Baghdad is the Man

"And I thought my first trip to Baghdad was cosmopolitan! I am writing this from the internet cafe in the American Embassy in Baghdad. One of my Marines and I have some business to take care of here, so we have been “stuck” here for a few days. It’s quite a dreadful predicament. Besides having luxurious billeting and dining facilities, there are enough things to do here to keep anyone busy! Our first night here I played in a 9-ball tournament by the pool. There are MWR (morale, welfare, recreation) events here every night at the pool. BTW, that’s the Palace Pool. There are other pools in the area, and I wouldn’t want you the reader to be confused. I did well in the tournament, but did not win. It was a lot of fun. Corporal Church and I spend every evening from about1900-2200 at the pool, mostly playing water volleyball. Sometimes it’s tough to find other players, but we can usually recruit a 2v2. It’s good PT–at least that’s what we tell ourselves. If it sounds like the pool is a large part of our life here, that’s because it is. We generally plan chow and other daily events around what time we want to be at the pool or the corresponding MWR event."
Midnight in Iraq