Finally there! (Not really)

My last look at the U.S.

Here I am in Germany!

The beer garden in the airport terminal. Lots of folks took the opportunity to have one last alcoholic beverage before going into Iraq.

Back on the plane for Qatar!

Welcome to Al Udeid!

Well I finally made it! (to Qatar). I still have to wait on a flight to Baghdad, and so I sit here in transient quarters waiting. The trip was a unique experience, it was the first time I have ever been overseas, much less on such a long flight.

We left Wednesday afternoon from Norfolk 2 hours late (great start eh?). The air terminal staff announced it was because they were "adding more fuel to the plane" but then I thought, "why didn't they just fill it up to begin with, how much more can they add?" Funny though, about an hour and a half into the 30 minute delay to "add fuel" the flight crew showed up! When we got on the plane the pilot apologized for the delay because there was "a discrepancy" in the scheduled flight time. I'm guessing they stayed at the bar too long the night before.

Anyway, we got a fun 8 hour flight into Leipzig-Halle airport, Germany. All I got to see of Germany was the terminal during the 2 hours we waited for a new flight crew and more fuel. I did manage to have my last beer before 6 months in Iraq! Mmmm...German beer for breakfast.

We got another 5 hour plane ride into Qatar which would have been okay, except for the turbulence. The mountains over Turkey were beautiful, covered in snow, but the constant bouncing made it hard to appreciate. I got my first view or Iraq from 30,000+ feet as we flew right down the fertile crescent to the Persian Gulf. It was interesting because there is so much dust in the air that there isn't a definitive horizon, the sky slowly blends into sand or sea.

One of the first things I noticed, even from so high up, was the overarching presence of the petroleum industry. In the US you see highways, sports stadiums, suburbs, and shopping malls from the air. Over here you see oil tankers, oil refineries, and oil pipelines. There's the occaisional "city" which you can make out a the brown lumps with right angles as opposed to the brown lumps that are crescent shaped (sand dunes).

We finally got to Al Udeid on Thursday evening (there was a crossing of the Prime Meridian though) and got settled into our transient tents. It's not too bad, I get a bunk, a foot locker, and 47 roommates! Hopefully I won't be here for more than a day or 2, not because the conditions are bad, but because there's nothing for me to do! I'm ready to get to Baghdad and get to work.

I'll be writing more later, while I wait for a plane, again.