Well, the body armor fits as does the kevlar helmet. My passport is stamped with a three-month visa and the reservation is made. Of course, the next five days will be busy with writing stories for next week's paper, keeping up with my schoolwork and getting the last few supplies I need.
What is can't wait for is the moment I'm finally seated on the plane and I can really turn all my attention to where I'm going and why I'm going, as well as continuing to peruse the AFRO's "This is Our War" and Wallace Terry's "Bloods."
Somewhere in between the blogs and the radio interviews, the stories are the main thing. And what I'm hoping to find are the things I don't know exist, and what I'm expecting is the unexpected.
Three weeks in Iraq is not a long time, and I'll be hitting the ground running so I won't waste valuable time. I am looking forward to seeing the eight soldiers I met in june from the 298th transportation company. It will be interesting to see if there are any visible changes in their demeanor and whether their expectations were matched by the realities of the country.
As for me, I don't know that I have any expectations. One thing that journalism has taught me is that the truth is elusive and is hard to capture in one story, or even a series of stories. So everything I've heard and read about the Iraq, the occupation and the soldiers is open to being obliterated by what I see and hear when I'm there. I also have to mindful of my own opinions about the invasion and subsequent occupation. While Iraq is strictly a political issue for most of us in America -- who do not have family or friends living and soldiering there -- it is much more than that. At base, for the people who live there, it is a matter of life and death -- a matter of whether a country will survive and what form that survival will take. That is serious business, and I have to remember and respect that.
What is can't wait for is the moment I'm finally seated on the plane and I can really turn all my attention to where I'm going and why I'm going, as well as continuing to peruse the AFRO's "This is Our War" and Wallace Terry's "Bloods."
Somewhere in between the blogs and the radio interviews, the stories are the main thing. And what I'm hoping to find are the things I don't know exist, and what I'm expecting is the unexpected.
Three weeks in Iraq is not a long time, and I'll be hitting the ground running so I won't waste valuable time. I am looking forward to seeing the eight soldiers I met in june from the 298th transportation company. It will be interesting to see if there are any visible changes in their demeanor and whether their expectations were matched by the realities of the country.
As for me, I don't know that I have any expectations. One thing that journalism has taught me is that the truth is elusive and is hard to capture in one story, or even a series of stories. So everything I've heard and read about the Iraq, the occupation and the soldiers is open to being obliterated by what I see and hear when I'm there. I also have to mindful of my own opinions about the invasion and subsequent occupation. While Iraq is strictly a political issue for most of us in America -- who do not have family or friends living and soldiering there -- it is much more than that. At base, for the people who live there, it is a matter of life and death -- a matter of whether a country will survive and what form that survival will take. That is serious business, and I have to remember and respect that.
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