Nearly Eid
Eid starts on either Tuesday or Wednesday night. It is the end of Ramadan, and a nice long holiday for everyone. It's so exciting! The weather is finally wonderful in Safi, cool nights, warm days that don't get over 80-85 degrees, and I've been told by several semi-reliable sources that it will start raining within a couple weeks. I don't know if you realize it, but i haven't felt rain on my skin since the night before I left DC. It was pouring, i remember, but since then, not a single drop. I never thought I'd miss something like rain so much. Anyways, it's been raining on the other side of the Dead Sea and the border with Israel for the past two weeks, and I can watch it rain maybe 30 kms away, but by the time the clouds get to Safi, the rain is gone. Such a tease.
The girls and I got money from the Higher council for youth and bought clothes for 25 sick children in Safi, all suffering for a disease with they call theslsymia, but could be something totally different in English. We went to their clinic and gave out the clothes a couple days ago, which was great. The sick kids really loved it, and I think the my center girls did too. I was also amazed that the council gave us the money.
I was very pleased to hear about Libby being charged and resigning, but was saddened to hear that Rove hasn't been caught yet.
The middle east right now is a bit scary to be in. I know I should have realized this before, but wow! Israel is getting bombed again, Syria is being threatened by the US government, Iraq is obviously a nightmare, and Iran is calling for Israel to "wiped off the map." And then there's Jordan, caught in the middle (between Iraq and a hard place..ha) . A good percentage supported Hussein, they all support Iraqis, another good percentage resent the Palestinians, while the other half is actually Palestinian. I do have faith that this country will prevail and avoid waves of terror and violence, simply because of its complex and diverse population. On the other hand, this entire region is becoming unfriendly to foreigners, so my tour here may be cut short. I thought getting the BBC would be great, and it is, but it's making me much more aware of the problems surrounding the country. Don't get me wrong about Jordan, though--the Jordanian people are some of the most hospitable and welcoming people in the world, especially to foreigners, but it's nearly impossible for us to travel to any neighboring country now, and that's just annoying.
Anyways, enough political talk. I've started my book. The book I've been wanting to write since I was 14. Hopefully I'll be done with it by the time I leave here.
I'm tired. Fasting means no caffeine in the morning.
My new life with tv is going well. There are usually some decent movies played, and the tv shows are entertaining enough--law and order, smallville, scrubs, west wing, sopranos, arrested development, friends, frasier, and a whole host of other crappy sitcoms that I would never watch in the states. I get three sometimes four english news stations, including my beloved BBC. and on mondays, there is a channel that teaches Arabic. It's meant for Germans learning Arabic, but it's helpful nonetheless.
I'll be in Amman for Eid, I'll try to post pictures there. I tried here, but this is a crappy internet center and not one computer would read my cd.
Bon voyage to mom and dad moving to Nairobi, thanks to Niki and Marina for drunk-dialing me yesterday, made my day (it was 9am) so much better. Ramadan kareem!
The girls and I got money from the Higher council for youth and bought clothes for 25 sick children in Safi, all suffering for a disease with they call theslsymia, but could be something totally different in English. We went to their clinic and gave out the clothes a couple days ago, which was great. The sick kids really loved it, and I think the my center girls did too. I was also amazed that the council gave us the money.
I was very pleased to hear about Libby being charged and resigning, but was saddened to hear that Rove hasn't been caught yet.
The middle east right now is a bit scary to be in. I know I should have realized this before, but wow! Israel is getting bombed again, Syria is being threatened by the US government, Iraq is obviously a nightmare, and Iran is calling for Israel to "wiped off the map." And then there's Jordan, caught in the middle (between Iraq and a hard place..ha) . A good percentage supported Hussein, they all support Iraqis, another good percentage resent the Palestinians, while the other half is actually Palestinian. I do have faith that this country will prevail and avoid waves of terror and violence, simply because of its complex and diverse population. On the other hand, this entire region is becoming unfriendly to foreigners, so my tour here may be cut short. I thought getting the BBC would be great, and it is, but it's making me much more aware of the problems surrounding the country. Don't get me wrong about Jordan, though--the Jordanian people are some of the most hospitable and welcoming people in the world, especially to foreigners, but it's nearly impossible for us to travel to any neighboring country now, and that's just annoying.
Anyways, enough political talk. I've started my book. The book I've been wanting to write since I was 14. Hopefully I'll be done with it by the time I leave here.
I'm tired. Fasting means no caffeine in the morning.
My new life with tv is going well. There are usually some decent movies played, and the tv shows are entertaining enough--law and order, smallville, scrubs, west wing, sopranos, arrested development, friends, frasier, and a whole host of other crappy sitcoms that I would never watch in the states. I get three sometimes four english news stations, including my beloved BBC. and on mondays, there is a channel that teaches Arabic. It's meant for Germans learning Arabic, but it's helpful nonetheless.
I'll be in Amman for Eid, I'll try to post pictures there. I tried here, but this is a crappy internet center and not one computer would read my cd.
Bon voyage to mom and dad moving to Nairobi, thanks to Niki and Marina for drunk-dialing me yesterday, made my day (it was 9am) so much better. Ramadan kareem!
posted by Hilary at 11:53 AM
2 Comments:
I feel it is my duty as an English teacher to mention that the grammar in this latest post is wanting; typos aren't a good thing for an aspiring novelist. HAHA!! Sounds like you are doing well and I am glad to hear it. It was good to see you online the other day. Keep it real; smoke a hookah; and don't do anything I wouldn't do. MISS YOU!! PEACE and much LOVE.
Kurt
ps why the fuck would you want Harley Davidson parts in Jordan...sweet handlebars yo.
Hey Hilary,
Love reading your posts. It helps me to keep an open mind for what is happening in the world at this moment. It has a deeper impact on me than random pictures of Jordan on the news. Very strange, especially as visual information usually has more impact on people than other types of information. I wonder why this is the case. As a social psychology student, I wonder if there are ways to do something with this as more and more people are getting less interested about what is happening in the rest of the world. Do you have any ideas? Anyway, I enjoy your down-to-earth-writing. Good luck on your book!
Best regards,
Sifra
The Netherlands
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