neurotic Iraqi wife
February 11, 2005
The Beginning of the Beginning......
So much is happening at the moment even though the elections are over, we are busy with closing down the mission. The International staff who came over and helped us with setting up the elections are now searching for their next mission. There's a sad aura hanging around, its like we dont want the mission to finish. For the first time in a long long time all of us, us being the national staff, felt proud in "being there" during the historical events that took place.
I cant say its the beginning of the end, infact Im gonna say its the beginning of the beginning. The numbers that came out to vote in Iraq was a clear message to all those who doubted the Iraqi people and their strength. It was a clear message to all those terrorists who thought that by distributing threatning flyers and killing innocent people it will frighten the resilient Iraqis. The 30th of January proved to the whole world that Iraqis wanna be part of this new chapter, of this new beginning.
HUBBY voted as well, and apparantely it took place in the convention center situated in the Green Zone. He called and I could feel the excitement in his voice that day. Its just an amazing feeling. Although he voted for a different party,GRRRRRRRR, I still love my honeybun,lol....The results will be announced soon, but its pretty obvious who is on top of the list.The Unified Iraqi Alliance is one that I voted for. Many people critisized me for voting for them cuz they believe that many of its members have allegiance(not sure of the spelling) to Iran. Maybe a minority out of the whole party are so but there are some personas who I believe will be of great advantage to have in the National Assembly. At the end of the day, the people voted and we will soon have what the people asked for....
Im in a hurry at the moment cuz am going on a day trip , hence Im writing very hastely, I do apologize. I wanted to publish an email I got a couple of days ago which really saddened me. But to the person who wrote it, I say to you, I never doubted the good that my HUBBY is doing in Iraq. Yes at times Im selfish for wanting him to be with Me. Yes Im selfish for wanting to start a family. Yes am selfish for asking him to leave what he's doing so we can start our life as a married couple. But never did my mind roam around to find a substitue for him. God, I will never do such a thing. Yes I did at my low self esteem times give him ultimatums, but thats only so he can start planning for "OUR" future and not only the future of "OTHER" people.
Im proud, real proud that he was given this opportunity to be part of the New Iraq, though it came so fast and just 3 days after we got married, I still hold my head up and say HUBBY is there, he is there in Iraq, trying to make a difference. Something most of us wanna do as well. I rave and rant about him not being here cuz its my right, my right as a woman, my right as a wife. But these ramblings are a mere result of days of loneliness and longing. Can you blame me if I miss my HUBBY immensely???I doubt it....
I have started already in applying for jobs in Iraq, and I cant wait for the opportunity to arise. Im looking at NGO's and other organisations, and hopefully Ill get some response soon. I really really wanna go there and be of use. I wanna see my country, my Iraq, I wanna be able to help and be part of the new era that we are going through. People think Im nuts for wanting to go there now, but NO,its a risk well worth it, and I believe that destiny is already drawn for us.
HUBBY and I are going to naughty Amsterdam and Stockholm in a few weeks for his R&R, I dunno if Im looking forward to it cuz I hate cold weather, but hey Ill be with HUBBY for a few days, something I damn am looking forward to. If anyone out there knows of any nice places to visit in these cities please do tell so I can surprise HUBBY about the "vast" knowledge I would have...hehe.
Well gotto go now, thanx everyone for your comments/emails and well wishes, sorry havent responded to any but I promise I will do pretty soon......And remember this is just The Beginning of the Beginning.....
I cant say its the beginning of the end, infact Im gonna say its the beginning of the beginning. The numbers that came out to vote in Iraq was a clear message to all those who doubted the Iraqi people and their strength. It was a clear message to all those terrorists who thought that by distributing threatning flyers and killing innocent people it will frighten the resilient Iraqis. The 30th of January proved to the whole world that Iraqis wanna be part of this new chapter, of this new beginning.
HUBBY voted as well, and apparantely it took place in the convention center situated in the Green Zone. He called and I could feel the excitement in his voice that day. Its just an amazing feeling. Although he voted for a different party,GRRRRRRRR, I still love my honeybun,lol....The results will be announced soon, but its pretty obvious who is on top of the list.The Unified Iraqi Alliance is one that I voted for. Many people critisized me for voting for them cuz they believe that many of its members have allegiance(not sure of the spelling) to Iran. Maybe a minority out of the whole party are so but there are some personas who I believe will be of great advantage to have in the National Assembly. At the end of the day, the people voted and we will soon have what the people asked for....
Im in a hurry at the moment cuz am going on a day trip , hence Im writing very hastely, I do apologize. I wanted to publish an email I got a couple of days ago which really saddened me. But to the person who wrote it, I say to you, I never doubted the good that my HUBBY is doing in Iraq. Yes at times Im selfish for wanting him to be with Me. Yes Im selfish for wanting to start a family. Yes am selfish for asking him to leave what he's doing so we can start our life as a married couple. But never did my mind roam around to find a substitue for him. God, I will never do such a thing. Yes I did at my low self esteem times give him ultimatums, but thats only so he can start planning for "OUR" future and not only the future of "OTHER" people.
Im proud, real proud that he was given this opportunity to be part of the New Iraq, though it came so fast and just 3 days after we got married, I still hold my head up and say HUBBY is there, he is there in Iraq, trying to make a difference. Something most of us wanna do as well. I rave and rant about him not being here cuz its my right, my right as a woman, my right as a wife. But these ramblings are a mere result of days of loneliness and longing. Can you blame me if I miss my HUBBY immensely???I doubt it....
I have started already in applying for jobs in Iraq, and I cant wait for the opportunity to arise. Im looking at NGO's and other organisations, and hopefully Ill get some response soon. I really really wanna go there and be of use. I wanna see my country, my Iraq, I wanna be able to help and be part of the new era that we are going through. People think Im nuts for wanting to go there now, but NO,its a risk well worth it, and I believe that destiny is already drawn for us.
HUBBY and I are going to naughty Amsterdam and Stockholm in a few weeks for his R&R, I dunno if Im looking forward to it cuz I hate cold weather, but hey Ill be with HUBBY for a few days, something I damn am looking forward to. If anyone out there knows of any nice places to visit in these cities please do tell so I can surprise HUBBY about the "vast" knowledge I would have...hehe.
Well gotto go now, thanx everyone for your comments/emails and well wishes, sorry havent responded to any but I promise I will do pretty soon......And remember this is just The Beginning of the Beginning.....
16 Comments:
Hey there, good to see an update :P
I bet you are SO excited to see your hubby for R&R...We had the best time when DH was home on his and oh the anxiety killed me...I had butterflies for days!
Amsterdam eh?? LOL, I hear theres loads of stuff to do there...
It's funny that you should ask for sightseeing tips about Amsterdam.
Around 1965, my mother went on a commercial tour around Europe, including Amsterdam. She was very impressed by the Rijkmuseum. This is the most important museum in the city (and in the Netherlands, for that matter). Since Rembrandt was Dutch, it has the largest collection of his paintings in the world. Among them is his most famous painting, "The Night Watch." I would also look for paintings by Vermeer, Hals, Rubens, and Van Dyck.
Around 1995, a friend of mine at work told me that she was planning a trip with her husband to Amsterdam to visit her son, who was working in the Netherlands for a year. (He was playing for a professional baseball team there. I had not known that there WERE professional baseball teams in Europe.) Although I had never been to the Netherlands, I enthusiastically urged her to be sure to see the Rijkmuseum.
Several weeks later, she returned. I immediately asked her if she had been to the museum and what she thought of it. She sheepishly admitted that she been to only one museum in Amsterdam. She and her husband and her son and her son's girlfriend had gone to the Sex Museum, in the "red-light" district of Amsterdam! She even had photographs of them with some of the exhibits. I am not necessarily recommending this museum.
This is not the baseball season, so you probably cannot watch baseball games in the Netherlands.
That nation is strongly associated with one kind of flower, the tulip. It may be close enough to the beginning of the tulip season that you can visit fields of tulips, or, at least, greenhouses of them. Photographs of fields in bloom are very colorful and beautiful.
The Netherlands is famous for windmills and dikes. The Netherlands is small and on the coast, so the people for centuries have gradually expanded out onto the ocean floor. They build a dike out in the water enclosing an area along the coast. They then pump the water out. Presto! New land. Actually, it can take a decade to drain the land and make the soil fertile. In the past, at least, windmills did the pumping.
The Netherlands is notable for allowing certain drugs, such as hashish, to be sold openly and legally. I am not recommending this either, but don't be surprised if you stumble across drug activity.
On a more wholesome note, there is food. I have not heard much about Dutch cooking, but the Netherlands ruled what is now Indonesia for centuries and many Indonesians emigrated to the Netherlands. Indonesian restaurants are common there and the food is interesting. The best-known dish (an entire meal, really) is "rijsttafel." The name and the idea are Dutch, but the components of this meal are Indonesian. I have had that in the US many years ago and it is quite good.
I recall the phrase "A Voyage Amid Storms," which fits Iraq. May it be a Bon Voyage for you and your Hubby.
Michael in Framingham
Your Hubby is indeed a lucky man to have you.
Lets just your vote didnt help Iraq turn into a country where the hijab is enforced and the sexes are segregated... or Chalabi gets any sort of power.... one day he was with the neocons the next with the clerics... anyways Chalabi and their clerical brothers got an endorsement hence their victory... lets just hope that Chalabi stops backstabbing his former friends like he did to Mr. Mitahl Al Alusi
Hello, Neurotica!
20 years ago, I was a little punk rocker living in a squat in Amsterdam. I don't know anything about fine-dining (email Salam - he was just in Rotterdam!), but I can tell you about the cheap pleasures I continue to love on every visit there.
The light - when not completely grey - is unbelievable. Just like in the Old Masters paintings!
The Rijksmuseum and its Rembrandts, Vermeers, etc. The Van Gogh and the Stedelijk for modern art. The Bim Huis for avant garde jazz. Concertgebauw afternoon concerts. Afternoon tea at the grand old American Hotel. Neighborhood cafes all over the place. Cheap little bars with music on the touristy Leidseplein. The Paradiso and the Milky Way for "happenings". Street-markets (Waterlooplein is a giant flea-market, a fabric market in the Jordaan neighborhood on Mondays, a Wednesday flower market near the Rijksmuseum, assorted grocery markets).
Remember, there's a difference between a cafe and coffe-house! (A "coffee huis" sells hashish...)
Trams can take you everywhere! Bicycling, too! (I'd like to see a photo of you riding a bike!!!) A boat-ride on the canal. Trains can take you to other nice towns in Holland (Leiden is lovely, small university town).
http://www.pbase.com/roboele/cities_and_houses
French fries ("frites" - try them with Indonesian peanut sauce "pindasaus"!) sold from street kiosks, dozens of different kinds of licorice (be careful of the super-salty!), "tostis" (toasted cheese sandwich at a bar), pancakes with powdered sugar ("pannekoeken"), "Spekulaas" (aka "spekkies") and "Stroopwafels" cookies.
Try to stay at a small pension on a canal in the center of town. Bundle up and wear a hat! It can be damned chilly there.
Love, Tilli (Mojave Desert)
So cool to hear from a woman! I can't believe that slime Chalabi got himself elected. Actually I can, but I hope Iraqi people don't forget that the man cares only about himself. I don't know his whole history, but the bits I do know make me think he is a con man. The only thing he cares about is the state of his bank account. He'd sell Iraq back to Saddam if they could agree on price. Make sure he doesn't sell Iraq to Iran when no one is looking.
Fabian
PS -- Try to get to the Tuschinsky Theater to see a film. It's a beautiful old art deco movie palace. (When the lights dim, 'stars' shine on the ceiling. Lovely.)
Many bookstores (old rare and new books) on "het Spui" neighborhood. The Atheneum is a wonderful store with lots of magazines, too.
You can take train (which becomes a subway) from Schipool airport to Central Train Station (one of the great train stations), where you can catch taxi or tram to your hotel. There's a good Visitor Center in front of the station.
The Amstel Hotel is another beautiful big old hotel nice for a meal and the Bijenkoorf is Amsterdam's fancy big department store.
If you drink alcohol, I recommend dutch gin (jenever, "oud" or "jonge") followed by a cool Pils.
Don't forget! -- When you get too cold, there is always a warm cafe nearby. The most traditional are the "brown cafes" in the Jordaan neighborhood.
The red-light district ("Rosa Buurt" with their 'ladies in the window') is interesting for a stroll. It's sort of 'controlled sleaze' and not really dangerous neighborhood, but you want to be fairly alert while there.
Holland is a funny place. It's cosy, but controlled. No anarchist's paradise this! people are very friendly and tolerant, but not a warm-blooded type. Even the youngest of kids speaks some English. (I guess Sweden is the same). Well, it's very civilized.
Know that some of the main canals bow out from the city center. Check out what cross-street you want to be near or you might (voice of experience here!) find yourself walking and walking miles away from where you want to be...
Dear Neurotica, I know I'm going on and on, but it's nice to think of you and Hubby having a holiday! Wish I knew something of Stockholm, but I only spent two days there when played a gig 20 years ago! Let's see: sauna, smorgasbord, coffee and cake any time of day, good jazz clubs.
PPS -- All your fans hope you two can just relax and have a good time. We wish you all the best.
Love, Tilli (Mojave Desert)
http://www.lloydhotel.com/
Lloyd Hotel & Cultural Embassy, Amsterdam
I came across your musings after looking for blogs on Lebanon and came upon Iraqi blogs! I just can't control myself when these strands turn into strings and strings turn into ropes and ropes turn into . . . well, you know what I mean.
Anyway, I found your woman's voice so very refreshing. You're a real kick in the head! You're Hubs is really lucky to have you by his side, in a manner of speaking. I trust Amsterdam will be memorable not only for the sights and sounds, but for the company you'll be keeping! ; )
Enjoy the simple pleasures in Amsterdam as Tilli posted. It is very, very expensive in both of the cities you'll be visiting! So, enjoy the sights and sounds and stay especially away from Amsterdam's restaurants (I paid $60 for a simple Indonesian meal and that was over 10 years ago!!).
You might learn a phrase or two of simple Dutch like, "Donk you vell!" is an extravagant, "Thank You!" And "Tote See-nce" is a warm, "See ya later." I think I got close on those transliterations as Americans would say them.
God be with you and may you two hook up soon in Amsterdam and later, back in Iraq, in the not-to-distant future. It's a cliche, but our home is where our heart is.
Keep your heart focused on the heavenly home where there is true joy and there is never disappointment.
Michael in Morocco
Salaams
hey shinoo mission?
email me
Aziza Neurotica,
I picked this out of today's BBC. If something comes of your tryst in Amsterdam or Stockholm, please take a break away from cigarettes and cigarette smokers. It's hazardous to your health and your child to be. You might want to steer away from alcohol, as well.
Smoking damages foetal cell DNA
Smoking while pregnant may damage the genetic material of foetal cells, and increase the risk of cancer in later life, research suggests. Smoking in pregnancy has been linked to problems such as growth retardation, and obstetric complications. But the latest research by the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona suggests it also triggers abnormalities in foetal cell chromosomes. Details are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It will require further work to understand whether this biological effect of smoking adversely affects the health of the offspring Professor Gordon Smith The Barcelona team examined the effect of maternal smoking on cells produced by the foetus which break off and float around in the amniotic fluid which surrounds it. These cells - foetal amnioctyes - were obtained during routine amniocentesis tests. The researchers compared cells taken from 25 smokers, and 25 women who did not smoke during pregnancy. They found cells from foetuses whose mothers smoked during pregnancy showed higher levels of chromosomal abnormalities, damage and instability. Further analysis showed that a chromosomal region previously linked to the development of blood cancers was most affected by tobacco. The researchers say their findings raise the possibility that smoking during pregnancy may put children at risk of developing cancer later in life. In a commentary piece published in the same journal, Dr David DeMarini and Dr Julian Preston, from the US Environmental Protection Agency, say other research has hinted that tobacco smoke can mutate the genetic material of the developing foetus. However, they point out that the latest study has its flaws. For instance, no scientific measure was made of the level to which each foetus was exposed to tobacco. More work is required before definitive conclusions can be drawn, they write. "In the meantime, the message to women based on the published literature remains clear: smoking during pregnancy can be hazardous for both the foetus and the mother." More work needed Professor Gordon Smith, and expert in obstetrics and gynaecology at Cambridge University, told the BBC News website he could think of no previous evidence of a strong association between maternal smoking and foetal abnormalities. A study of over 600 cases of childhood lymphatic leukaemia, for instance, found no evidence that cancer was more common among children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy. Professor Smith said: "We know that maternal smoking is harmful to the offspring for many reasons. "This study adds another mechanism by which maternal smoking might mediate its harmful effects. "But it will require further work to understand whether this biological effect of smoking adversely affects the health of the offspring and what proportion of adverse outcome in the offspring is explained by this mechanism. "It should certainly lead to studies of the long term outcome of the children of smokers."
Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/4328763.stm Published: 2005/03/09 09:51:36 GMT © BBC MMV
To your health and your family's health! Praying protection for your loved one in Baghdad.
Mike in Morocco
If you continue to smoke throughout your pregnancy, you risk harming the child in your womb. Before you became pregnant, you were only harming yourself, but now you’re responsible for the life growing inside you too. If you smoke during pregnancy, you are more likely to birth a child who is underweight. http://www.chantixhome.com/
Really rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and entertaining.
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