visuals

Of course while I was away I took loads of photos, and I would just love to post some of the nice ones for you visual types out there. Alas, for the sake of anonymity (especially for my pal white girl — holla white girl!), the only ones I can show are pretty nondescript. But that’s okay! Even with these, you can still get a little taste of life in the desert. So here we go!

Quasimodo Cow

We came across him on one of our many hikes where we inadvertently ended up in a village. Poor lil guy. So homely.

mosque graffiti

“In the name of Allah” someone pulled out a Sharpie and defaced property. Hmm…

just a couple of dudes holding hands

This is totally culturally acceptable.

lunch

I loved how takeaway food is always wrapped in notebook paper. If you look closely, you can see the blue and pink lines on the eggs. Surprisingly yummy (the sandwich, not the lines).

more lunch

I still wish I had a picture of a cow with his head in the dumpster…or a goat on top! But this is a common sight, and the reason I steered clear of even the cutest kitties.

pretty typical

The TV console at the sisters’ house nicely epitomizes what is hot in desert decor these days: a plaque with the names of Allah (quite cool, actually…I think) and plenty of fake flowers. This was taken during one of our Friday night dinners.

But wait a second, what’s that on TV? Let’s zoom in for a closer look…

the title belt

No indeed, your eyes do not deceive you. The sisters LOVE pro wrestling! They know all the wrestlers’ names and personalities, and they have favourites and guys they hate and everything! Imagine how awful I felt when I let it slip that it was all acting. Although, to be honest, I don’t think they believed me anyway.

Speaking of whom…

the sisters!

Well, two thirds of them anyway. I miss these girls.

home again, home again, jiggety-jig

This post is dedicated to Jojokowalenko, momma extraordinaire and possibly my biggest fan.

So I’m home. I have been for almost a month. Crazy how time flies like that.

People keep asking how I’m settling back in to life at home. I say that of course there are some things it’s easy to get used to again: sleeping in my giant comfy bed, seeing my beloved family and friends, going for a run outside on crisp spring days, having a consistent internet connection, NOT hearing various calls to prayer blaring through every window, NOT having to play live-action “Frogger” when attempting to cross the street…

But there have certainly been some adjustments as well. Here are a few of them:

• My wardrobe: I only had one pair of jeans while I was away and a few shirts, and they were always covered up anyway so it didn’t really matter what I wore! I thought it would be fun to have lots of clothes to choose from when I got back, but frankly, I miss how easy it was to decide what to wear.

• Being exposed: This didn’t take too long to get used to, but the first time I went out in public in skinny jeans and no balto, I was definitely aware of how much of my shape was visible, and I felt a little bit scandalous.

• Using taboo words: On my first Sunday back, in conversations at church people were saying words like like “missions” and “missionary,” and I kept wanting to kind of duck down or shush them. That one still gets me a bit, actually.

• Church in general: For the six months away, my “church” consisted of reading Bible stories and singing songs with whitegirl and her family at their home, so to be in that formal church setting again was both lovely and bizarre. At one point we started singing a song that I associated with my prayers for my city in the desert, and the tears that had been just pricking my eyes, turned into giant heaving sobs. (It was a little embarrassing–a lady in the bathroom asked through the stall door whether I was okay in there. ha ha!)

• Water: My first shower here at home was heavenly! It felt gloriously indulgent to let the hot water run. But I also felt quite guilty for not turning the water off while lathering my hair or shaving my legs. And then again, I’ve started showering EVERY DAY which also seems rather indulgent (and maybe a bit unnecessary, but I think people prefer it when I keep on top of the hygiene. heh heh).  The same goes for flushing the toilet every time…

• Food: I thought I was over all the culture shock, and was surprised to find myself leaving the grocery store a week later, bawling. We have so much.

• Weather: They tell me the weather here has been gorgeous, but all I know is IT’S FREEZING! Still!! Thank goodness for this space heater in my room!

The rest of it has been as expected: I’ve had to look for a job and a new place to live, try to find my purpose and ministry here at home, and just generally get back into the swing of things, without pining away for the desert. As always, God’s been faithful, and I’m slowly seeing some of the ways he’s bringing things together.

Thanks for asking.

it’s just a little bit different here: squatty edition

Ugh. Just in case I was planning to forget how special it is here, the desert decided to leave me a nice little going away present: another parasite. Thanks a lot, the desert!

Okay, I might still miss you when I get home…a smidge.

can this headscarf be waterproofed?

For a while now I’ve been mentally composing a blog post about how to take a shower in the desert during the dry season. And on the day that I had finally planned to sit down and write it, wouldn’t you know it…it rained!

But not just the usual 15-minute deluge that evaporates as quickly as it came on. I’m talking about drizzle, fog, sporadic downpours, and grey skies the likes of which the local people I spoke to hadn’t seen..well, ever! And I can hear outside my bedroom window that it’s started raining again. It has lasted for days.

Admittedly, it’s a bit of a mixed blessing, as people are unused to driving in these wet conditions and there have been accidents left, right, and centre. But the lingering nature of this rain means it’ll seep into the soil for a change and help the thirsty crops! Not to mention (although, let’s be honest, I’m about to mention it right now) that it’s just like weather at home! And since I’ve got but a week to go here, East of the Middle, it’s a veritable meteorological easing back in to life outside the desert. Neat!

some photos might be fun…

all in a day’s walk: the sequel

• a man wearing half a soccer ball on his head like a hat

• white washed buildings all with blue doors to keep away the evil eye

• men and boys wandering around in earmuffs–again, it’s still 30 degrees Celsius here in the daytime

• the man with the severe limp, who is forever struggling to get from curb to curb–it’s heartbreaking

• the mattress and blanket belonging to the old man who, literally, lives on our street–also heartbreaking

• red and blue plastic bags adorning trees, strewn on the ground, flying with the dust swirled up by another passing taxi

• the still closed gas store on our street*

• men chewing, men spitting, men talking, men sitting, men arguing, men speeding, men smoking, men reading

• only a handful of women–of course, clad all in black, with only their eyes showing

I think that last bit is still what gets me the most. I don’t know why. I guess I can’t help but wish and pray for the women here to one day experience the freedom that God offers. It’s so incomparable.

Psalm 34:5 “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”

*Update: We have gas! The good kind! Thankfully, a couple days ago my flatmate’s student offered to get one of our tanks filled for us (guess she knows people), so now we’re cooking with gas again! Also, today a guy came by our flat and said he could get us some more gas, so I gave him our other empty tank. I was smart enough not to give him any money until he came back with the filled tank, but in hindsight, I have a feeling we’re never going to see that tank again, and I should probably just buy us a new one. oops.

well ain’t that a kick in the teeth

Go figure: in a country where one of the natural resources is gas, our city has a gas shortage! For a week now there have been massive line-ups outside every gas retailer in the area, including the little store on our street, and people wait for hours on end with their empty tanks ready to be filled. When…nay, IF a delivery comes, a kind of mayhem breaks out around the truck. After about twenty minutes the flurry of activity subsides, and then the frazzled workers lock up the store once more, while those who were not aggressive enough push home wheelbarrows with their still-empty tanks inside.

As luck would have it, our tank–which we thought would keep us for at least another month–ran out about four days ago, and our extra tank lies empty in the storage area. At first we figured it was no big deal: we’d just pop down the street for some rice and roasted chicken. Heck, eating take-away here is almost cheaper than eating at home! This was a great plan except for the small hiccup that our local chicken restaurant has ALSO run out of gas! So we’re eating a lot of raw foods these days, as well as experimenting with foods cooked by electric kettle.

I might be tempted to complain a bit, except that:

a) My dear friend, whitegirl, is a brilliant chef, and just had me over yesterday for our third turkey dinner in four months! Soooo good!

b) The fruits in season here right now are awesome! Seriously, where else can you eat copious amounts of really inexpensive watermelon in January!

c) You don’t need a stove to make my favourite dinner: Dill Pickle Pringles!

And really, we are still so very blessed. I’m going to think on that while I go munch on another carrot stick.

Psalm 34:8-10 “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.”

it’s just a little bit different here: five (or six)

The other day I was hanging out with some local friends–nice, college educated girls–and the conversation went something like this:

Friend: “It’s so sad about Haiti, isn’t it?”
Me: “Yeah, it really is. Such a shame.”
Friend: “Yeah… Hey, where is Haiti, anyway?”
Me: “It’s in the Caribbean.”
Friend: “Right….”
Me: “Do you know where the Caribbean is?”
Friend: “Sure…er…maybe… Hmmm…
[thoughtful silence]
Friend: “But yeah, it is so sad about Haiti. I mean, does anyone even know how earthquakes happen?”
Me: “uhhh… Seriously?”

I may or may not have then given an entire lesson on the earth’s layers and plate tectonics. I would say it was ground-breaking information for my friends, but that pun would probably be in poor taste right now.

I don’t know why this stayed with me. I guess I was just really surprised that my friends didn’t know stuff I assumed was common knowledge. But then again, they can quote the entire Qur’an, and last time I tried I could barely remember the handful of Bible verses I’ve been looking at on my wall for five months.

So, it’s just a little bit different.

ridin’ in a peugeot

Three hour ride from our city to another: same four Arabic songs on cassette tape the whole way there.

I almost put my headphones in, but it was just too classic. Can’t help but find this place terribly endearing.

these are the people in my neighbourhood…

Yesterday I wrapped up my second term of teaching ESL here in the desert. A week of holidays, and then one term to go before I head home. Bittersweet, I suppose.

I’ve really enjoyed my classes here. Even though, I confess, ESL isn’t exactly my passion, it can be pretty fun to teach English to a bunch of Arabic speakers! Like, sometimes I make a joke that I think is HILARIOUS, but absolutely no one else gets it! So I just stand up there and LAUGH and slap my knee…and I know my students are thinking their teacher is just a crazy foreigner. And I love it.

Teaching in here is not without its challenges, though. In one of my first term classes I had five or six girls all wearing black baltos and lithmas, and the only distinguishing features were their eyes and hands. So for about three weeks I couldn’t tell who was who! Usually I’d just say a name and look in their general direction until one of them replied, and then I’d pretend like I knew it was her all along. There was also a lot of “Good job….you! YOU are awesome! ohhh…you.”

On the flip side, teaching here, you’re guaranteed to get at least two Mohammads  per class. I had three in one class! So it was great! If I blanked out on a name when I wanted someone to answer a question, there was always the fallback of, “Uhhh…Mohammad?” And I’d just let them work out which one was going to speak. In that same class I had a guy named Osamah, and on my most recent class roster, every day I see the name Saddam. Alas, he never did make it to class.

It’s sad that in other countries, as a result of all the bad press on the Middle East, these names…these Arabic faces, are evocative of terrorism or turmoil. It’s sad because the more I get to know my students, the more I’m starting to understand that we are all cut from the same cloth.

P.S. Ten points if you picked up on the Sesame Street reference in the title.