Three Weeks in Kurdistan
What's spring time in Kurdistan you ask? Follow me on the adventure of a lifetime!
T-1 Departure
2016: so far so good. I finally moved down to Los Angeles after living with my parents and brother in a cozy two bedroom apartment in San Francisco. Not that I didn't enjoy staying on the couch for three months, but it's so nice to get out of there and live on my own in LA.
You guys, I did something bad...
Today's the day! My boyfriend Nicole (pretty much) drops me off at LAX and I'm on my way to Kurdistan. I board the plane to Doha and of course I get middle seat for this 16 hour flight... Then, an old couple walks over to my section and starts fussing with the flight attendant about not having their seats together.
Welcome to Sulaymaniyah
I have arrived in the land of the Kurds! Angèle and Florence welcomed me at the airport with open arms, quite literally, they had their arms in the air cheering on the other side of security as I was passing my last checkpoint. *High five*! I did it!
Dinner at the Mohammed's
As previously stated on the last post, we have a bodyguard with us at all times when we are outside in case of the unfortunate event of a life-threatening situation. That sounds really intense, but worry not, this is a very unlikely probability and we just have him for precaution.
Party don't start till I walk in
What's better than getting together for a dinner party with some friends? Adding homemade pasta to the mix, that's what! We invited a few of the Kurdish homies over (aka work friends of Angele's mum, I know it might sound crazy but I don't know too many people here) and took out the pasta machine for a spin!
It's Friday, Friday 🎶
Okay it's actually Sunday, but in Kurdistan their weekend is on Friday and Saturday, so today is technically Monday. Recap of this weekend: FRIDAY - we went on a lovely hike in the mountains of God-knows-where (need to double check the name and geographical coordinates).
You know what's really fun to do?
Snapchat face swap with bearded men! Marie swap with French bearded man. Marie swap with Kurdish bearded man. Angèle swap with Kurdish bearded man. Angèle swap with Lebanese bearded man.
Barzinjah
Okay, little recap: we are painting murals in three different sites to enrich the child-friendliness of the area. Barzinjah is a village in the mountains east of Sulaymaniyah, halfway to the Iranian border. There, Kurdistan Save the Children put in place a refugee camp for Arab Iraqis who fled the ISIS invasion.
Lake Dukan
It's lady bug season! My goodness gracious, so many ladies everywhere today. Kurdish ladies too (Friday = picnic day!). We visited Lake Dukan. The lake is humungous and we could see only a part of it. We rode on a boat to a little island because we are adventurous people ready to seize the day.
Shopping Spree
Children, gather around and listen as I tell you the tale of a place, a magical place, where all your shopping desires and consumerism dreams come true: This (huge) market is located in the center of Sulaymaniyah and, I kid you not, has EVERYTHING. "What do I mean by that?"
The Red Prison
I realize Kurdistan is not your typical getaway destination because a) it's in a war zone and b) no one really knows where/what it is. Lucky for you, Miss Marie is here to educate before you wreck yourself. Kurdistan is an autonomous region that covers Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
The Red Prison
I realize Kurdistan is not your typical getaway destination because a) it's in a war zone and b) no one really knows where/what it is. Lucky for you, Miss Marie is here to educate before you wreck yourself. Kurdistan is an autonomous region that covers Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Raparin
This is our last week in Kurdistan! But we still have painting to do. And just our luck, it started raining on Monday... We've been major hustling and trying to finish everything on time, painting in the rain and hail. Yes, hail. Cold, hard, whipping hail...
Extracurriculars
This post consists of zero actual photos, therefore I will only be using memes and gifs. Besides working on mural paintings, we are taking time off for ourselves and advantage of the many activities offered in Sulaymaniyah. So much time in our schedule for extracurriculars! So much room for activities!
Getting high at Bazian
Ha, ha, just kidding. We had get high up on scaffoldings to paint our last project in Bazian, at the children's Cultural Center. Sidenote: It's been raining this whole week so we've been struggling to find the right time to paint without it getting washed off an hour later.
Getting high at Bazian
Ha, ha, just kidding. We had get high up on scaffoldings to paint our last project in Bazian, at the children's Cultural Center. Sidenote: It's been raining this whole week so we've been struggling to find the right time to paint without it getting washed off an hour later.
Make sure to stretch before
You know what you should never do? Eat a full Kurdish meal and set off for a three hour hike right after. Oh sorry, did I say hike? I meant climbing a "hill", that some of us could easily consider a mountain.
Last day... by myself
Who has two thumbs and is staying in Kurdistan? *This girl* (Me) Jokes, jokes. I'm not actually staying, but I am the last one here! Angèle and Florence left this morning at 3am, and my flight is at 7pm. Rachid is at work, so here I am by myself at the apartment.