High Tea in Mosul

Duhok as usual seems to be very busy ,everyone is running around tending to their own buisness. On Monday ,the staff at the International Relations Office all went out for lunch to a restaraunt called Shendohka. We had three guests with us all from America and two new members of staff and this meal was a welcoming invitation to be part of this great group of people .
Today (Wenensday ) we have to say goodbye too two of the American gentlemen one who is returning back to the States and the other who will spend the rest of his time in Iraq in Erbil. we are sorry to see you go Ben and Chris we hope you both have safe journeys on to your next port of call.The other American gentleman Charles will stay in Duhok for some time, so it will give us a chance to get to know him. It is always so nice when we have people from other countries staying with us , I am so happy in my work ,getting many oppurtunities to meet up with these special visitors.
I think my friend may pay me a visit next week and then we can spend some time together shopping and buying small gifts to take home with me,for my family and friends. I am really looking forward to this holiday,it is five years since I have seen any of them and although I speak with them on the phone to me its not the same has being with them.I will miss my friends in Duhok,but no matter where I am they will always be with me in my thoughts.
Susan(Pauline)

Once again the pomegranate trees are in full bloom and I just can’t believe that one year has passed since i wrote about the beautiful sight of the fruit trees.

The weather here in Duhok is becoming hotter each day and soon again it will be time to switch on the air conditioning. I don’t like the hot weather at all and this year I will spend the two hottest months here in iraq in England instead am looking forward to seeing all my relatives and friends who are eagerly awaiting my arrival.It is so nice that people are fighting over who should pick me up at the airport or who I am going to stay with when I arrive in Colne.My friend from Tyne and Wear will come to stay I have,nt seen her for thirty years or more we lost contact when she left Germany and she made a big effort to find me and I am so glad she did . We had some beautiful moments in Hannover and even though we lost contact neither of us forgot anything of the times we spent there.
Here in Iraq ,things are pretty much the same Duhok is very busy all the time and we hear from the news and our friends in Mosul what everyday is like,some days are very good while others can be frightening. Noor and the boys are well and so is my good friend Walla ,she has been very busy her niece as just had a little boy ,i hope he will be good for her . For everyone in all the world the cycle of life goes on and we should learn to take advantage of the things that are given to us and not take them for granted
Susan(Pauline)

Thursday with stay with me forever. We travelled from the International Relations Office at the University of Duhok to this very special place up in the mountains about an hour and a half away from the city of Duhok.There was about twenty of us and we had a special guest with us ,an American gentleman who is visiting the University for about three weeks.
We arrived about 3pm and the sight that awaited me was worth waiting for , the mountains on there own hold a special place inside my heart but when I saw the town of AMADI perched on top of this mountain surveying all what lies below. I am amazed how the houses have not fallen ,some of them just hang over the edge.We left the town keeping guard over the beautiful land and travelled further into the mountains ,twisting and turning down the country lanes until we came to a picnic site with a small stream where they children had a great time,throwing small sticks into the water and watching to see which stick would reach the bridge first. The meal which was organized by Ennas and Reving was a feast, with cloths and mats to sit on we all enjoyed the meal set before us.
Later with music playing we were treated to watch a display of Kurdish dancing ,something not to be missed . For me when the dancing starts to gather pace and they are in one line moving to the beat of the music River dance has nothing on them . At about eight oclock we travelled back to Duhok and with the memory of the day and the picture of the mountainsides a blaze with the color of the red poppies,this picnic with be a day to remember. Thank you to all at the International Relations office for allowing me to part of this event.
Susan (Pauline)

Last week I was honoured to be asked to interview candidates from the University of Duhok for the chance to win a Scholarship to study in Europe next year.The process took about three days and i really enjoyed the time I spent with these people who talked to me about differant aspects of their lives. Also with me was an American man who I have the pleasure of working with at the Training Centre here in Duhok.Tomorrow there is another round of interviews so I am busy preparing questions to ask them.
On Thursday the staff from the International Relations office here at the University will go for a day out up in to the mountains ,They asked everyone where they would like to go and I said I would like to see a town called Amadiya, (sorry if the spellings off but I did my best.) I have seen pictures of this beautiful place but never visited and one of the staff who is recently married ,Hi Reving ) showed me a phoograph of the house where his new bride’s family house is. I am looking forward to going very much.The people in this very special office have become like familyto me , they have accepted me like one of their own and for this I am truly grateful.I may have said this before but these kind people have given me back my live ,before I was in the house most of the time and it can destroy ones soul . So again I say a big thank you to all of them.
Susan (Pauline)

Noor ,the boys and my friend arrived later than planned yesreday ,they were supposed to travel early in the morning but their area was closed off due to a bomb scare and they were not allowed to leave the house till mid day. For the last week Mosul was very bad ,one incident causing the deaths of five American soldiers and the wounding of many civilians. my family arrived safely and although the weather was bad we had a nice day ,first we met up with some old friends and had a very nice lunch where we talked of old times and later in the afternoon we went shopping to the new shopping center and bought lots of things for the boys. Today Laela, my friend and the boys will go to town but I am at the University working so i will miss out on the trip.
Duhok is very peaceful but yesterday it was very crowded. A lot of families from Mosul come every Thursday and stay over the weekend ,I feel very happy when I see them enjoying themselves even if its just for a short while before they leave for what may face them again in Mosul.
Susan ( pauline)

Tomorrow is Good Friday and many Christians here in Dohuk are preparing to celebrate Easter. Like people in England the Christians of Dohuk give eggs to their familes on Eater Sunday,but last week Iasked a lady and she told me they are not made out of chocalate butreal eggs boiled and then painted in different colours. I told her how the Easter egg tradition has become big buisnee in England and other parts of the world and like Christmas we sometimes forget the real meaning of these fesivals.
The weather here in Dohuk gets warmer each day ,at the momentit is pleasant and many people take the time to take their families on picnics to surrounding areas going up into the mountains and nearby villages.Mosul again is not good and we hear many reports of things happening. I wish for this special time for people all over iraq to stop for a moment and give peace a chance.
To my friends and relatives in Colne have a happy easter and take care and for Glynis my good friend and her family the same message goes to you .
Susan(Pauline)

First of all I would like to say hello to my very dear friend in Washington Tyne and Wear — good morning Glynis! She is a faithful reader of the blog. I hope you are well. Here in Dohuk the weather is changing, the sun is shining and all the people are in summer clothes. There has been some rain but not enough and last week when we drove up to the dam we were shocked to see how low it was. This is a very big problem for Dohuk, the water is very precious and in summer can affect the lives of many people if there is a shortage. Yesterday we drove up to the mountains to a place called Sersing; it was very nice to see the scenery, it was very crowded with families making the most of this time before the hot weather start, usually in the middle of May.
Mosul seems for the time being to be quiet, which gives the people a chance to get about and also to enjoy this time of the year. Noor and the boys will come next week to Dohuk and I long to see the. I talk each day to them on the phone but it’s not the same as having them here with us in Dohuk. It would complete my happiness if they would come and live here, but I don’t think that would happen. Her husband’s work is in Mosul and it would be difficult for him to leave it but I can dram.
Susan (Pauline)

At the moment Dohuk is in the process of changing from one season to a new one. Winter is on its way out and Spring is bursting into full bloom. Everywhere there is green and the trees are full of flowers: the peach and apricot trees are the first to give their pinkish white flowers followed by the pear and then the citrus trees. Around this time there is nowhere in Dohuk and Mosul that you can not smell the pure fragrance of the orange and lemon trees — it is so thick with this sweet scent that sometimes it can give you a headache. Spring Day last week saw all of Dohuk outside; no one stays in the city and when you are driving you can see the mountains full of people and in the sunlight you can see the reflective shine of the ladies sequin-encrusted dresses moving in time to the Kurdish music that echoes through the mountains.
On Friday we drove up to the mountains. It was not as crowded as Spring Day but many people took advantage of the nice day and we could see as we drove along the new road children playing football while their mothers prepared the food. I have just bought a new camera — it is a Sony and the colour is pink which is something new for me. I have taken many photographs of the beloved mountains which have become very precious to me and I know if I can’t see the mountains the weather is going to be bad.
In Mosul, too, people are starting to venture out more but still there is that presence of fear always with them. Noor went for a drive with her husband and children and although she enjoyed the time she was glad to get back home. This is the price that people in Mosul still have to pay for just a simple day out.
Susan (Pauline)

Last Monday was the 21st anniversary of that awful day when so many Kurdish people lost their lives in the village of Halabja. At 11am all of Kurdistan stood still for five minutes to remember the victims of that day. The air raid siren was sounding for the full five minutes and as I was standing outside the university I started again to think about what had gone before me in the thirty years I have lived here. We are now in the sixth year since the ending of the last war and again the news asks in their annual surveys “is Iraq any safer than this time last year”? It’s the same old line and the pictures they show of foreigners standing next to a landmark in Baghdad may be a promising sign but maybe they should perhaps also show the guards who are watching over them as well.
Yesterday was Spring Day here in Iraq and in Kurdistan it is also the National Day. It is nice to see all of Dohuk going up into the mountains and the ladies in their elaborate Kurdish dresses and some of the older men dressed in their national costumes which identifes their heritage and keeps their traditions alive. In the afternoon we went for a drive but didn’t get far, it was so crowded that we turned back and stopped for a cup of tea at a cafe and then headed back into the city and home. I rang Noor in Mosul — she and the boys are well and may visit in a week or two. She told me even there people were venturing out to their relatives houses. They don’t celebrate the Spring day festival like they do in Dohuk but at least yesterday they could enjoy themselves for a day.
Susan