Sleep

I've been thinking recently about the war's effect on the simplest parts of life. Outdoor markets are frequent targets of car bombs, so shopping is very difficult. As I mentioned earlier, walking through the street -- a luxury that most people take for granted -- is dangerous, especially for a woman alone. But the biggest effect of the war on people's daily life might be the problems sleeping.

There are a few problems with sleeping in Baghdad. The first, and most common, is that it's often too hot to sleep at all without electricity. Even at night, the temperature in the summer hovers at or above 100 degrees. Making it worse, Baghdad residents are only getting about an hour of city-provided electricity a day, and for the vast majority of people who cannot afford to run generators (even an average-sized generator can only run for a few hours a day -- our house has three massive ones), the heat is unbearable at night.

Consequently, people flock to their roofs, hoping for some slightly cooler open air for long enough to get a few hours of sleep. But sleeping on the roof is a scary thing -- especially in some of the more dangerous neighborhoods, mortar rounds fly through the air regularly. Sleep can be difficult because of a more general fear of violence as well. Most Baghdad residents
have adapted to living with some degree of fear -- if you can't delude yourself that your bedroom is safe, you've got nothing left. But with helicopters flying low and loud every night and fairly regular sounds of gunshots and explosions in the distance, sleep doesn't always come easily.

This morning I mentioned in the newsroom that I was staring at my ceiling at about 4:30 in the morning, unable to sleep. "Me too," my American colleague said. "Me too," A added. "And me," D said. We realized that all four of us had been lying in adjacent rooms, wide awake in the pre-dawn hours. There was a pause, then all four of us laughed, slightly uneasily.

Tired

I don't have a good idea of something to blog about. I want to blog every day because I think some people read it, but recently there have been no comments, so maybe we're down to just my mother at this point. Can you folks tell me what you'd like to read here? Which posts are particularly interesting? What I haven't posted about that you keep wanting me to? Reassure me that I'm not talking to a brick wall here.

Love,
Briony

A brief respite

Just a quick update, since I'm completely wiped and am about to fall into my plush Four Seasons bed. I'm now on a later flight to Baghdad tomorrow, which is the best news I've heard in days. My original flight was at 9, which would require leaving the hotel at 6:30--not welcome news for someone who's been traveling for 36 hours. I definitely need a full night's sleep tonight, and now I'll get it. My plane leaves Amman at 2 and gets into Baghdad at 4:30. It'll take a couple of hours to get through customs and get to our house, but I promise to post something here as soon as I'm back--should be around 7 or so (11 a.m. EDT).