Movin' on up

We finally moved - nearly a month after we originally planned to do so. It couldn't have come at a better time since we were really bouncing off of the walls in our old office/house. Six weeks of sharing a room with two other people (one of whom snores so loudly that the use of earplugs were required nightly), and working two feet from where I slept. With security measures in place, our movements were restricted, meaning very little movement throughout the day and leading to lethargy. My things were spread out in three different rooms and I had essentially been living out of a suitcase since early October.

However, despite conditions not being completely perfect in the new house and office, we moved on Sunday anyway. For me, it is paradise. I finally have my own room for the first time since arriving in Iraq with a nice huge bed and a view of the mountains. Also, I actually have my own desk in our new office - another first for me since arriving in Iraq. There is a whole new level of excitement to be found in putting things in drawers, knowing that you aren't just borrowing someone else's space. Naturally all this excitement about unpacking and moving into nice new digs means that we're all certain that it will turn out to be temporary and we'll find out in a couple of weeks that we're moving back down to Kqin - or worse - keep moving northward.

The move into an older house doesn't come without challenges though. Despite a month of renovations, we still don't have functioning toilets. Fixing them has been a priority for the past three days, but apparently competent plumbers in Sulimaniyah are a rarity. I don't know how many times the toilets have been taken apart and put back together with absolutely no change in the result: clogged pipes and everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) coming out from under the basin. After being assured that one of our toilets had in fact been fixed and was ready for use, I went to have a look only to discover that it wasn't even sitting over the drainage pipe, but rather against the wall. The best part is that after accomplishing exactly NOTHING after three days, the plumber came looking for payment today - because as our finance assistant put it, - "it's how we do it in Iraq." Our Finance and Admin Director kindly told her that we wouldn't be following that system on this particular occasion.

One very positive development here in Suli has been the addition of two of our puppies to our household up here. Fortunately, little Sarah along with her brother AD managed to make the trip up from Kqin without too much trauma and are now in our back garden waiting for their new digs in our front yard. For not being a dog lover, I feel an unexpected amount of joy in seeing them again. Finally something to focus on besides ourselves. Besides, aside from a little barking, they are often a lot more amiable than their human caretakers....