A group of friends and strangers and colleagues and I are getting ready for a trip. I'm in charge of packing everything up: the cameras, scripts, maps. We are going to Iraq to shoot photography. I'm feeling pressured and uncertain about all of this. One of the women in my group is from Iraq, but she hasn't been home in 10 years. She comes from a wealthy family and will be staying with them in a safe, gated community outside of all the chaos. I examine maps with her. The airport customs people search through our things, all of which are in a massive trunk. They fling papers and maps all over the place.
