1st. Lt. Stephanie Melton - September 30, 200
A letter from Stephanie to me.
September 30, 2009
Dear Dad,
I don’t know how you did it but your package got here in less than a week. Usually they take at least 9-10 days. Thank you for the stationery; it is lovely and I have plenty to last a few months. The books look interesting. I’ve heard good things about Angela’s Ashes. I gave the card games to my guys and they are excited to have stuff to do at the ECP’s.
Our mission is pretty boring even though it has to be done. They spend a lot of time sitting and just observing the Iraqi Army (IA). We have been building good rapport though. The people are friendly and full of humorous, if not very industrious. We are often at the ECPs during meal times and share food back and forth. They love our Gatorade and Coke. They bring us roasted chicken from the street vendors ad fresh fruit from the nearby fruit market. They have a type of melon similar to cantaloupe called "balick" that is delicious. It’s hard to say though because the "ck" is pronounced as that throat clearing sound so particular to Arabic.
I’ve been learning quite a bit of language since most of my job is relations with IA officers. They use a different form of Hello...they say "a salaam alaykum." for a formal greeting card and just "salaam" for the informal. They’ve made up a new greeting since the U.S. arrived that roughly translates to "what’s up?" ("maku baku").
Our interpreters are very friendly and have been very willing to help me learn. The female Iraqi searchers, called, the "Daughters of Iraq," work at both my points searching females. One of them sometimes brings her 6 year old daughter with her to work. She sits with the U.S. soldiers sometimes. Her name is Messina. We play UNO at the ECP and she sits with me and teaches me the names of the numbers. She always correcting my pronunciation, LOL. I will try to get a picture of her for the church. She looks much younger then six because she is so small due to malnutrition. She eats like a horse whenever we bring her food. Messina loves chips and Coke, but she actually prefers the fruit and veggies we bring her.
I eat with the IA pretty regularly, usually the officers. Mostly we’ve had roasted chicken next time they promised to bring fish. I have to be careful about what I eat and drink here because it upsets my stomach. I lost almost 10 pounds when I got to Prosperity because the water makes me sick. There’s a lake on the Victory Base Complex (VBC) that they filter water out of and bottle. Something about the purification process doesn’t agree with me so I can’t drink the water. I have to buy Culligan Water. The food in DFAC isn’t bad but its always the same. I don’t eat much because I am so bored with the same meals.
....I miss my puppies a lot but Mom absolutely loves them...I have to get her a dog!...Thank you again for the package and if the church would like to send any please tell them to include more card games. They really are a big hit with the soldiers.
Stephanie
