Kids and Poop

The kids are out of control in Iraq. When they set eyes on our convoys they come running from their houses like American kids do for the Ice Cream Truck. If I were the mothers of these children I would sooner faint than let them tear out of the house in hot pursuit of foreigners with guns. Cultural differences.

Children are demanding little devils. They all want something from us. Chocolate and pencils mostly. I don't carry either. They all look at me like, "Well aren't you just a waste of my time", when I tell them I can't meet their demands. Today I improvised with the masses and I gave them a roll of medical tape and a few pairs of exam gloves. I practically started a riot amongst the children. They all wanted the gifts I bestowed upon them. Once the original gifts were carried away, more children took their places and demanded items from me. I carry an aid bag full of treasures, and I'm constantly swatting dirty thieving hands away from its zipper.

Most of the kids are cute for about 2.5 seconds before they just become pests. Grubby hands are always in my face. My hair gets pulled because they don't see "yellow hair" very often. They want me to give them my patches and my sunglasses. They know the English word No, they just play dumb and keep yelling in your face.

SPC Perez and I backed ourselves up into a corner today and were immediately ambushed by a group of about 7 kids. A few of the boys were laughing and pointing at our feet. I ignored them for awhile, but after they shouted, "MISTER MISTER!" few hundred times, I looked down and saw a huge random animal turd next to my boot. I said, "Poop." That drove the children into hysterics and immediately I had "poop" echoing from all their mouths. Leave it to me to introduce that word into their limited English vocabulary.

It goes to show that potty humor is popular with kids in every culture.