In less than 24 hours I'll be heading out of Baghdad, leaving behind a country still in tatters, but taking with me a much better understanding of Iraq and its people. I'm glad I came. It's been an awesome experience and not one I will forget. For the first few weeks I was counting down the days until I could go home, but now I'm disappointed that I'll be leaving tomorrow. I think I'll miss the people I've gotten to know more than anything else. And I'll also miss the soothing sounds of gunfire, mortars and Blackhawk helicopters outside my sliding glass door.

I got my exit visa today. Thanks to our office managers resourcefulness (a $230 bribe), I didn't have to get a required AIDS test. I'm packing my stuff right now and tonight we'll have a "post-assessment" party that will double as a going-away party. The assessment, of course, is Gen. Petraeus and Ryan Crocker's testimony, which has driven every bureau chief in Iraq crazy over the last few weeks, including mine. So now we're celebrating.

Though sad to leave, I'm excited about what's ahead: a day of traveling with relatives in Amman, and then a few days in the Swiss Alps, and then a week to see my family up in Seattle, all before coming back to Fresno. In all, I'll be going through seven cities (Baghdad, Amman, Frankfurt, Zurich, Copenhagen, Seattle, Fresno), six countries (Iraq, Jordan, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, America), three continents (Asia, Europe, North America), and a countless number of airlines. What a vacation.

Today is the first day of Ramadan for Sunni Muslims, so I'm fasting -- no food, no water, no Easy Mac, nothing. Hopefully I'll make it through the day OK.

To readers who have kept up with this blog or even just checked in from time to time, thanks a ton, especially to those who left comments. It's been great to hear from everyone. Though I guess this ends my time in Iraq, I hope to write at least one or two more blogs in the coming days to kind of summarize my thoughts and put it all down in writing.