Arrival

Thursday, September 22, 2011

               Leaving to come to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for 14 months brought up a wide array of emotions.  The excitement of an opportunity like this and the stories that come with it was entirely too good to pass up.  In a tight domestic labor market, it also seems that I have chosen a good time for this foray into the Middle East.  This region is constantly brimming with headline news, for better or worse, which the rest of the world anxiously gobbles up.  I look forward to truly immersing myself in the Kurdish culture and seeing the world from their perspective.  In the event that they someday become a state, as they probably should, I am sure that my time here will prove to be useful if I decide to try my luck with an international organization or the US government.  

               Despite the clear opportunities that lay before me there is naturally a sense of hesitancy.  Should I have been more patient and applied to more jobs back at home?  Am I prepared for the loneliness that will undoubtedly arise as an American facing a huge language and cultural barrier?  Will this opportunity push my career forward in a meaningful way?  These are all questions that I wrestled with for quite some time after leaving here in July.  In the end, despite potential negatives, the benefits of this experience were too great to pass up.  This is especially considering that opportunities for adventures like these will likely decrease over time.  

               So here I am in Duhok.  The trip was smooth at nearly every turn except the last.    I got to JFK alright, thank you to Nate, check-in and the flight were smooth, even a 7 hour layover in Istanbul seemed manageable (although I never want to do it again).  The only hiccup, and it was a quite severe one at that, was once we got to Iraq.  We arrived to the parking lot of Erbil International Airport, large suitcases in hand, and searched for our driver.  The only problem was that he was nowhere to be found.  I scoured the lot and found nothing.  Cabs would gladly take us to Duhok for $100, a 2.5 hour ride, but we didn’t even have a place to stay.  This is where a little luck and good karma stepped in.  

               One of the people we had met at our NGO site visits was actually at the airport parking lot at the same exact time; this was an odd coincidence for 2:30am early Thursday morning.  He had been communicating with Paige so we thought there might be a chance he would be there, but we had no expectation of actually seeing him.  Shavan (I’m sure the spelling is wrong) let us use his phone to call our university contacts.  After three different people yielded 3 different answering machines we finally got through.  They had apparently forgotten to send a driver because they thought we weren’t coming in until the next day.  Ouch.  Their solution was to spend the night in Erbil and they would pick us up tomorrow.  Not a terrible idea, but after 24 hours of travel the last two things we needed to hear were: a) you need to wait around some more, and b) your apartment still isn’t ready yet.  

Luckily for us, Shavan and his family really came to the rescue.  They not only waited with us the whole time we were trying to sort this out, but they also secured a cab for us and Shavan came with us to make sure it was ok.  When the Motel Ribar (same place I stayed the first time in Iraq) seemed to be closed, our university contact didn’t really have a backup solution for us.  Luckily for us (again), Shavan came through and invited us to stay at his house with his family.  He even paid for the $100 cab, and I will definitely do my best to get the university to reimburse him.  If it wasn’t for this strange coincidence coupled with their overwhelming desire to help out, we would be stranded at the Erbil International Airport with nowhere to go.  To say the least, I am thankful.  

I also have a feeling that the experience of these past few hours is going to be a portent for my time in Kurdistan.  There will be inefficiencies and organizational mishaps that would drive any well oiled American organization up a tree; however, despite some blundering, the kind-hearted nature and good graces of the Kurdish people will shine through in force and still cause everything to be alright.  I am excited to get things started.