Greetings from Umm Qasr! (Umm Qasr – which I believe is Arabic for “…so hot that the trees are looking for shade….and a dog….”)
I hope you have had a great week. For me – all’s I can say is…. for these guys fasting, there sure is a LOT of food around here…. the interesting thing is that I get to eat all of these “new foods” that the guys bring (the interpreters and the local engineers). Apparently, they are asking their wives if they can bring me their leftovers – just because they love to see me try new things (and they can laugh at me when I try and pronounce the names). So what new “delicacies” have I been partaking of, you may ask? Well, try a couple of these….
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| Khameesa made from Kharoof – the small bowl is the kharoof (sheep) – so tender – and the large bowl is an eggplant, onion and other stew (it looks greasy – but it is not – it is the juices stewing….) |
I know it is difficult to look at a picture and discern the taste – but the kharoof was stewed (and it would fall apart as soon as you bit into it) along with some onions, tomatoes and other things. You would put the kharoof on the samoon (bread) – make something like a sandwich and then layer some of the eggplant soup on top of it. It looks greasy and spicy hot, but it was neither. I am not a big “spicy” eater-of-food – I like to taste the food – not the ashes of my tongue burning. I do like different flavors – but I don’t like spices to overwhelm the taste. Oh, that I could share this with you….. so “presentation” is always important – how the food looks – so what does the “finished product” look like? (And remember I am in a war zone- so the “fine china” is put away….)
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| Ahh….the finished product just prior to a “visit with Mr. Wade…” |
Oh - perhaps you thought I was finished describing foods, huh? Then - - you would be mistaken….
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| On the Yasir (left) is a curry soup – with chicken and noodles in it……ohhhh- baby. You dip a little samoon in there and – whoa – Abdul’s yer uncle… On the yameen (right) - the “spaghetti noodles” (without any type of sauce on there) have a little bit of honey or something sweet mixed in. It is actually a desert – and it is Re-he-hally good. |
OHHH---but wait…THERE’S MORE….
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| They call this “Meat Bread” – kind of like a cross between a personal pan pizza and a chili bowl… |
Besides the above, I was brought several “desserts”. The first was a custard with a tiny jello topping – and then there was baklava. But the baklava here is not as sweet as I have had it in the states (it is still sweet – but just not overwhelmingly so…) But, I love baklava in almost any situation… the interesting thing is – here in Iraq (according to Haleem) – Baklava is kind of considered “wedding food” (like those almonds in a bag or something)…so when Haleem went to buy it – they asked him if he was getting married. He said, “No. I bring for Mr. Wade. He no want to get married….” Of course the shop owner didn’t know me from Adam (or Abdul or whomever) and had no clue what he was talking about. As I have said before, Haleem is a character.
Now, I mentioned before about Ramadan and how it is not “polite” to eat or drink in front of someone. Do you remember the photo I showed of our little “jingly shop” in the office? (We have everyone bringing us food – so we put it out for all to see/eat/share.) Well, I got some Iraqi blankets and covered the food – lest we “insult” anyone fasting. Again, no one has ever said “hey – don’t drink” or “stop eating – I am fasting here!” – but again, it is just considered “polite” to not tempt anyone. So here is what we did to our “jingly shop” for Ramadan….
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| The jingly shop at Ramadan time – note the prayer rugs at the bottom right? And I don’t care what holiday it is….Mr. Wide needs his morning cup of coffee – or he becomes Mr. Wierd… |
My “roomie” in the office, Myles (Capt. Esmele) is fasting with the Iraqis (all except the water – which I am happy that he is at least keeping his water intake up) – but I put these blankets up so that we wouldn't tempt Myles or any of our other visitors.
One of the funny things is you forget that not everyone here is Muslim – I am always trying to be polite (of course, I usually just wind up putting my foot in my mouth..) but I always ask them if they are fasting when they come in or I visit – as I don’t want to drink, yadda, yadda in front of them. Well, I have heard a lot of interesting answers, “No. I am Catholic”, or “No, I am Jewish. Seriously….someone in the Iraqi Navy…(and he is fairly high ranking)…… deadpanned that he was Jewish … “WHAT?!?!” (again, say that with your voice going up at the end….WHAT?!?!) I would never tell him this – he does look Jewish….but, also I think he was just pulling my leg.
Now, is everything “hunky-dory” because of Ramadan? Heck no. What happens is along about 2 or 3 o’clock, most of the people are exhausted. Even if they ate heartily the night before and slept in, they are still tired. And the longer Ramadan goes on, the more tired they get – and the more they want to sit around and do nothing – or take a nap (kind of sounds like me after Thanksgiving dinner….). So again, we try to accommodate them as much as possible.
Now, lest you think I have been doing nothing but sitting around eating - I have been making a few excursions here and there (that don’t involve eating). I did get another “boat trip” on the river. I took another trip to Khour Al Zabar – (remember the place with the concrete spires?)
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| “So what exactly happens if the roof falls in?” |
As I am going through all the existing buildings and trying to determine how good they are and what it will cost to rebuild them (yep….one of my specialties..…). But it is very gratifying to hear the Iraqis ask me to work on their favorite projects. (They now trust me – as I have found several “bad” situations for them and helped to resolve them….) I was also asked to work on a Maritime Academy that was in Basrah and destroyed. They have asked me several times if I can work on that - apparently it was pretty important – and well known – before it became a “pancake factory” back in ’03. (Wow, if only I was as funny as I think I am….) But anyway, I have asked for some of the old drawings and will look at that soon.
So as I am going on this trip – it is about 120 degrees out – and I am trying to keep myself hydrated….so how do I do that when a lot of the Iraqis are fasting? Well, the easiest way for me was to get my Camel Back. (Not that I wanted to give him away in the first place –bah dump!….see note above about how hysterically funny I am….)Back in the states, I was assigned a camelback water pouch – and it is a very “discreet” way to stay hydrated (and it holds about 2 liters of water – and that is quite a bit)….. but, note in the picture below the hose that goes across the front of my chest:
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| Here I am – living the old Willie Nelson song…..”on the boat again….” |
See that little clip on the end? – you pull it off and suck through the hose and you get (after the first two mouthfuls of hot water which you spit out) – you get cold drinking water. And we were out there for a couple of hours – so there was no way I was going to go without water. I saw the Muslim guards breaking up big chunks of ice and wiping down….it is a very difficult thing they do.
So, dear reader and good friend, this was my week. Full of food, fun, frolicking, frenzy and french fries…(well, okay – no french fries – but it sure made the whole “words starting with ‘F’ thing” work, didn’t it?) Once again, it is my pleasure to be here representing you all. And until we meet again…..
God bless America.
Mr. Wide
مهندس واد بروير
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