Helos

A:  "Helos.  How do you spell that?"
B: "H-e-l-o-s.  It is short for helicopters." 
A:  "Oh.  Right."

Helicopters.  More helicopters than I have ever seen or heard in my life.  They are all around.  In fact, I had to opportunity to fly in one.  It was truly an unforgettable experience.  I hope that when I am 98, I can still remember the day I got to fly in a helicopter.  It was HUGE, which I found surprising.  There was a ramp on the back that didn't close all the way.  It was put up for landing and takeoff, but lowered for the flight so we could look out the back and see the sights.  It was night and mostly we saw lots of lights.  It really was unbelievable.

The photo I am going to post I did not take, but a coworker was kind enough to let me use it here.  If you look very closely, you can see an outline of a soldier sitting there, very near to the edge.  It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.

For me, the sound of this war is the helicopters.  They are constantly around.  At night we can't see them, but I hear them.  It is funny because when I first got to Baghdad I was reading a book in which one of the characters is a helicopter pilot.  I have a new fascination with them and am thinking that if I had to do it all over again, I might be tempted to choose helicopter pilot as a profession.  To get to school, part of our journey is around the airfield.  So, while riding in the car, I am able to watch these machines and the fascination grows. 

Crazy Days

We have been busy.  Very busy.  It isn't that there is so much to do, it is just that there is a lot of chaos.  Some of my coworkers call it organized chaos, I don't.  It seems that our schedule changes almost daily.  It definitely changes on a weekly basis.  We are told about all of the changes and adapt accordingly, only to find out that it has changed again.  It keeps me on my toes and helps the time to go by more quickly.

Our school has approximately 18 classes.  I say approximately because at two different points today, two teachers had classes, had them taken away, and then they were returned.  So, I don't really know how many classes we have.  Our students are mostly Air Force and there is a wide range of ages.

My students are great.  I have 10-13, depending on the day.  Most of them are a bit older and are more dedicated to learning English.  They ask questions when they don't understand, explain things to each other in Arabic when necessary, and have plenty of jokes.  Today, I laughed so hard in class I almost cried.  I am lucky to have such a great group.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will keep them after the reshuffle.

After the first round of testing, my students were pretty much where I expected them to be based on their performance in class.  I have them again this week and we moved up a book.  We use curriculum from the Department of Defense.  I really like it.  It is well structured, but I have the freedom to adapt the day based on how my students are understanding the material.

The second night we were here, the Colonel from the school invited us to a real deal Iraqi dinner.  It was very interesting.  We had a very long table and stood up to eat.  He took our culture into consideration and we were given plasticware to use.  The food was really delicious.  I am hoping to be invited again once I get my camera.

I guess that is just about it as far as school goes.  I can't go into specifics about much because of security.  I will say this, with exception to the helicopters (more about that in a later post), I don't really feel like I am living in Iraq.  Taji feels a bit small at times, but not all that foreign.

Lots of love,
 Matia

Settled In

I have arrived in beautiful Taji.  Everything is the same color, brown.  I have never seen so much mud in my entire life.  Apparently, it doesn't rain often, but the mud is around for awhile this time of year.  Nicoleta, my rommate since Ft. Benning, GA and I are still together.  We have managed to make our approximately 9ft by 15 ft room homey.  After all of the carrying around suitcases and not knowing when we would leave, it was nice to finally unpack.  We stayed up fairly late the first night unpacking and trying to make this place more like home.  We have since sweet talked our way into having a small fridge and "acquired" a table from elsewhere on base.  It isn't so bad.  We live in the middle room of a 3 room trailer called a chu.  Yes, it does sort of sound like a sneeze.  We have 2 guys on either side of us and 5 across the the breezeway so we are well protected.  We have a nice little walk to get to the "cadillac."  I have yet to figure out why they call the restroom chu the cadillac.  We are pretty centralized and have everything we need within walking distance.  It is great.  I happen to have the day off tomorrow so I will write more about the trip here and my actual job then.

Goodbye 2010

Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be saying goodbye to 2010 from Baghdad Iraq.  The thought did not even think about entering my mind.  Oh well.  That is what makes this life so interesting.  A friend and I were eating dinner last night when he said, "I can't believe 2010 came and went so quickly."  Those were my thoughts exactly.  It was a very fast year.

It has been an interesting week.  We are still in Baghdad.  I will actually be living in Taji, which is about 25 miles north of here, or so I've been told.  Originally, we were told we would leave Thursday or Friday.  We are maybe leaving sometime this weekend.  Maybe not.  They weren't kidding when they said the key was flexibility.  All I know is that I have already finished 3 books and am ready to start teaching.

I did finally figure out what I will be doing here.  My official title is advisor/mentor.  I will be working with the Iraqis to set up an English program.  There are several locations around the country.  Our jobs are to teach the courses, teach the teachers, team teach the courses with the teachers, and then step back and let them do their thing.  With the military getting somewhat ready to leave, we are not entirely sure how long we will be here, but, that is the goal.  It is my understanding we will be teaching Air Force Cadets.  Because English is the language of aviation, it is incredibly important for the future Iraqi pilots, as well as everyone else in the sky, that the people flying the plane can understand the commands given and are able to communicate.  I am looking forward to doing my part to help the people of this country.

It has been raining all day and cool.  It actually sort of feels like winter.  I had the opportunity to go to a different base today on a sort of field trip.  It is right next to this one so it wasn't far.  I also got to see the Embassy...or at least the walls around it.  Apparently, this is the biggest US Embassy in the world.  Something around 160 acres.  All I know is that the walls are tall.

In other news, I am slowly getting over jet lag.  There was one night this week I was awake for a few hours for no reason in the middle of the night, but other than that, I seem to be adjusting.  The food here is great.  I have no idea how it will be in Taji, but for now, I have zero complaints.  There is plenty to choose from.  I don't have my camera so I don't have any new photos for now.  I will be getting it soon enough and then able to give you an idea about what it is like here.  I will also give my address at the bottom in case any of you are interested.

Well, best wishes to all of you for the New Year.  I hope it is a great one for all of you.

Love,
 Matia

Matia Wilson
821 ETS Unit 6045
APO AE 09378

Merry Christmas

I somehow managed to smash all of my stuff into my two allotted duffel bags this morning.  I am still surprised it all fit...all except for the 6 boxes I left at home to be shipped.  They are very heavy and I am trying to figure out how I will carry them around after spending the day in limbo.  I am sure I will make it.  So here I am sitting in the "terminal" waiting for them to tell us what we will do.  They are not very specific about times and that is for our own safety.  After a long week of hurry up and wait, it seems they wanted to finish in a similar fashion.

A couple of things about this week.  First of all, I have met some great people.  I would have been a basketcase without them.  I am going to post a photo at the end of this post so you guys can see the group.  About half of us are headed to Iraq and the others to Afghanistan.  I have been given all sorts of pointers from them this week.  Somethings I wanted to know, some I didn't need to.  Nevertheless, they have touched my life and I hope to never forget the time I spent here this week.

Second, we had a little fireball named Ingrid who took care of us and made sure that we always had the papers we needed and knew where we were supposed to be.  She is very good at her job and made this week of transition as smooth as possible.  She is in the middle, front in the photo.  I probably would have made it without Ingrid and the others, but I cannot imagine how.

Well, I am sitting in a huge room watching people.  Some are taking naps ( I am saving my nap for the flight), some are talking to their friends.  There are people relaxing and reading, using their computers, and saying their final goodbyes on the phone.  It is Christmas Eve and everybody is missing their family and friends.  The atmosphere is subdued.  I have had plenty of time to think both last night when I couldn't sleep and today while I am waiting around for something to happen.  I have been thinking about how fortunate I am.  I have been able to go some great places, meet some amazing people, and have unbelievable experiences...and I am still relatively young.  I'm a lucky girl.  Having said that, I know that my sense of adventure would not be so bold without people like you.  People who may roll their eyes when I get some big idea to go someplace new, but in the end, give me a hug and send me on my way.  Additionally, you send letters and care packages while I am away and welcome me home whenever I return.  Indeed, I am lucky.  So on this Christmas, as I am flying to a very different part of the world to begin this next stage, I will be thinking of you. Know that I am thankful for all of the love and support you have and will continue to give to me.  Merry Christmas to you and yours. 

Love,
Matia

Long Day

I am in my room after a very long day.  I will not fill you in on all of the graphic details, but it was a day meant to prepare us for what can go wrong when you live in a war zone.  It really took a lot out of me as I was faced with some of the very real dangers that could happen living and working in Iraq.  It was the second day in a row that the reality of what I am preparing to do sort of slapped me in the face.  Yesterday, we picked up our equipment.  In a word, it is heavy.  I have a helmet, gas mask, and vest to wear.  I am pretty sure that all of it weighs more than my roommate.  I will try to figure out how to include a photo so you can all picture me wearing this stuff when you are celebrating Christmas...I will be putting mine on in Kuwait sometime Sat evening-ish.  Please don't get me wrong, I am still very excited about this opportunity.  I am also thankful for this week of training/orientation.  I just know that it is going to be very different from anything I have done before and that I am going to need to be more aware of my surroundings than ever before.  I guess that is all for now.  I will post more soon.
Love,
 Matia

PS  Sorry for the poor photo quality.  My camera was MIA and now it is simply AWOL.  When I get it back, I will take better photos.

New Job, New Blog

Well, I am currently in Ft. Benning, GA going through a week of orientation before I leave for Iraq.  I will spend the next year living and teaching on a NATO base.  It is likely I will be in Baghdad, but not certain.  I will not know where for sure until I get there.  The process of getting to this place was a whirlwind.  I had just over a month to prepare-dental, medical, background check, etc.  With the Thanksgiving holiday and finals at school, I felt like I didn't have any extra time for relaxing.  The people who know me well and spent time with me before I left can tell you that I was stressed.  I have been here since Friday and I am already feeling VERY relieved.  This is a good place to begin the transition.  I have already met many people who have helped me with the "silly" things I had been worried about.                                               

This week is will be interesting.  When they told me that I would begin my day at 5a.m., they were serious.  Just this morning I was thinking about how people will say, "People in the army accomplish more by 9 a.m. than others accomplish all day."  I am not in the army, but I am surrounded by people who are and think there might be something to that.  I have already learned so much and know there is much more to know before leaving.  

With that, I think I will close for now.  In case you are wondering, I decided to switch to this website because it is a bit easier to use.  So, bookmark it.  I will try to update it more often than I did in Korea. Stay tuned for more stories of adventure-I am sure there will be plenty. 

Lots of Love,
  Matia