Last tango in Erbil

This is my last post from Iraq. We leave tomorrow afternoon. What a month it has been!

Today was a full day off for me. In the morning I met Ahmed and Omar the translators and we went around town. We dropped by the bazaar to buy gifts and also walked up to the citadel-- the original heart of Erbil. Erbil once conisted only of this town on top of the hill-- even as recently as the 1800's there was not more to the city than the citadel itself. The citadel is famous as the longest continuously inhabited structure in the world, but sadly it was almost completely evacuated a few years ago. In theory for renovation but in fact the money is being lost to corruption and the place is rapidly deteriorating. To walk through the streets is kind of eerie-- totally silent. Ahmed told me this was once the liveliest and noisiest part of the city.

At a bookstore near the Citadel I picked up a nice Kurdish phrasebook and grammar (better than the one I have been using) and I also found a large map of Kuridstan. Those of you know who know my map obsession won't be surprised at this, but I was so excited about the purchase that it was only afterwards that I realized it would be almost impossible to get this classroom-style map on my flights back! We'll see what I can wrangle out of Austrian Air.

I had lunch with Omar and Ahmed. We went to a Baghdadi-run restaurant for saj-- a type of sandwich that can best be described as an Arab burrito; chopped grilled meat rolled up in flatbread. Totally delicious and new to me; a nice meal to have on my last day in the country.

It was nice to chat more with the two guys. They are medical students here in Erbil. Omar had more disturbing, but by this time typical, stories to tell. He comes from a prominent family of doctors in Mosul and their prominence eventually led to, as he put it, a "one-way ticket" from the radical terrorists there. He described actually taking the phone call where they told him that because they respected the family's good works in the community they would give them a chance to get out of town before kidnapping and killing them. The unfortunate thing is that Omar will be required to return to Mosul when his studies are finished. He is trying to find ways to extend his studies, or better yet go to the US. Yet another frightening and painful story out of this country.

Tonight was the dance and theater concert. A total, joyous hit. It helped that the sound system and air-conditioning were working, unlike last night. But the kids ranged from adorable to truly talented and the show was high energy throughout. After the grand finale (to "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray) they pumped up the Kurdish music and all of us poured on the stage to dance together. This was truly the final goodbye to my students (and many of their parents) and there were many more hugs, kisses and tears. And some wild dancing thrown in. As I've said before, the men here tend to be very demonstrative, and several times a guy would fling his arms around me, kiss me several times on the cheek and neck, and then whirl me away to dance. On top of it all, a few guys from the US army were in attendance in uniform-- even they were swept onto the stage and danced (and were given roses by some of the Kurds-- so it's not entirely a legend!). We all wore pins of the Kurdish flag, or the Kurdish and American flags together.

So tomorrow will be packing and maybe some last minute purchases. I will be staying in Europe for ten days, and I will continue this blog for those family and friends that want to hear about any adventures there. I also plan to write up some final reflections about being here once I am out of the country. I will keep the blog open for comments, and I also may add periodic entries throughout the year as I keep in contact with students from the program. I look forward to being back in the country and seeing my friends and family again. Please be in touch, through here, my facebook page, or via e-mail!