First message, March 10, 2012

March 10, 2012.  First blog message.  Third time in Sulaimani, Iraq.  Yes, I came back to The American University of Iraq Sulaimani to teach.  I am here this time only because of the misfortune of a friend named Randall who was supposed to teach here this spring term.   About three weeks before the beginning of the term on February 26, he was told by his doctor that he needed to stay home and to have surgery to correct problems in his lower back.  So he resigned, and they invited me to come in his place.  I come with Carolyn’s understanding but not necessarily with her desire to see me out of the house.  One of these days, I will need to figure out what retirement is supposed to be about.  In the mean time, I am back here and, for the most part, enjoying my work.  I wish Randall and his surgeons every success in his making a full recovery. 

This term started on February 26 and will end on June 13.  I am teaching three sections of US history and one section of the history of fine arts.  The books for both courses were chosen by others and I am adapting to them, once again.  The same thing, that is using books chosen by others, happened in my first and third terms here.  Only once have I been in a position to choose the books I want to use in class.  Perhaps if I weren’t always pinch-hitting for others I could choose my books as other faculty do.  But that would require long-term commitment, something I have not been very good at. 

We finished the second week of courses yesterday and have one more week of classes before a week off for Nawroz, the major Kurdish festival that centers around the coming of spring equinox on March 21.  Once we return to classes on March 25, it’s a long straight march to mid-June with no more breaks except for Iraqi Labor Day on May 1.  Ideally, it would be good to have the week of spring break in the middle of the term, but that seems not to be possible here with the late start date of the beginning of the academic year in October.  It’s a bit early to know fully what my classes will be like.  I can see that I have some bright students who are able to summarize and discuss long text passages.  Others are working hard at copying into their notebooks sentences they barely understand.  

I will not be staying in town for the week of the Nawroz break as I will be traveling to Cairo, Egypt to do the tourist thing.  I have never been to Cairo and very much want to see what I can see in one week.  I am only 2 ½ hours from Cairo by air and do not know if I will ever be back in this part of the world again. Compared to the US and Europe, the relatively short flight is expensive -- $610 round trip – but the room in Cairo is cheap – less than $50 per night, including breakfast.   In Cairo, I know that I will be going to the Islamic quarter that contains some very historic mosques and markets.  (Cairo was one of the first cities established by the Muslims during their expansion in the 7^th century, so is quite historic in that regard.)  I expect also to go to the big National Museum that contains so many artifacts from pharonic Egypt, e.g., artifacts from King Tut’s tomb, lots of mummies, and more; and I hope to get out to some of the big pyramids near Cairo.  Beyond that I really haven’t planned a lot.  I have promised myself and my wife that I will avoid getting anywhere near political demonstrations.  Otherwise, I have been assured, the city is open and welcoming to tourists. 

My living arrangements this year are the same as last year.  I live in a 12 story apartment building that is owned by the university.  It is one of many similar apartment towers all built in close proximity to each other, and together they comprise what is called Pak City.  We AUIS faculty and staff who live here are transported by university buses that leave every thirty minutes in the morning, beginning at 7:00 a.m. to take us to the university.  Then in the afternoon, there are buses that bring us from the university back to Pak City.  It is conveniently located for stores and restaurants. 

I have attached a few photos to illustrate what Pak City looks like, what my living arrangements are like, and what I see from my balcony.  I will in future blogs report on the new campus of AUIS.  It is quite something to see and to work in. First photo is exterior of building I live in; second photo is of kitchen; third photo is of desk and study; fourth photo is of other towers in Pak City complex; fifth is of the large mountain to southwest of Sulaimani that dominates skyline.