"Sounds of the IZ"

After you get used to the visual stimuli of the International Zone (IZ), the next thing you notice are the sounds. So many sounds, and in some ways, very unusual.

Here are the various things I've noticed when it comes to "sounds"!

Helicopters: There's a constant coming-and-going of helicopters. Planes fly in and out of the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP), but that's not in the IZ, it's about 8 miles away. So, there are two ways to travel in and out of the IZ...by armored vehicle or helicopter. Of course, we all want to ride the helicopter! They're seen as safer, and waaay more fun!!! There's a landing field near the Embassy, and helicopters are always (if weather is suitable) moving people in and out. They always travel in pairs. Helicopters are as plentiful here as pickup trucks are at home. In a way, they are the "pickup truck" of the IZ. When they come in, they don't even slow down their engine speed...just keep 'em revved up, unload one batch of people, get the next load of people on board and take off. As soon as they get about 200' off the ground, the side doors open and you see the machine guns extend out the doors. These bad boys are armed and dangerous!! A lot of flights occur during the night for security reasons. When these guys take off, and fly over our little hooches during the night, you can bet we hear 'em!!

Generators: Most of Baghdad is now getting electricity for about 12 hours/day. That means that businesses and households have to get everything done in 12 hours, at least everything that requires electricity! Some areas of the country get electricity for more hours per day, some get less. But, unlike the rest of Baghdad, the IZ gets power 24/7 from an army of generators. If I look one way down the street I'll see a battery of a half dozen generators that are nearly the size of a tractor-trailer!! Along the sidewalks there might be a small generator running a "street light" during the night. Everything in the Green Zone relies on generator power, and that means noise. The generators have big mufflers, and they're placed behind big walls to help diminish the sound....but you can always hear them.

Muslim call to prayer: The IZ includes a lot of Iraqi citizens. After all, this part of Baghdad was the center of government. There are apartments and private homes all through the IZ, with Iraqi citizens inhabiting them.....as well as some places that could only be described as a shed. And, there are mosques here in the IZ, too. So, 5 times each day, you can hear their call to prayer. I have to admit that when I first heard it, I found it a bit unnerving. I can't understand a word that is being blared through the loudspeaker. I'm almost sure it's a recording. But, after being here a few months, I can now say that it has something of a soothing, melodic sound. I wish I could hear it sung in English!

Speed-bump-thumps: There isn't much traffic in the IZ, but all traffic moves very slowly because of the strategically-placed, super-heavy-duty speed bumps! I'm not talking about your average, run-of-the-mill little asphalt speed bump that's only 3" deep at the center. I'm talking welded steel plates that are usually about 8" deep. Hit one of those at even 5 mph and you'll be dragging the transmission along behind the bumper! So, if you walk down the sidewalk, you hear a constant "thump"....."thump" as vehicles creep over those Herculean speed bumps! Occasionally you hear a big "clunk" as some vehicle bottoms-out on the speed bump.

Spanish: This is probably the last place you'd expect to hear people speaking Spanish. But, the security guards around the IZ are primarily from Peru! So, those of us who can speak a little Spanish, get to practice it daily as we pass through the security checkpoints. And, as you approach each checkpoint, you'll hear the constant chatter of the Peruvian guards as they talk to each other in their native tongue.

Birds singing: Except for people, there is little animal life in the IZ. I've seen a couple of dogs and a couple of cats, but they're the exception. And, of the dogs, I only heard one of them bark. I think that not barking is a survival skill for a dog in Baghdad. Bark and you might not survive! (There are no small-animal veterinarians here......pets are a luxury that this war-torn country can't afford). But the birds don't know boundaries, and can escape from the terrestrial dangers and barricades that keep everything else at bay. As I walk under the trees in the evenings the birds are just starting to roost for the night. As I hear their chirping (and try to avoid getting tagged by some bird droppings), I think about where they've been during the day. They might have been out over the "red zone" in the part of Baghdad still considered dangerous, for us! They might have heard a newborn baby cry, or watched kids at play, or observed an insurgent planting a car bomb. If only they could talk!

"Sir" and "Ma'am": The Embassy is home to the highest-ranking civilian and military leaders of the coalition forces. On the military side, there are more full-bird colonels and 2-star generals than you're likely to see this side of the Pentagon! I see Navy, Air Force, Army and Marine officers all the time. Then you have to add the British, Romanian, Italian, Australian, Czechoslovakian, etc. military, and it's pretty confusing. Being a civilian, I have trouble telling if they're a Captain or a Commander; a Major of a Lieutenant Colonel. The same goes for the civilian side....lots of high-ranking foreign service officers. They don't wear uniforms with any insignia, so it can be hard to de-cipher their relative "rank". So, until you get close enough to someone to call them by their first name, it's just safer to say "sir" or "ma'am"!