Field Days & Earthquakes

What a difference a field day makes! This week I got out on two field days - one to Kirkuk and one to Qayyarah. Result - I have my work mojo back :-)

When I spend all my time in an office, problem solving for projects I don't see I get pretty grumpy. I start to wonder why I'm here. When I get out to the projects and the field offices, spending time with the amazing staff, meeting beneficiaries, problem solving at the site of the problem - then I know why I'm here.

As I've shared recently, political developments here have had a big impact on our ability to reach project sites. We've been experiencing both regulatory access issues - actually obtaining the various letters we need to pass through check points, but also physical access issues as check points have been closed preventing road travel across political lines. This has meant that field days have been less frequent and often only confirmed at the last minute; and I have had to wait until the much more useful staff have space for me :-)

This week everything finally seemed to fall in to place for a day in Qayyarah - we received our last letter which had been delayed; and we had managed to scout out a couple of roads that circumnavigated the one particular closed check point which had been preventing our movements. So we set off - there were two routes to choose from - one which was a better quality road but longer, and one over a mountain pass. We set off on the longer route and as we went we noticed that some trenches had been dug and we were having to off road now and then to bypass them. But 3 and a half hours later we finally reached the camp. I then decided that on the way back we should try the mountain road out - it was a lot of fun (the drivers may disagree with me) as it went through some beautiful scenery and also a weird kind of self-governed area of Turkish refugees from the early 1990s who are part of a specific military group. What had been a refugee camp is now a town that they control independently, and even kept control of when ISIS took the entire surrounding areas. The route was shorter but won't be appropriate when the rains start. Frustratingly when the team went the next day without me on the longer route, they discovered that our little ruse to avoid the closed check point has been discovered and so that route has now been blocked off also (those trenches we noticed being dug have been put in place to prevent use of the road) - so we are only left with the mountain route which remains open as it is held by a different military group.

I also went to Kirkuk this week - again the route is now beautiful through the mountains and some pretty villages, but we've gone from a 90 minute journey to 3 hours each way minimum. This makes the time you actually get at project sites pretty short - we don't want to be traveling outside of the city limits in the dark as roads are not lit and the risk of having an accident is much higher. So this means you might get 3 hours at a field site for 6 hours in the car. Not great statistics.

The teams are going to get pretty fed up of these travel times very quickly, and I've already put in place some recommendations to try and avoid burnout. But for me, one of the things I like about field days is the opportunity to chat with staff on the journeys. In the office I have my own private office which people are always popping in to, but I miss out on the general chit chat that happens in the team rooms. So being stuck in a car for 3 hours with staff is fine by me (most of the time!) - it's precious time for getting to know them. This week I traveled to Kirkuk with colleagues from Iraq, Syria and Sudan - conversation was so interesting - talking about Syria and the numbers of Syrian refugees now in Sudan, the situation in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, learning more about why my Syrian colleague is not able to return home yet. Traveling to Qayyarah I was with two Iraqi colleagues and a Syrian colleague and again conversation was so interesting - they told me all about the self-governed area we travelled through, joking that we had been in 3 countries that day - Iraq, Turkey and Kurdistan. If I hadn't been with them, I never would have known that little bit of history.

I can't write a blog post this week and not touch on the earthquake. What an experience. I have felt tiny tremors in other countries before but nothing like this. The walls of my house literally swayed and the floor felt like jelly. But thankfully in my area there was no real damage. We were all just quite freaked out - including the local staff who say they have never felt such a large earthquake before. Sadly on the border areas and Iran, it has done some damage and we have spent some time this week looking at how we can support our colleagues in the DRC Iran programme with any response they may do.

I also celebrated my 3 year Iraqiversary this week. Crazy. When I look back I can't believe it's been 3 years already; but at the same time I feel like I've been here forever. This week kind of summed up what the last 3 years have been like - full of highs and lows, new experiences and challenging work. No two weeks have been the same, I have never felt like I have hit the point where life and work is stable. There is never a dull moment, you never know what the next day will bring. And while that is amazing in many ways, it is also tiring. And so I have put a time limit on my life in Iraq - I will be finishing my assignment here in March in order to take a break. I don't know what's next beyond taking that break. I'm looking forward to my final few months in this country that has stolen part of my heart - let's see what other new experiences I have before I leave!

Traditions

I am so aware that I haven't blogged for a few weeks. I keep thinking about it but am totally uninspired as to what to write about! Then I realised I should write about why I'm uninspired.....

The last few weeks have continued to be a frustrating time of being stuck in the office. We have had odd days where teams have been able to travel, but it's essential project staff only and that, sadly, does not include the boss very often! When I add to the access issues the fact that I've been battling some sickness it's no wonder I have cabin fever. Last week I was off work sick for 3 days, during which time the only people I saw were at the doctor's! All this means I feel pretty out of touch with our work and am getting a bit bored in the office every day. I'm seriously hoping to get to Mosul at the end of this week to see our new office which the team have been working on getting set up. So no contextual updates for you all I'm afraid.

Outside of work we've been having fun though. The weather is at one of it's few sweet spots of the year, where it's still warm during the day but nice and cool at night. It is dusty though. Last week we had a 3 day dust storm which destroyed a number of tents and latrines in the camp, as well as causing breathing issues for people. But that's passed and we're back to perfect 'sitting outside' weather which is my favourite. So I'm making the most of it by hosting various mini parties - dinner parties, outdoor cinema on my patio, BBQs and this week Fireworks Night.

One of the things I love about the adventure of living overseas is the opportunity to bring those traditions from home to life, and to include others in that. I love fireworks night in England, I love going to a small local display with friends, watching the fireworks while drinking something hot, heading to the pub after for a beer. It's just so English :-)

This year, I invited my Brit friends and colleagues over and a few extras to celebrate. We had hot dogs (with real english pork sausages!), cups of soup, mulled wine, a fire pit to emulate a bonfire, sparklers and some 'fireworks' that were really birthday candles. We played classical firework music while we watched the 'display', and we educated our non-Brit friends on the history of Guy Fawkes. It wasn't the same as it would be at home, but it was just as fun.

Traditions are so important in our lives to give us that sense of identity that we can struggle to find in this work. It's like creating family traditions, which bring a real sense of belonging to kids. Bringing traditions to life overseas helps us to remember that we aren't alone - even if no one around us shares that tradition, by drawing people in to our memories we fight that feeling of loneliness. And it goes both ways, I love being invited to Thanksgiving for example and getting an insight in to a really important American celebration. Sharing in these traditions together brings a real richness to our lives overseas where we are often thrown together in to a complete mishmash of cultures. You might not envy me for much, but I hope you're jealous of that!