So let me tell ya something, Wal-Mart’s got nothing on Sulaymaniyah’s bazaar, but before we get to that let me tell you about the plane ride. Long is the word to describe it, but educational works as well. I hopped on a plane from Nashville to New York reeling with excitement and a bit of fear because going it alone is a first for me. While on the plane, I met an Indian college student who explained the seventh day adventist church to me which was cool and educational, and two hours later i was in New York. The people in the airport seemed so trendy but maybe that’s just the stereotype I put on New Yorkers (Josh Baltz). After a couple hours in the airport i met the first of nine extremely cool interns that I will be working with, Sophie. From NYC, I was then off to Istanbul where I met a woman on the plane who convinced me to go backpacking across South America. This is where the long part comes in. The plane ride was around 10 hours, and once we were in Istanbul Sophie and I had to wait 14 hours for our next flight. It turned out to be ok though. We ate some Turkish food, drank some turkish coffee, and met all but two of the rest of the interns. Ben, Esther, Alex, DBuc, Claire, and Josh are their names, and they’re all so cool (the other two are arriving Wednesday). I feel like each person has an amazing and unique story, and working with them is going to be amazing. Then it was off to Salaymaniyah, where on the plane I met an Iraqi man that was really excited just to speak English with me. Adnan, cool guy.
When we arrived in Suly, the time was three in the morning, so we all went back to the house and crashed. However, eleven o’clock the next morning we were woken up to a surprise. Our mission for the day was to find a list of necessary and optional supplies for our summer in Iraq. We were given the list and some cash, nothing more. What a great way to first learn about and experience how to live in Suly. We went to the bus stop, chaotically squeezed on a bus, and took off to the Bazaar. Before, I go any further with, let me briefly explain Suly. It’s a large city that is actually very modern, which surprised me and my American perspective of Iraq. Their architecture isn’t at all uniform, which makes it beautiful. Concrete buildings are in all sorts of cool designs, and the people here dress really sharp. Fellas wear nice button up shirts and gel up their hair. For them, dressing well is a way of showing respect, even just going to the store. Back to the bazaar, it is a massive, and when i say massive, I mean massive market where you walk around on the sidewalk and can find anything you could ever need. You can even buy a squirrel as a pet, complete with a pretty collar around its neck. Luckily, on the bus we met an extremely nice an hospitable Kurdish guy named Hajjin (probably spelled wrong). The entire afternoon he helped us find everything we needed, such as SIM cards, cheap cell phones, and fruit smoothies (legit melons were used at that). Seriously he was a great guy that I hope we hang out with again soon. After, the bazaar we came back and ate a delicious meat salad (because I had more hamburger meet than salad). After supper we gathered in the living room and worshiped together. Josh Gigs, a long term intern, shared a great story about his life and we all sang some great songs together (Jeremy, one of the head honchos, can really play). It felt like true church, sitting in the middle of Iraq, sharing experiences, and singing to God not because it’s the routine but because God’s love is worth celebrating together.
As the days go on, I’ll be getting more into a work routine in the PLC office and I’ll be sharing with you more and more information about the life-saving work of PLC. Also, I’m definitely going to update the blog more frequently. There are just to many details to fit into one blog.
Best wishes,
Preston
(pictures above from top to bottom: Hanging out with Hajjin, Klash shoemaker shop, Pet squirrel, The PLC house)
