What Is An Expat?

Is it ever going nuts around here! The call has gone out for people for work in Iraq. It’s not part of the current contract I am on but with other sides of the house / other companies. Given the pay difference and some of the silly bullshit going on here, several people have already left, and it really only started around the beginning of this week.

It’s kind of a dilemma for me: there’s more to this place than “just some other country” to me. I’d let my Russian go to crap, and am just now getting it back. It’s a slow process overall but I feel like it’s accelerating a bit. I’d feel bad about dropping it again. On the other hand, the pay sounds truly obscene. I have to keep in mind the main goal ($$) but at the same time there are secondary goals as well. How much importance should be placed on them? At what point does the main goal advance fast enough to throw the secondary goal away? Thinking about this, could I go with the main goal, and have some way to somehow get back here after? I wonder what it will be like as people leave in great big jolly batches — will not directly affect me workwise, since I am my own department but newly found friends are all thinking of their futures.

Too much to think about. It would have been easier never knowing. Who knows, maybe there are no positions. We’ll see. Then the decision comes…

Well, kind of a lot is happening this week, huh?

Started off the week with the malaria tablets. Haven’t had too much in the way of problems with that except for some rough dreams that seem to have gone away. Add to that my smallpox poke on Wednesday and I wasn’t much of a happy camper. The Z Monster came up and perched on my shoulders like a lonely vulture. Soothingly it whispered, “just close your eyes, it’ll be okay…all that stuff can wait. Sleeeeepppp…” From about 2PM on I was beat, among other things. “I will watch over and protect you, just rest your weary head…” But nay! The wanderings must go on! “Why? Why do you do this? Just a lil’ break…” Supper was uninspiring. That is to say, I simply couldn’t eat much. The food itself was probably fine. “Ah yes, after a meal, they always fall apart! Victory is mine!”

And it was. By 7:30PM I was a cot-confined individual. Just fine the next day. My blister looks like it is starting to raise up. Soon it will get nasty looking — I’d take pictures, but my camera died, sent back to the states for repair and those sorry bastiges won’t have it back to me before I leave on R&R most likely. Then it becomes a delightful scab before falling off in the third week to crawl away and attempt to infect other unwary souls. It’s not actually smallpox you get, but some live cowpox. Afterwards you are protected from smallpox, cowpox, and…monkeypox. Remember kids, it’s always a bad idea to consort too closely with monkeys. Sure they’re cute and all, and look like beloved members of your family, but they carry disease and throw shit. Nobody needs that. (more…)