I have four thousand dinars in my pocket (1 450 Dinars = $1 USD). Other than the miscellaneous gear and my clothes, this is all I currently possess. I went to the bank in a bid to try to use my Visa or bank card to withdraw money. I was laughed at for even making the request. "Iraq isn't part of the international banking system, you know.." "Are you telling me that there's no way for me to get money from my cards in all of the newly sovereign Iraq?" More laughter.
I've decided to try to live this way - to see what it really means to live like an Iraqi. Most jobs pay less than $15 USD per month, but it will cost me at least $25 to get from here to Jordan, where I can find a usable bank, so I don't know where the $10 gap will be made up. Being a de facto whitey, I'm sure I can get bailed out as always. Still, I can't believe I'm sweating ten bucks.
Other than that, I'm going to try more Baghdad hospitals. I am increasingly realizing that even the quest itself may be Quixotic, but as with Quixote, the end goal is not as important as the journey.
tarek