Reporters on the Job

• Strawberry Shopping in Iraq: Correspondent Jill Carroll went outside in Baghdad without her hijab Tuesday for the first time in three months. The head-to-toe traditional covering allows her to blend in, protecting her from possible kidnapping or attacks. But she had to renew her visa, and that required new photos. "I couldn't wear the hijab to the photo shop and then take if off - that would be a dead giveaway. No hijab-wearing Iraqi woman would take off her garment in public," says Jill. So she decided to go without.

"My Iraqi interpreter took one look at my jeans and shirt and told me to change into something more suitable. I put on a pair of black pants and tailored shirt that Iraqis wear."

Her interpreter signed off on the new wardrobe and they left. "I speak enough Arabic so that the clerk in the photo shop assumed I was Iraqi," says Jill.

While they were waiting for the photos to be developed, they went to a market. "It was a remarkable feeling to be able to walk in the street uncovered. I felt almost naked without the hijab, but also very liberated. We bought strawberries from Syria. That's the first time I've seen strawberries here."

David Clark Scott
World editor

• Female Plumbers Wanted: The British Antarctic Survey is recruiting tradeswomen. The research organization is looking for female electricians, plumbers, carpenters, steel workers, chefs, and boat handlers to work for six-18 months at its five research stations on and around the Antarctic (www.antarctica.ac.uk/employment) .

"Where else can you work surrounded by penguins, seals, and icebergs and climb down a crevasse during your lunch hour?" Jill Thomson, head of building services at the BAS told Reuters. Starting salary? £18,338 ($34,640) plus an Antarctic allowance. Food, lodging, and transportation are paid for.