Memorial Day 2012

Honor the Fallen.... Support the Survivors

opportuniy

Wow.

I am so thankful that I committed to volunteering with TAPS -- Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.
website
It was on a whim that I applied way back in January. I figured why not..

I love my country

Love my brothers and sisters at arms.

Love soldiers and soldiers families.
I like DC. And DC on Memorial Day weekend.

I had the great opportunity to work with the five and six year olds and it was right where I needed to be.

As fate would have it I met a very sweet girl who was way too young to remember her dad when he gave all in Ramadi in 2006.

Yeah, Ramadi a place where I found peace for nine months and made friendships I will never forget.

I will be back – this is too great of an organization not to support.

On top of that I caught up with an old friend I have not seen in almost 30 years...

not what I expected -

but pleasantly suprised. A different side of Mosul.

"I am not moving to Iraq to teach."

How does a liberal American girl in red suede boots end up teaching English to conservative Muslim Iraqis in headscarves?

Gretchen Berg has met the recession: she has eaten cereal for dinner, given up the gym membership, and come face to face with looming unemployment. To cope, she decided to uproot her life and move to the Middle East. She expected to make some good money, pay off some bad debt, and take some photos of camels. She did not expect to feel at home. She did not expect to fall for a student. She did not expect Diet Coke withdrawal.

Irreverent, hilarious, and completely relevant, I Have Iraq in My Shoe takes a single, broke, fashion-conscious American female who prefers Project Runaway to CNN and tosses her into Iraq in exchange for cash and vacation time.

Watch the desert sand fly!



About the Author

Gretchen Berg

Gretchen is an award-wanting writer with a bachelor’s degree in something completely unrelated to writing. She has read articles for Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Allure, The New Yorker, Newsweek, and The Economist (once when the TV wasn’t working). She is a Cancer, with Scorpio rising, who was born and raised. She wishes people dressed up more.

I finished The Hunger Games trilogy.


I have not read in trilogy in a very long time – maybe some time in Middle School/High School – (I am not sure if the SVH books really count)

Bottom line they were good. Suzanne Collins did an amazing job of creating characters that captured my attention and heart.

I did not see them as science fiction or fantasy – certainly would not put them in that bucket.   I finally went to see the movies - The four of us  - including Baby Ocean who did amazingly well. Of course my eyes welled up a few times and there was a slight constriction in the back of my throat - but good.

I am curious what Gale is doing in District 2…