Our parking lot.

PX

Local Subway - Would you eat here?

Volley ball tournament - Can you say multiple heat casualties?

Home Sweet Home - 2nd door on the left

It's been a month since I got to beautiful Basra, and things are going pretty well. Work is good and pretty easy so far at least. That may change later, but now, it's not too bad. What is bad is the weather. It is so ridiculously hot here. Even at night, it doesn't cool off that much. I think today it's supposed to get to 115. Couple that with a nice warm breeze, and it's unbearable. It's a good thing there's bottled water and Gatorade everywhere. Here's the closest thing I could think of to replicate how it is here: Towards the end of July, go park your car in a parking lot in the morning. Around 2 pm, get in the car (with the windows rolled up of course), and turn on the heater to medium. That might come close. Or better yet, on the hottest day of the year, turn off your AC at home, warm up the oven, and then stand in front of it with the door open.

Yeah, I know it's the desert, but geez. At least we're able to wear our PT uniform on our day off. Most people get a day off, but other than that, it's 10-12 hour days 6 days a week. Not a big deal, because there's not much else to do.

I will say that I've talked to a lot of people and one of the unexpected benefits is that you don't have as much to deal with here, like stress of a job, dealing with kids, and all the other stuff in everyday life. You go to work, and on your day off, you think about you. That's it. For me, it's pretty stress free.

I've included a couple pictures showing what it's like here. The absence of color is the first thing you notice, since there is no vegetation around here. In addition, everything is coated with a fine layer of dust, and makes it more dull looking.

I hope to be getting better internet access within the next couple weeks, so will post more photos and blog entries.

Til then, take it easy.