Here at Last

I fumbled off the plane, anxious to meet my new adventure straight on. The air and the hot wind hit me, and for a second I was unable to breathe. Is this how hot it will always be? I realized an instant later that it wasn’t the Iraqi weather I was feeling… it was the exhaust from the plane, hence the reason I couldn’t breathe. That was a close one… for a second I thought I had taken a layover in hell. But alas, I was only breathing the deadly fumes of a military plane. Greaaaaaaaat.

I walked into the building where we would be briefed for the night, and to my excitement I found my dad and other members of my family holding up a sign that read Welcome Fish. I had to do a double take. I hadn’t expected to see my dad so soon. And yet, there he was. I was so overwhelmed… I didn’t know if I should cry or laugh or scream. I did a little of both, just in case.

They welcomed me with hugs and some very delicious peanut butter cookies. I wasn’t hungry, but who can refuse those bad boys? We had a short brief, and then SGM Kahlberg, allowed me to be released to my dad for the night. My duffle bags were gathered and off we went.

I wish you guys could have seen him that night. He just seemed so happy. He was finally able to share his “turf” with his fish. It was wonderful to just sit back and listen to him show me things I couldn’t see because of the dark of the night. I couldn’t stop smiling. It was almost unbelievable… I couldn’t believe I was here. In Iraq. With my dad. Of all things. I still wake up and think, I’m still here, right?

Anyways, it didn’t take long at all before I was up to my old shenanigans. At home, I could lose anything within seconds. And Iraq didn’t change that (unfortunately). As soon as I saw my dad, and after settling down a bit, I realized that I had left my Kevlar somewhere. The where was on a bus… and who knows where it was. Apparently my dad did… he hunted down the bus and came back smiling with my Kevlar. That was the first thing I lost.

The second, was my keys for my locker. It’s a key ring with three keys on it. I searched for an hour after getting back to my sleeping quarters. I took everything out of my locker, sure I had set it down somewhere. I put it all back in. And then took it all back out when I didn’t find it again. Finally, I gave up hope, feeling defeated. Only to shut my locker doors, and find the key in the lock. It’s just so typical…

Sometime soon I’ll have to get some pictures of my living quarters… let’s just say it’s not the best… but it could be worse. I live in a tent with 6 other females. We have normal beds and a locker to our names. We also commandeered some night stands. The living quarters are pretty nice… however our place is the farthest from work. Everyone else is within a half mile, and we happen to be about a mile and a half… so that’s pretty fun. For right now, I have a ride with someone who also got stuck in the slums. So it works out nicely.

I can’t get my mind organized right now, so sorry if this is all over the place. I’ll tell you guys more later about stuff. I love you all!

<3 Jacki