it's a dry heat

Summer is finally here in Basra. Daytime temps are in the high hundred teens, to low 120’s. Last week it was hard to tell how hot it was, because our thermometer outside our room melted. Not figuratively, but literally. It only went up to 120, and eventually the glue holding the glass with the red liquid in it, gave out, and the glass fell out and broke.

We’ve now got one that goes to 140. Hopefully that will get us through the summer.

There’s still not a whole lot to do here. Work, work out, and watch movies. But last night we couldn’t even do that. The power went out at our living area, so several of us got our chairs out, sat down and hung out…in the dark…sweating. It was about 110 after the sun went down. But it was good to just hang out and talk. Sometimes that’s the best. Sitting around, telling funny or stupid stories. We did have a radio that picked up a BBC station so at least we had a little music. I’ve gotta say, for as much as some people were complaining, it wasn’t that bad. Here we were complaining that our AC was out, but Soldiers before us, and even now, would love to have our problems. Besides, after about a half an hour, the power went back on.

The climate still amazes me. It really is dry here. I think it’s rained 5 times in the last couple months and usually it only lasts a few minutes. As I walked to the chow hall today, totally soaked from working out, my shirt dried out completely from a 3 minute walk from the gym. Unbelievable. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I go home in October. Probably be wearing my winter coat.

It’s getting to be an exciting time here. As of June 30^th, we’ll have our troops out of all the cities in Iraq, and from there we’ll continue to restructure for getting out of the country completely. It’s a long process, one that will take another year and a half or so, but it’s good to see progress.