I flew out of Baghdad this afternoon and landed in Amman a couple of hours ago. I'm excited to spend a couple of days here going to Petra and the Dead Sea, getting a massage at the luxurious Four Seasons and doing a bit of shopping.
That said, I'm really sad about leaving Baghdad. Our crazy frat house had become my home, and the guys had become my brothers. And as war-torn as the city itself may be, I feel like it's my war-torn city. Saying goodbye was really hard -- everybody came outside to wave me off, and I wanted to cry. J, my American coworker, is one of my favorite people in the world, and I hate that I won't get to see him every day anymore. I think it's going to be very strange to go back to living alone.
Fortunately, A is in Amman at the moment as well, so I don't have to totally divorce myself from Baghdad quite yet. We're going out on the town tonight and to Petra tomorrow, so hopefully it'll take my mind off of being sad.
3 comments:
Briony, I work for BBC Radio and I'd love to arrange an interview with you on our show on Radio 5 Live, basically about your thoughts on leaving Baghdad.. Could you give me a call - or send me an e-mail at neil.henderson@bbc.co.uk (+44 208 624 9507)
"What a long, strange, trip it's been." It's been wonderful hearing your stories, and it was a wonderful tale of your adventures there, the friends you've made, and how you've come to love Baghdad, both the place and the experience.
When I came back from a geology field trip a few years back, during which I'd spent 6 weeks living in lovely desert squalor, our bus ride home was spent in fervent discussion. "Which better represented 'real life': the one we were returning to, or the one we were coming from?"
The answer, of course, is that they both do. They both represent slightly different parts of us, slightly different ways of thinking, slightly different realities, or at least different perspectives of the same reality.
You are blessed, both to be open to appreciating such experiences and to have had the opportunity to pursue them. Thank you for sharing those blessings with us!
Richard (Mr. White)
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