Springfield, VA -- A new CD-ROM is helping American soldiers who have to travel to Iraq learn the truly important stuff -- like how to ask a local where the bathroom is.

The "Basics of Iraqi Arabic" lesson was designed by the State Department's Foreign Service Institute to equip Americans with necessary phrases for trips to the war-torn country.

Besides basic greetings like "welcome" ("ahlan wa-sahlan") and "how are you?" ("shloonak?") the language guide also teaches medical phrases, key words for getting directions and terms to deal with sanitation issues.

For instance, you can find out if your food is fresh by asking, "hal il 'akil taajij?"

And any problems with finding a bathroom can be solved by asking someone, "ween il-maraafiq?"

Finally if you find yourself in unsanitary conditions, two phrases that might be useful are: "ighsil nafsak," which means "wash yourself;" and "ihrig haatha," which means "burn this."

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