I have a very big announcement to make

WE CAN GET NUTELLA IN THE MARKET!!!

My that's a big bag you have?

Do you really need that much stuff for one week?

I have heard this a lot in Juba. I went down for a week with my 70L backpack. Admittedly it was a bit too big of a bag coming down. But it was only 1/3 full. I'd brought it with a purpose. To bring back food. 

I'd made the fatale flaw of not booking extra cargo for food when I first moved up. (NB: I don't actually mean "food". I mean chocolate, cookies, nuts, gum, cheese etc.) I went to the grocery store, took note of what I needed to get and then figured I’d have people bring stuff up to me, or I could stock up later.

Wrong.

When I went back to find this.

Instead I got this.

Clearly I hadn’t learned from the Great Iraqi Diet Coke Shortage of 2008. Where foreign workers would drive to the borders of Turkey, Syria and Iran if they heard so much as a rumour that a shop owner had a spare flat of the silver bullet.

The rule is: If you see something you think could be a rare commodity… like Special K  - or in my case McVities Digestives – YOU BUY ALL OF THEM BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT WILL COME BACK.

So I went to the store and bought everything. 

And that is why my bag is so big. 

Eating my way through Juba

ZOMG I had ice cream, and chicken caesar salad, and thai food, and baguette, and a burger with avocado and bacon on it. I think I'll reach my goal of gaining 10lbs.

But other than the food, Juba is kind of an insane city full of awful prefab.

I kind of miss Rumbek?!

See you tomorrow cows!

oh ya. and this. #PissingContest

Sicilian-American Food from Turkmerica Hawler Style

Yesterday we had our first real "scare" of a potential IED threat in the city centre in a while. Nothing has been found as of yet, but there were loads and loads of under cover and uniformed Peshmerga and secret service everywhere. I'm torn between thinking potential violence leading up to the election or political ploy to show how safe the current government is making Erbil. I wouldn't put it past them – a lot of these ministries are shameless in trying to get exposure on anything they can – particularly if it's going to make those dreaded "islamists" look worse.

Kurds like their vices – especially alcohol. And they like being Kurdish first. I think the likelihood of this region switching over to radical Islam in one election is unlikely. But that is just me.

And don't get me wrong – I take my IED threats very seriously. I won't be going to the market or crowded places all the way up to the elections. Maybe even after. I'm really trying to not become complacent in the belief that the KRG is safe (which it's not – there's a reason they have serious checkpoints everywhere) especially after moving up from Baghdad. I just wonder sometimes…

In other news – it is the weekend and I'm looking forward to meal prepared by a friend who lives part-time in Turkey. Meaning it will include ingredients that we can only dream of here… like maybe avocado, canned tomatoes (not tomato paste), or whole grain rice!!!! I may be getting ahead of myself but TGIT!