Twenty Top Team Moments

For this blog I thought I'd put down some of my top team moments from the last years in Iraq. For those that I've worked with - it has been a joy with a lot of laughs along the way! There have been so many highs that it's been hard to choose, but here are a few:

1. Karoake fun together in our basement in Dohuk. Somewhere I have a video of the whole team, national and expat, singing power ballads together.
2. Tofurkey. That very special delivery for Claudia to eat for her birthday/Thanksgiving. 
3. Sundowners on Zawa Mountain. Having a picnic takeaway on the top of a mountain, drinking beers as we watched the sun go down over the city, and listening to the call to prayer rise up. And then nearly wetting ourselves with laughter as we shared various crazy stories.
4. An impromptu lunch picnic in the park to cheer everyone up when they haven't been able to go to their field sites all week and are sick of the four walls of the office.
5. Team first aid drills in Dohuk - that time when Andy pretended to have collapsed for me, and everyone just walked past him and ignored him on the floor of the office. Until they decided to kick him back to life. 
6. The 2017 end of year party for the Erbil team - what a great night of games and dancing. Introducing the team to 'bring me a...' was an absolute highlight.
7. Making Pimms lollies when it was 50 degrees - best idea ever!
8. Friday Fry Ups in Dohuk with the first team - all bustling around the kitchen, and then sitting in the sun with our food, easing in to the weekend.
9. Monopoly Deal. Say no more.
10. Team bowling and seeing Khair's very unique style :-)
11. Going to weddings together. There's been a few, and they've all been a lot of fun.
12. Road trips and field visits galore. I should have logged how many hours I have spent in the car - it's insane. But it's a good way to get to know your team.
13. Various bonfire nights and pancake nights - sharing the British love.
14. Cooking up Bertie the Boar.
15. Christmas Day this year - my first Christmas away from home but we had a fantastic team day.
16. Monthly birthday celebrations - something I've done in both Tearfund and DRC.
17. Team banter, be that face to face or over skype, banter has a large part to play in why I'm still smiling 3.5 years later. 
18. The One Year Anniversary party at the Qayyarah Airstrip Camp - celebrating with the staff who have worked so hard to make the place a home for the residents was brilliant.
19. Our first overnight in Mosul. Only 3 of us, but what a moment to get to stay there for the first time!
20. Lunch time pretty much every day. A few months ago I made a deal with the staff that DRC would pay for a cook's salary if they were willing to purchase a cooked lunch. So we all get a delicious and cheap lunch every day, which we eat together in our staff room.

P.S. Just for Mariam, I will mention 'Family Time'. I know she'd want me to :-)