The deluge is over. But stick around, Christmas is coming!

Yesterday was one continuous downpour. Everything is flooded, and my living quarters are surrounded by a giant pool of five-inch deep, light brown, trash-strewn water which is slowly being sucked in by the desert. I was thankful to be off duty yesterday, for gunning in the rain is unpleasant, and cleaning soaked weapons can be a headache.

I got a nice Christmas card today from my talented family. Mathieu knew just what to say: "un flocon de fraicheur dans le desert pour un joyeux Noel." And my father reminded me a bit of St Exupery when he asked: "Et toi, dans ce desert defonce, avec comme seule veilleuse un vieux puits de petrole qui brule, est-ce que, ce 25 decembre quand le jour se leve sur ton desert juste un peu avant de se lever sur Bethlehem, on peut toujours esperer qu'un jour la paix promise viendra dans ces deserts?" He also quoted a line that I liked: "Le mot jadis, quand l'ombre est sur la mer." Something like: "the word of times gone by, when the shadow is over the sea." Sorry about all the accents I ignored.

I learned from that same card that the same little plastic Christmas tree that we had when I was little is still fulfilling its duties as centerpiece of the seasonal display. It had been given to us - as my father helpfully reminded me - over ten years ago by the wonderful Madame Omari.

Here in Kuwait, the little plastic christmas tree that I planted in the sand in front of our window is still around. It has valiantly withstood the flood, although the candy canes are eroded down to slivers. Also, as the waters recede they festoon the branches with dingy cigarette butts.

In the "weird things I learned today" category: Iguazu, which I had always thought of as the paradise on Earth in which Julien worked for a while, turns out to be the center of an area where thousands of expatriated Arabs live, and where money is being sent out to "terrorist organizations." It's a strange new world...