Second mission…

November 1, 2008, we took our first trip in to the city center of Balad. And oh what a thriving metropolis it is. Actually, it really wasn’t too bad, and seemed much the same as many other large towns in third-world countries; dirty, trash-laden, and teeming with people who seem to be going…nowhere. Seriously, do these people not have jobs? Uhh, no. That’s why they are in the state they’re in. I did get a kick out of the amazing amount of free-roaming donkeys the town seems to have, though. That’s a new one for me. I’ve seen elephants used as fork-lifts in Thailand and giant sea turtles in Costa Rica cruise right on up to a restaurant, but never a gang of donkeys cruising through the streets.