning today.
- Secuirty forces in Khalis town north of Baquba city said that two civilians from one family were killed and another seven wounded when gunmen attacked the town with mortar shells Sunday morning.
Kirkuk
- Gunmen attacked the building of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party (PUK) in Al Uroba neighborhood south Kirkuk Saturday night. The guards of the building responded to the fire killing one of the gunmen, police said.
- Police patrols found two unidentified bodies Sunday in Domeez neighborhood south Kirkuk.
----
Monday, July 9, 2007
What's a few degrees?
My days in Fresno, it turns out, are simply just a warm-up for my coming days in Baghdad.
It's been hot here in the Valley. About 110 every day last week. That's slightly cooler than what Yahoo says I should expect in Baghdad ... a cool 116 or 117 on most days. I guess that's good news: If I can survive 110, what's to say 117 won't be a breeze? We'll have to see. I just hope the hotel I'll be staying in has central a/c, unlike the house I'm living in now.
It's been hot here in the Valley. About 110 every day last week. That's slightly cooler than what Yahoo says I should expect in Baghdad ... a cool 116 or 117 on most days. I guess that's good news: If I can survive 110, what's to say 117 won't be a breeze? We'll have to see. I just hope the hotel I'll be staying in has central a/c, unlike the house I'm living in now.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Why I'm going
When people ask me why I'm going to Iraq, I'm sure they usually expect a well thought-out response. But I don't have one... it's more of a hodge-podge of reasons that sort of are all mixed together.
The first reason is simple: If I'm going to do something like this, it would seem like now would be the right time in life to go for it. No mortgage, no kids, no wife, no girlfriend, no online dating prospects, nothing...
The second reason is that for the last few years I've seriously thought about going overseas. The idea of writing for an English-language paper in a non-Western country or working as a foreign correspondent has definitely appealed to me. So I guess this is an answer to prayer... which is yet another great reminder that you should always be careful about what you pray for, especially if you really mean it. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm definitely thankful. Like I've mentioned before, it's an opportunity I never thought was a possibility... but it's always too easy to forget that God doesn't think like us and doesn't get stuck on possibilities.
Coupled with this idea is also a bit of restlessness and an itch for seeing the rest of the world... I've read about it, but I really would like to live it. I don't want to go through my whole life not understanding the world. I guess if seeing more of the world is an itch, going to Baghdad is like using sandpaper to scratch it.
The third reason is that I'm curious. I'd like to see for myself what's going on Iraq. What's the reality? Is it as bad as it seems? Is there any hope? No better way of finding out than going, it seems. In fact, the reason I'm writing this blog today is because, on the anniversary of Independence Day, the question comes up: Will Iraqis be able to celebrate an independence day of their own some time in the future? If that is at all possible is of course the big question.
A friend of mine said yesterday that all my reasons sounded logical. I said: "Then how did I come up with such a crazy conclusion?"
That's a question I'll be able to answer only after years of therapy...
The first reason is simple: If I'm going to do something like this, it would seem like now would be the right time in life to go for it. No mortgage, no kids, no wife, no girlfriend, no online dating prospects, nothing...
The second reason is that for the last few years I've seriously thought about going overseas. The idea of writing for an English-language paper in a non-Western country or working as a foreign correspondent has definitely appealed to me. So I guess this is an answer to prayer... which is yet another great reminder that you should always be careful about what you pray for, especially if you really mean it. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm definitely thankful. Like I've mentioned before, it's an opportunity I never thought was a possibility... but it's always too easy to forget that God doesn't think like us and doesn't get stuck on possibilities.
Coupled with this idea is also a bit of restlessness and an itch for seeing the rest of the world... I've read about it, but I really would like to live it. I don't want to go through my whole life not understanding the world. I guess if seeing more of the world is an itch, going to Baghdad is like using sandpaper to scratch it.
The third reason is that I'm curious. I'd like to see for myself what's going on Iraq. What's the reality? Is it as bad as it seems? Is there any hope? No better way of finding out than going, it seems. In fact, the reason I'm writing this blog today is because, on the anniversary of Independence Day, the question comes up: Will Iraqis be able to celebrate an independence day of their own some time in the future? If that is at all possible is of course the big question.
A friend of mine said yesterday that all my reasons sounded logical. I said: "Then how did I come up with such a crazy conclusion?"
That's a question I'll be able to answer only after years of therapy...
Friday, June 29, 2007
Certified, but ready?
Five crazy days in Strasbourg, Va.,... and now it's over. We learned everything from first aid to how to react if abducted by gunmen to how to play English drinking games (the latter not an official part of the course).
I've spent this evening in at the Dulles Airport Marriott hotel re-hashing the week and trying to let it all soak in. I definitely feel like I need some time to de-compress.
The course wasn't physically intense, and it probably would have been just plain fascinating and fun if it wasn't for the fact that I knew I actually would be going to a place where the dangers -- riots, ambushes, IEDs, mines, checkpoints -- all exist. It was unsettling, of course, but also a good thing: I'm glad to have it all thrown in my face, to some extent, rather than to go to Iraq ignorant of its realities.
Some preconceptions I held were shattered. For example, in my mind I saw myself playing soccer with the local kids in a international pick-up game. That idea was thrown out the window. That won't be happening. Too much of a security risk.
But I also feel much more prepared: The first aid training was pretty intense -- we got a lot of classroom instruction follow by drills where we would either individually or as a group react to situations where several people are injured with chest wounds, arteries severed, impaled object, lost limbs, etc. The instructors were the casualties, and they role-played pretty well. It was actually pretty fun.
Last night the instructors -- five tattoo-happy ex-military Brits -- led the seven of us students in a series of English drinking games as we hung out at the Ramada Inn bar (my drinking was one beer... a contrast the instructors). I discovered my untapped talent: The ability to move a penny from my forehead to my mouth using just facial muscles. Impressed?
I'll be flying out of DC tomorrow back to Fresno. This week will take some time to mull over, and it prompted a good number of conversations with some of the other students who are also going to Iraq about whether we really want to do this. But I feel that after a deep breath and a little rest, I'll still feel up for it.
I've spent this evening in at the Dulles Airport Marriott hotel re-hashing the week and trying to let it all soak in. I definitely feel like I need some time to de-compress.
The course wasn't physically intense, and it probably would have been just plain fascinating and fun if it wasn't for the fact that I knew I actually would be going to a place where the dangers -- riots, ambushes, IEDs, mines, checkpoints -- all exist. It was unsettling, of course, but also a good thing: I'm glad to have it all thrown in my face, to some extent, rather than to go to Iraq ignorant of its realities.
Some preconceptions I held were shattered. For example, in my mind I saw myself playing soccer with the local kids in a international pick-up game. That idea was thrown out the window. That won't be happening. Too much of a security risk.
But I also feel much more prepared: The first aid training was pretty intense -- we got a lot of classroom instruction follow by drills where we would either individually or as a group react to situations where several people are injured with chest wounds, arteries severed, impaled object, lost limbs, etc. The instructors were the casualties, and they role-played pretty well. It was actually pretty fun.
Last night the instructors -- five tattoo-happy ex-military Brits -- led the seven of us students in a series of English drinking games as we hung out at the Ramada Inn bar (my drinking was one beer... a contrast the instructors). I discovered my untapped talent: The ability to move a penny from my forehead to my mouth using just facial muscles. Impressed?
I'll be flying out of DC tomorrow back to Fresno. This week will take some time to mull over, and it prompted a good number of conversations with some of the other students who are also going to Iraq about whether we really want to do this. But I feel that after a deep breath and a little rest, I'll still feel up for it.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Another day on the farm
Note: Don't read this post if you may go through hazardous environment training at some point in the future. It contains spoilers.
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I had barely recovered from jet lag when I was abducted by masked gunmen.
We were driving to our training course area on a Virginia farm when our car stopped. Men wearing ski masks and camaflouge jackets came running down the embankment brandishing AK-47s and handguns. We were ordered out of the car, our heads were covered with sacks, and we were led off to a grassy area. There they took my wallet and cell phone.
The whole deal was pretty realistic. But it wasn't real, of course. Just part of the training. Definitely the most memorable part so far.
After the abduction, we were eventually let go. The whole thing was videotaped and we watched it later in the day during a debriefing of sorts. We also learned a few good tips on what to do if you are taken hostage, such as not fighting back unless you think you can actually escape.
So far I'm on day two of the five-day training. There's five British instructors, and seven students -- four Americans, a Londoner, an Australian, and a Canadian. I think by the end of the week I'll be speaking with a proper English accent.
The group of students is a fun crew. Two are Washington Post reporters, one of whom will be in Iraq at the same time I will. It's nice to know I'll see a familiar face once I get there. Others are training for stints in Afghanistan or other hostile areas.
The training so far has been fun, but also sobering. It's forced me to face the reality of what goes on in Iraq and the risks it entails -- though I'm glad to go through this now rather than be ignorant of it.
...
...
...
I had barely recovered from jet lag when I was abducted by masked gunmen.
We were driving to our training course area on a Virginia farm when our car stopped. Men wearing ski masks and camaflouge jackets came running down the embankment brandishing AK-47s and handguns. We were ordered out of the car, our heads were covered with sacks, and we were led off to a grassy area. There they took my wallet and cell phone.
The whole deal was pretty realistic. But it wasn't real, of course. Just part of the training. Definitely the most memorable part so far.
After the abduction, we were eventually let go. The whole thing was videotaped and we watched it later in the day during a debriefing of sorts. We also learned a few good tips on what to do if you are taken hostage, such as not fighting back unless you think you can actually escape.
So far I'm on day two of the five-day training. There's five British instructors, and seven students -- four Americans, a Londoner, an Australian, and a Canadian. I think by the end of the week I'll be speaking with a proper English accent.
The group of students is a fun crew. Two are Washington Post reporters, one of whom will be in Iraq at the same time I will. It's nice to know I'll see a familiar face once I get there. Others are training for stints in Afghanistan or other hostile areas.
The training so far has been fun, but also sobering. It's forced me to face the reality of what goes on in Iraq and the risks it entails -- though I'm glad to go through this now rather than be ignorant of it.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Chillin' in the Ramada
I spent today re-familiarizing myself with the stellar metro subway system in our nation's capital. I visited my college friend and former Whitworthian editor Aimee Goodwin for lunch and checked out her office at the Express, a side publication of the Washington Post. Her office also has a rec room. She beat me in ping pong.
Later I wandered the streets of the capital like a lost tourist and found the hotel next to Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue where I did my internship with States News Service four years ago. I saw it as a pilgrimage, of sorts, to revisit my first real journalism experience. It was kind of dissapointing. The guy who ran the news service was arrested on tax evasion charges, and I knew the place had folded... so I wondered what happened to the office. Sure enough, it was completely abandoned and had construction material scattered around.
In the evening, I and three other people going through the hazardous environment training this week were picked up at Reagan National Airport and shuttled by two tatooed military types to Stasbourg, Va., where we were put up at the Ramada Inn. There will be seven of us in all; I'll meet the other three tomorrow morning. So far I'm the only American, though the other British and Australian chaps and gals I've met are friendly. We ate at a hole-in-the wall Chinese restraunt tonight. My fortune was something about me being a loser for thinking I would find "salvation in a cookie." I guess they have a point.
Cobra II update: no progress.
Later I wandered the streets of the capital like a lost tourist and found the hotel next to Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue where I did my internship with States News Service four years ago. I saw it as a pilgrimage, of sorts, to revisit my first real journalism experience. It was kind of dissapointing. The guy who ran the news service was arrested on tax evasion charges, and I knew the place had folded... so I wondered what happened to the office. Sure enough, it was completely abandoned and had construction material scattered around.
In the evening, I and three other people going through the hazardous environment training this week were picked up at Reagan National Airport and shuttled by two tatooed military types to Stasbourg, Va., where we were put up at the Ramada Inn. There will be seven of us in all; I'll meet the other three tomorrow morning. So far I'm the only American, though the other British and Australian chaps and gals I've met are friendly. We ate at a hole-in-the wall Chinese restraunt tonight. My fortune was something about me being a loser for thinking I would find "salvation in a cookie." I guess they have a point.
Cobra II update: no progress.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Glad to have a few friends
Wow, it's great to hear all the encouragement from everyone via email and blog comments. It's definitely cool to know there will be some folks keeping me in mind while I'm hitting the streets (or, more likely, hanging out in a hotel trying to stay cool).
I made the many-hours flight from Fresno to Las Vegas to DC this morning. It was my first time in Vegas and despite the opportunity to win half a mil on the airport slot machine, I passed.
Tomorrow I'll meet an old college friend for lunch and then get picked up at Dulles Airport and whisked away to training in Woodstock, Va., which is about 90 miles west of DC. Apparantly there I will learn how to not be kidnapped, or if I am, how to escape. They told me to bring my hiking boots, so I'm guessing there'll be some role-playing going on. But besides that, not sure what I'll be going through for the next week.
Cobra II update: I'm on page 168 (got some good plane reading in).
I made the many-hours flight from Fresno to Las Vegas to DC this morning. It was my first time in Vegas and despite the opportunity to win half a mil on the airport slot machine, I passed.
Tomorrow I'll meet an old college friend for lunch and then get picked up at Dulles Airport and whisked away to training in Woodstock, Va., which is about 90 miles west of DC. Apparantly there I will learn how to not be kidnapped, or if I am, how to escape. They told me to bring my hiking boots, so I'm guessing there'll be some role-playing going on. But besides that, not sure what I'll be going through for the next week.
Cobra II update: I'm on page 168 (got some good plane reading in).
Friday, June 22, 2007
No, I'm not fluent in Arabic
They gave me two months to prepare.
When I signed up for a tour de journalism in Iraq, I thought my name would be put on a lengthy list of wanna-be war correspondents that gets filed away and referenced when qualified reporters started to run dry. Instead, they told me to sign up for training ASAP because I was going to Baghdad in August. That was late May. Now I've got six weeks left.
If you asked me earlier this year how someone becomes a war correspondent for a newspaper chain that includes some of the country's largest newspapers, I would tell you that you'd probably have to sign up for a job as a reporter working for an English-language newspaper working in a remote part of the world. Then maybe do some free-lancing for an American paper and hopefully work your way into a lower-rung reporting job at a second-tier bureau. From there, hope for the best.
But apparently that's not the way it works.
No, instead, they take anyone willing and able. Especially after McClatchy Newspapers sold off the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, where a bunch of reporters were going through Journalism in Baghdad Bootcamp. McClatchy, which owns the Fresno Bee, was suddenly left with a shortage of legit war journalists. So here I am with an opportunity I never saw coming. Unlike the bullets, hopefully.
To say I feel underqualified is an understatement. More like unqualified. But people keep on reassuring me that "I'll do great." As in, I won't end up on a grainy Al-Jazeera video? Other people tell me "Congratulations" when they hear I'm heading to Iraq. I'm storing up all those kudos in a little mental box and plan to unleash them in full force the moment I touch down in Europe on the return flight. That's when congratulations will hopefully be in order.
So with all that off my chest, I'm sincerely thankful for the encouragement, and I know people only mean the best. After all, what do you say to someone who out of his own free will signed up for six weeks in the heart of Baghdad? "Just keep your head down"? Actually, a lot of people have said that, too. That and "What do your parents think?" ... My answer: They think they regret dropping me as a child.
So wish me luck. Pray for me. Let me know what you think of my first blog ever. In the meantime, I'm hashing my way through 602 pages of Cobra II, a fascinating and in-depth inside story on the build-up to the war and its execution. I'm on page 131.
Tomorrow I head to Woodstock, VA for five days of training. Not sure what to expect. Apparently they train you for what to do if you become a hostage. I'll have Internet access at the hotel I'll be staying at and will be posting regularly. If I mysteriously stop posting, that means one of two things: 1) I got lazy, or 2) the terrorists have won.
When I signed up for a tour de journalism in Iraq, I thought my name would be put on a lengthy list of wanna-be war correspondents that gets filed away and referenced when qualified reporters started to run dry. Instead, they told me to sign up for training ASAP because I was going to Baghdad in August. That was late May. Now I've got six weeks left.
If you asked me earlier this year how someone becomes a war correspondent for a newspaper chain that includes some of the country's largest newspapers, I would tell you that you'd probably have to sign up for a job as a reporter working for an English-language newspaper working in a remote part of the world. Then maybe do some free-lancing for an American paper and hopefully work your way into a lower-rung reporting job at a second-tier bureau. From there, hope for the best.
But apparently that's not the way it works.
No, instead, they take anyone willing and able. Especially after McClatchy Newspapers sold off the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, where a bunch of reporters were going through Journalism in Baghdad Bootcamp. McClatchy, which owns the Fresno Bee, was suddenly left with a shortage of legit war journalists. So here I am with an opportunity I never saw coming. Unlike the bullets, hopefully.
To say I feel underqualified is an understatement. More like unqualified. But people keep on reassuring me that "I'll do great." As in, I won't end up on a grainy Al-Jazeera video? Other people tell me "Congratulations" when they hear I'm heading to Iraq. I'm storing up all those kudos in a little mental box and plan to unleash them in full force the moment I touch down in Europe on the return flight. That's when congratulations will hopefully be in order.
So with all that off my chest, I'm sincerely thankful for the encouragement, and I know people only mean the best. After all, what do you say to someone who out of his own free will signed up for six weeks in the heart of Baghdad? "Just keep your head down"? Actually, a lot of people have said that, too. That and "What do your parents think?" ... My answer: They think they regret dropping me as a child.
So wish me luck. Pray for me. Let me know what you think of my first blog ever. In the meantime, I'm hashing my way through 602 pages of Cobra II, a fascinating and in-depth inside story on the build-up to the war and its execution. I'm on page 131.
Tomorrow I head to Woodstock, VA for five days of training. Not sure what to expect. Apparently they train you for what to do if you become a hostage. I'll have Internet access at the hotel I'll be staying at and will be posting regularly. If I mysteriously stop posting, that means one of two things: 1) I got lazy, or 2) the terrorists have won.
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