Back in the saddle again
Coming back to the Syria was much easier than I originally planned. At first I imagined it would be like two American Football teams vying for yards in a game. One side would be Western Culture and would have John English as it’s All-Star quarterback. The other side would be Eastern Culture with Mohammad Arabic as it’s star player. I envisioned the two sides battling it out in my mind for dominance, but in reality it is much more like Johnny and Hommudi sitting down to play a game of chess. A nice friendly game and when it’s over they start another. Maybe with a few more years of practice I will be able to switch languages and cultures like Pro Wrestlers hi-five to switch who’s getting a beat down on the mat., but currently I’m in the chess stage now. I have to strategically think about my culture and what language I am using, but it isn’t a battle anymore. One doesn’t have to be dominant over the other and I can say it is a nice feeling. I feel much more relaxed and free than I did last year. I am definitely looking forward to the year.
I wish I had more time to spend with my friends and my family but I got what I could while I could. I didn’t spend much time with my people in Denver and I didn’t get to see my Dad at all. For X-mas I plan to get to Ohio to see my Dad and spend more time with friends. I DID build a fence for my Mom and enjoyed building something since is had been a while. There really isn’t much for me to do in the way of crafts or projects over here outside of school related things. I miss wrenching on cars and helping friends with home stuff. I suppose soon I will have time for plenty of projects of my own.
Our new apartment is nice and it is in a good area for all things. We are close to a central shopping district and the other Westerners, but not so close we can’t be our own unit. We will probably be last picked up by the bus in the morning and first dropped off at the end of the day. We have two salons, a formal dining room, a TV room, two bedrooms, and nice kitchen, and separate bathrooms and showers. If you hold out for something nice you will get it eventually.
We found out this morning there is a new principal. Thank God they are phasing out Hank ‘cause I had to sit through another one of that jackass’ meetings this morning and if I have to listen to the same bullshit one more time I am going to kill someone (probably him). He has been spouting the same BS about vision and mission for over two years now. It doesn’t change, and he never does anything to implement his “vision” or “mission.” The whole discussion just turns my stomach after watching how little he actually does. If he could give anyone a job to complete, or even have a clue of what needs to be done and how to do it I would say that would be a start, but year after year we end up with the same speech about the same thing…MOVE ON! Everyone was REALLY happy when he introduced the new guy. He seemed like he would be a do’er instead of a thinker. We really need a do’er!
My Arabic is slowly coming back to the point where I left. Still I get people who think I am fluent because I know a little and just go hammering on about something I have no idea about. I tell them I don’t understand and they say the same thing about ninety percent the same with one or two words changed and about the same speed. Nice try but no cigar. If I say I don’t understand…it really means I don’t understand. We had a lady that kept calling on the phone today that thought if she kept calling back we would speak more Arabic each time. It was cute - she called like nine times. It was so annoying it was funny. We would pick up the phone and just starting ranting off to her in English the same way she would in Arabic and then hang up. It was a fun game we had for about a half hour.
We start school the eleventh and the new teachers are all scrambling for materials. The school hasn’t had any work done to it save a small support structure on the rood of the other building that they probably just started two weeks ago. Stiv and Mariah are still pretty optimistic about stuff but I come in on the lowball figures for times of operations and when things will happen. I have already gotten them to start betting on times and whether things will happen or not. Miss ya Chris!
So we are two weeks to school, nothings finished or even being worked on really, we have no materials and don’t know where to get them, and the busses will pick us up for school on Tuesday. My bet was 10:20. I figure they usually pick us up around 7:30 during school and that’s when they know who is coming and where they live. If they start at nine (I’m being optimistic) then they will figure it out and get to us around ten thirty. It’s a solid bet. Mariah went higher by thirty minutes, and Stiv went below her bet by one hour. Not fair…I had to bet first. They can always flank me and win by playing Hi/Low. Next time they go first!
Other than that, my friend is still being forced into marriage and pretty upset. Let me see, revolt and get physically and emotionally beaten, or accept that you are property and just marry off to some stranger. Good stuff. This place has it’s perks. Is there an open slave market for wives or is this something the families just negotiate by themselves. Maybe I can buy a nice wife that will learn to love me and then make my life living hell later on by micromanaging the family and being passive aggressive until she gets everything she wants. What a beautiful cycle of life! I haven’t found many things that I am really disheartened by being here, but the whole women are property and have to subjugate themselves to the family and the will of the man - that’s just bull. Nobody wants to admit that’s the way it is and they say they have all this choice in life, but right now I am seeing a lot of girls being emotionally and physically forced into marriage because their family deems it necessary. Let’s not forget they are not allowed to work to support themselves, or aren’t encouraged to take careers unless they don’t interfere with the family or husbands wishes. If they wanted to leave they couldn’t - they have no money, the will be social outcasts by their associates for doing what most have secretly wished, and then they would have nothing. What a pickle. So go along with the system, get a nice husband that hopefully treats you nice and keep a nice house. Aghhhhhhhh now that’s living. I don’t even know why they bother getting married in the first place. I would stay at home and make my parents miserable until they just paid me to leave, unfortunately here they would just drag you off and lock you in a room until you decided to “behave.” If you want to micromanage something get an ant farm, don’t have children! I know there are families out there that treat women with respect and the women in the family have free will, but unfortunately I have only seen the other side. It's the bigger side.
So other than that my return has been nice. I saw a guy get handcuffed on the plane to Newark because he was in insulin shock or something and was getting aggravated. The Sky Marshalls (plural) jumped on him and cuffed him. They took him up to first-class and put him in a big comfy chair and gave him some meds. It was a new one for me. Other than that I had uneventful flights. I slept for about six hours in the Milan airport, and got into town without a hitch. I have my room all set up and am ready to start playing football, planning for school, and learning more Arabic.
I hope all is well back at home and I will try and post some pictures soon!
I wish I had more time to spend with my friends and my family but I got what I could while I could. I didn’t spend much time with my people in Denver and I didn’t get to see my Dad at all. For X-mas I plan to get to Ohio to see my Dad and spend more time with friends. I DID build a fence for my Mom and enjoyed building something since is had been a while. There really isn’t much for me to do in the way of crafts or projects over here outside of school related things. I miss wrenching on cars and helping friends with home stuff. I suppose soon I will have time for plenty of projects of my own.
Our new apartment is nice and it is in a good area for all things. We are close to a central shopping district and the other Westerners, but not so close we can’t be our own unit. We will probably be last picked up by the bus in the morning and first dropped off at the end of the day. We have two salons, a formal dining room, a TV room, two bedrooms, and nice kitchen, and separate bathrooms and showers. If you hold out for something nice you will get it eventually.
We found out this morning there is a new principal. Thank God they are phasing out Hank ‘cause I had to sit through another one of that jackass’ meetings this morning and if I have to listen to the same bullshit one more time I am going to kill someone (probably him). He has been spouting the same BS about vision and mission for over two years now. It doesn’t change, and he never does anything to implement his “vision” or “mission.” The whole discussion just turns my stomach after watching how little he actually does. If he could give anyone a job to complete, or even have a clue of what needs to be done and how to do it I would say that would be a start, but year after year we end up with the same speech about the same thing…MOVE ON! Everyone was REALLY happy when he introduced the new guy. He seemed like he would be a do’er instead of a thinker. We really need a do’er!
My Arabic is slowly coming back to the point where I left. Still I get people who think I am fluent because I know a little and just go hammering on about something I have no idea about. I tell them I don’t understand and they say the same thing about ninety percent the same with one or two words changed and about the same speed. Nice try but no cigar. If I say I don’t understand…it really means I don’t understand. We had a lady that kept calling on the phone today that thought if she kept calling back we would speak more Arabic each time. It was cute - she called like nine times. It was so annoying it was funny. We would pick up the phone and just starting ranting off to her in English the same way she would in Arabic and then hang up. It was a fun game we had for about a half hour.
We start school the eleventh and the new teachers are all scrambling for materials. The school hasn’t had any work done to it save a small support structure on the rood of the other building that they probably just started two weeks ago. Stiv and Mariah are still pretty optimistic about stuff but I come in on the lowball figures for times of operations and when things will happen. I have already gotten them to start betting on times and whether things will happen or not. Miss ya Chris!
So we are two weeks to school, nothings finished or even being worked on really, we have no materials and don’t know where to get them, and the busses will pick us up for school on Tuesday. My bet was 10:20. I figure they usually pick us up around 7:30 during school and that’s when they know who is coming and where they live. If they start at nine (I’m being optimistic) then they will figure it out and get to us around ten thirty. It’s a solid bet. Mariah went higher by thirty minutes, and Stiv went below her bet by one hour. Not fair…I had to bet first. They can always flank me and win by playing Hi/Low. Next time they go first!
Other than that, my friend is still being forced into marriage and pretty upset. Let me see, revolt and get physically and emotionally beaten, or accept that you are property and just marry off to some stranger. Good stuff. This place has it’s perks. Is there an open slave market for wives or is this something the families just negotiate by themselves. Maybe I can buy a nice wife that will learn to love me and then make my life living hell later on by micromanaging the family and being passive aggressive until she gets everything she wants. What a beautiful cycle of life! I haven’t found many things that I am really disheartened by being here, but the whole women are property and have to subjugate themselves to the family and the will of the man - that’s just bull. Nobody wants to admit that’s the way it is and they say they have all this choice in life, but right now I am seeing a lot of girls being emotionally and physically forced into marriage because their family deems it necessary. Let’s not forget they are not allowed to work to support themselves, or aren’t encouraged to take careers unless they don’t interfere with the family or husbands wishes. If they wanted to leave they couldn’t - they have no money, the will be social outcasts by their associates for doing what most have secretly wished, and then they would have nothing. What a pickle. So go along with the system, get a nice husband that hopefully treats you nice and keep a nice house. Aghhhhhhhh now that’s living. I don’t even know why they bother getting married in the first place. I would stay at home and make my parents miserable until they just paid me to leave, unfortunately here they would just drag you off and lock you in a room until you decided to “behave.” If you want to micromanage something get an ant farm, don’t have children! I know there are families out there that treat women with respect and the women in the family have free will, but unfortunately I have only seen the other side. It's the bigger side.
So other than that my return has been nice. I saw a guy get handcuffed on the plane to Newark because he was in insulin shock or something and was getting aggravated. The Sky Marshalls (plural) jumped on him and cuffed him. They took him up to first-class and put him in a big comfy chair and gave him some meds. It was a new one for me. Other than that I had uneventful flights. I slept for about six hours in the Milan airport, and got into town without a hitch. I have my room all set up and am ready to start playing football, planning for school, and learning more Arabic.
I hope all is well back at home and I will try and post some pictures soon!
posted by chris @ Wednesday, August 31, 2005
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