PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THIS OR SEND IT OR ANY OF THE PICTURES TO OTHER PEOPLE OR OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES.
I didn't actually realize how imprisoned it can seem here until one day as I was riding my bike past one of the entrances I saw that the gate was still open as a car had just entered. My immediate thought was "If I just ride my bike a bit faster, I can get through that gate before they close it!" Of course that would be a very unwise thing to do, and of course there is really no comparison to our lives here at the embassy compound to those of people who are truly imprisoned. Baghdad is lovingly referred to as "Camp Cupcake", and some have described our situation here as more like being stuck on a cruise - worse things could happen right?
So, what is daily life like behind the concrete walls. The word "routine" comes to mind. Get up, eat breakfast (I usually eat at home), go to work (either walking the half-mile or riding my bike), go to the Grab-n-Go for lunch, back to work, get off between 5:00 and 5:30 usually. But THEN life really gets spiced up!
We can choose to go swimming in our beautiful indoor pool or our sunny outdoor one, which is closed now for the winter.
Both are a perfect temperature.
The gym is really popular with the guys. I have gone a couple times, but don't stay too long.
My favorite thing to do is ride my bike. A loop around the perimeter of the compound, going down some side streets is about 2 miles. It's all flat, but I put it in a higher gear and push it for a workout. Or, it's a great way to wind down after work, just cruising around for a bit. The guards at the various entrances wave and encourage me! Surprisingly, there are a lot of people riding bikes, but most of them just use the bikes as a quick way to get from one part of the compound to the other. It can be tricky riding after dark because there are a lot of speed bumps around. They are comprised of sections, and during the day it is easy to see the breaks between sections and ride through them, but at night they don't show up too well!
There's also beach volleyball, basketball, and tennis. And there are fields for soccer and football, and there is the occasional ultimate frisbee game on the green in front of the Chancery building.
If all that is too much exercise for the type of day you're having, you can always go to the cornice, an area outside of the main services building. Part of it is covered with misters that spray - well, you guessed it, mist on you! Nice on those 115 degree days! There are BBQ grills for group parties, and chairs for relaxing. On the weekend nights, lots of people hang out there.
There are also small plots of land available for growing a garden! Some people grow flowers, some herbs, and others various vegetables and salad greens. The embassy has piped in water and supplies hoses. The growers supply everything else.
There is a common room referred to during the day as the American Club and at night and on weekends as Baghdaddy's. It serves a wide range of purposes, from a training and meeting room during the day, to a church on Saturdays (our Sunday), to a movie theater one night a week, to a bar the rest of the time!
Hopefully by the end of this year, they will also open up a "souk", a local market place for vendors to bring things like carpets, jewelry, crafts, etc. to sell to us rich, gullible Americans! That's good 'cause we need some ways to spend money here! They brought in some vendors a week or so ago to give everyone a chance to buy some things for possible Christmas presents. I wandered through the sale and was strongly attracted to a particular rug. Apparently according to the salesman, I have good AND expensive taste. I asked him what expensive was. He said 7,000. With my jaw sufficiently dropped, I asked if he meant Iraqi Dinars (less) or American dollars (more), and he said dollars! There is no way I could buy a rug for that kind of money, but seeing the exceptional quality of that rug, I was spoiled for any of the more reasonably priced carpets. It was like the difference between the best HD television you would ever see and the old black and white sets of the 50s and 60s! In fact, shortly after I saw it, he put the rug away because too many people were having the same reaction as me and were leaving without buying anything! It was a hand-woven Persian carpet made in Isfahan of silk and wool. It was "signed" by the weaver and marked with the place of origin. The pattern is called "the Dome" in Persian and referred to as the "Peacock" in Iraq.
What are we missing by being restricted to the embassy compound? We are protected from exposure to the horrible carnage taking place all around Iraq because of the sectarian violence between the Shi'ias and the Sunni Muslims. Hundreds, even thousands die every month here in Baghdad and around the country. Fortunately, we don't even here the explosions or the gunfire because it takes place beyond the International Zone, which is our buffer against reality. Here are some pictures of what is beyond the walls.
Although it is difficult to see the Tigress River that runs through Baghdad, this picture shows it on the far side of the lagoon that borders that side of the Embassy.
PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THIS OR SEND IT OR ANY OF THE PICTURES TO OTHER PEOPLE OR OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES.
I didn't actually realize how imprisoned it can seem here until one day as I was riding my bike past one of the entrances I saw that the gate was still open as a car had just entered. My immediate thought was "If I just ride my bike a bit faster, I can get through that gate before they close it!" Of course that would be a very unwise thing to do, and of course there is really no comparison to our lives here at the embassy compound to those of people who are truly imprisoned. Baghdad is lovingly referred to as "Camp Cupcake", and some have described our situation here as more like being stuck on a cruise - worse things could happen right?
So, what is daily life like behind the concrete walls. The word "routine" comes to mind. Get up, eat breakfast (I usually eat at home), go to work (either walking the half-mile or riding my bike), go to the Grab-n-Go for lunch, back to work, get off between 5:00 and 5:30 usually. But THEN life really gets spiced up!
We can choose to go swimming in our beautiful indoor pool or our sunny outdoor one, which is closed now for the winter.Both are a perfect temperature.
The gym is really popular with the guys. I have gone a couple times, but don't stay too long.
My favorite thing to do is ride my bike. A loop around the perimeter of the compound, going down some side streets is about 2 miles. It's all flat, but I put it in a higher gear and push it for a workout. Or, it's a great way to wind down after work, just cruising around for a bit. The guards at the various entrances wave and encourage me! Surprisingly, there are a lot of people riding bikes, but most of them just use the bikes as a quick way to get from one part of the compound to the other. It can be tricky riding after dark because there are a lot of speed bumps around. They are comprised of sections, and during the day it is easy to see the breaks between sections and ride through them, but at night they don't show up too well!
There's also beach volleyball, basketball, and tennis. And there are fields for soccer and football, and there is the occasional ultimate frisbee game on the green in front of the Chancery building.
If all that is too much exercise for the type of day you're having, you can always go to the cornice, an area outside of the main services building. Part of it is covered with misters that spray - well, you guessed it, mist on you! Nice on those 115 degree days! There are BBQ grills for group parties, and chairs for relaxing. On the weekend nights, lots of people hang out there.
There are also small plots of land available for growing a garden! Some people grow flowers, some herbs, and others various vegetables and salad greens. The embassy has piped in water and supplies hoses. The growers supply everything else.
Hopefully by the end of this year, they will also open up a "souk", a local market place for vendors to bring things like carpets, jewelry, crafts, etc. to sell to us rich, gullible Americans! That's good 'cause we need some ways to spend money here! They brought in some vendors a week or so ago to give everyone a chance to buy some things for possible Christmas presents. I wandered through the sale and was strongly attracted to a particular rug. Apparently according to the salesman, I have good AND expensive taste. I asked him what expensive was. He said 7,000. With my jaw sufficiently dropped, I asked if he meant Iraqi Dinars (less) or American dollars (more), and he said dollars! There is no way I could buy a rug for that kind of money, but seeing the exceptional quality of that rug, I was spoiled for any of the more reasonably priced carpets. It was like the difference between the best HD television you would ever see and the old black and white sets of the 50s and 60s! In fact, shortly after I saw it, he put the rug away because too many people were having the same reaction as me and were leaving without buying anything! It was a hand-woven Persian carpet made in Isfahan of silk and wool. It was "signed" by the weaver and marked with the place of origin. The pattern is called "the Dome" in Persian and referred to as the "Peacock" in Iraq.
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| Former BATHE Headquarters |
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| Modern high rises like any major city. |
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| A Mosque a little ways out from the embassy |
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| the famous arched swords |
Although it is difficult to see the Tigress River that runs through Baghdad, this picture shows it on the far side of the lagoon that borders that side of the Embassy.
PLEASE DO NOT REPOST THIS OR SEND IT OR ANY OF THE PICTURES TO OTHER PEOPLE OR OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES.
