So what is Baghdad like? I haven't had an opportunity to see much of it as I haven't been outside the Presidential Palace since I arrived here. From what I have seen, it looks much like it does on TV. Different shades of brown and tan with the occasional bit of green from shrubs or palm trees. Lots of sand and concrete. I took a couple pictures from the bus window, but that's about it.

The Green Zone is a trip. What I saw driving in was lots and lots of concrete. They've got huge concrete barriers set up everywhere. The road in to the palace had 20 foot concrete barriers running the length of both sides of the road. It was like driving through a maze.

There's folks from all sorts of countries here. British, some sort of Asian nation (Malaysia?), the Philippines, and many other soldiers that I can't identify by their uniforms. There's civilians and U.S. Government types here as well. I had one guy come up to me and demand I erase the picture I had just taken. I asked him why and he said he provided security for the State Department and didn't want to be in the picture I had taken. I hadn't even noticed him when I took the picture, but when I went back in and looked, sure enough there he was. So I erased it. When I was sorting through my pictures last night I noticed him in another photo,but I'm going to keep that one just as a special souvenir *lol*

I am so glad to finally be here though. Not so much because I'm in Baghdad as much as because I'm sick and tired of moving my stuff around!! God, the last three days it seems like all I've done is load my stuff from one bus to another, to a plane, off the plane onto a truck, off the truck and onto another bus, into a temporary sleeping area, back onto a bus . . . Man, that shit is heavy!! Four duffel bags, two computer cases, full body armor and an M16 with 210 rounds. I will be glad to finally be where I'm going just so I can stop moving those damnable duffel bags around.