86 Days in Sana'a

A captivating account of Rich's intensive studying of Arabic, travels, and everyday life in Sana'a, Yemen.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

PICTURES

FINALLY....I HAVE FOUND A WAY TO UPLOAD MY PICTURES!

Hopefully you will enjoy them. I really haven't taken that many because I feel awkward when everyone stares at me with looks of scorn as I sit there and take pictures of them and their city. In saying this though, I am planning a "tourist" day soon when I walk around all day and take a bunch of pictures. Plus a lot of times I forget my camera. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy them.

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=142454956/a=89187610_89187610/t_=89187610

Friday, February 23, 2007

Qat and Pick Up Football Games

Hiyo all!

Well I survived my first qat chew yesterday, although I must admit my gums are a bit raw and my jaw is sore. Before I get to the qat chew though let me fill you in on what I'd been up to before that.

On Wednesday I had one lesson from 4pm-6pm which went well and then went out to dinner with Ryan, Tim and Ameen. We had some lively conversation, with Ameen explaining more about his wife and upcoming wedding. It turns out he has only met his wife once and during that visit she was fully covered. He has seen a picture of her though without her nikab on, pretty risque stuff! It is funny because Ameen is a devout Muslim yet he's opening to learning and talking about all types of things which I figured would make him uncomfortable. For instance Ryan was explaining to him that they use the word "bonk" in Britain as a substitute for saying you had sex with someone. It is funny because Ameen who is 25 giggles and is completely amused by this stuff. Anyway, after dinner Tim and I went back to the cafe that shows football and watched the first leg of Barcelona vs. Liverpool. The place was absolutely packed when we got there 15min before kick-off, with people sitting on the floor and standing up. While we were a bit far from the TV we got a good seat on the floor with excellent sight lines. The guy next to me was a hardcore Barca fan and ended up in my lap a couple of times when he would jump up when they had chances on goal. Overall though it seemed like more of the Yemenis were cheering either against Barca or for Liverpool (not sure which). We were the only non-Arabs in the place. It is great though because football is so popular world wide (except for the U.S. unfortunately), so everyone sort of bonds together when ever you are watching or playing with others.

As for Thursday, I got up early, got my usual egg, potato sandwich and tea, then went to class to make up my lesson from 10am-12pm. After the lesson I met up with Abdul Qader, a young guy who works at CALES and got a huge lunch with him before we went and bought our qat. It cost about 1200r for the qat ($6). When we got back to the house I watched it off and dried it. Then we headed over to this little room with cushions around the perimeter about a block away from school. There we met up with Crazy Mohammad and a few kids who hang out on the street in front of school. I must admit I wanted to spit the stuff out for at least the first hour because it has a bitter taste and I couldn't keep it on one side of my mouth so I kept swallowing pieces of it. Eventually though I got used to it and it started to accumulate into a ball on the side of my jaw. Once it balls up it becomes easier to keep in place, hence it is much less annoying and enjoyable. About 2 hrs in the effect started to kick in and I got this very focused, relaxed feeling. It was like I was in the 'zone'. It wasn't anything too crazy but it was definitely a good feeling. During the chew the Yemenis I was with started to argue about religion and at one point I got told that everyone except for Muslims were going to hell, including the Christians. Now I understand that this is a part of their religion, but it was humorous how non-chalantly they told me this after I had told them about 30min before that I was Christian. Like, "hey buddy, want to chew some qat, how are you doing?, Christians and all other religious groups are going to hell?, so what are your plans for dinner?".

I kept chewing until we went to a little dinner party at 7:30pm, so all in all I chewed for 5 hrs and got a nice big golf ball sized qat "wad" in my cheek before I was finished. When you see the pictures I'm sure everyone will be wooed by how sexy it looks to store a nice big green wad of qat in your jaw. Anyway, all in all, it was a fun experience and I would definitely do it again, just not on a regular basis, maybe once every two weeks or something.

As for the dinner party it was enjoyable. It was a random group of us in the mafraj and Marie (older French woman) and Barry (writer from Dublin who is working on short stories in Sana'a even though they have no relation to the country or the region). We had delicious tomato salad, fruit, bread and sweets. After we sat around the mafraj, which had a really nice view, and talked about a variety of things. I was talking to Eric, who I hung out with when I first got here and he was inspiring me to travel. He has actually been to almost every Middle Eastern nation except for Israel and Palestine (I think). He's leaving to go live, take classes and work in Cairo for a year next week. It is amazing how sheltered my perspective of traveling was. For instance, my dorm mate Tim from China back packed through 15 countries in Africa by himself. His roommate Ryan from Britain has been to Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Pakistan and India. Not to mention a lot of others I've met who have traveled all about, mostly by themselves, with no structure or plan. So since I've gotten here my passion to not only travel throughout the region, but around the world has grown ten fold.

Back to my life though, around 2am I finally came down off the qat and was able to fall asleep. As for Friday, the excitement of the day came at 3pm when me and a bunch of the CALES guys headed over to the asphalt mini soccer field behind Ala Ahli field (where we played last week). There were a bunch of kids and adults already playing there but we managed to set up a formatted system of pick up football, where there were teams of six, and when one team scored, the other team stepped off and another team came on. It was much nicer playing on a small field because we actually got to play football instead of running around like chickens with our heads cut off on the big field versus an organized team. Overall I'd say we won about half of our mini games and it was a lot of fun. The Yemenis are quite friendly and easy going even when they are playing football, so it makes for a great atmosphere. I actually scored 3 out of our 4 goals, so I personally had a good showing. Now I'm about to head home and do some studying and prepare for another twenty hours of lessons before next weekend rolls around again.

Also I am going to start putting up a section about Yemeni life, culture, politics, etc starting with my next post. These will obviously be from my perspective so don't read too deeply into them. I've noticed though that I've already pretty much adapted/gotten used to being here but I want to keep filling you guys in on all the intricacies and differences of life in Sana'a so that section will help to do that.

Well I'm sure I've left a lot out but I feel like I'm getting carpal tunnel, plus it's getting late, so until next time, have a good one everybody.

Also I set up a new e-mail address: Hthe3rd@gmail.com because my QU one gets cluttered b/c I don't have time to check up on it. So if you want to hit me up, send an e-mail to that address.

Good Luck at New Englands everyone!

I'm out.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Happy Birthday Jenna

عسلا-م-علكوم

Or as we say in America, hello!

I hope all is well in the States. I wanted to publicize (ie. the title) that Jenna gets another year older today. She gets to experience the joy and priviledge which comes with being 23!

As for myself, all is well. When I went into school on Tuesday I noticed that my article about the football-soccer game was posted on the bulletin board and on top of that it was quite a hit, so it looks like my journalism career might just be taking off after all.

My classes are going well, four hours a day is a bit daunting but I am starting to settle in. I figure 4 hours of Arabic class a day is like taking 24-25 credits at Quinnipiac, except it's all in the same subject. Overall though things are going well in class and my studies. I have my ups and downs. At times it feels like I'm improving so quickly and other times I feel like I don't know a thing. It is amazing how sometimes on the streets I have moments of "brilliance" when I'm talking to people but then fifteen minutes later I'll be talking to someone else and not be able to say a thing. With this being said though I am definitely making a lot of progress. I've also had the priviledge of eating lunch with the teachers the past couple of days (what can I say, I'm a suck up) so I'm not only making friends among the students but also amongst the faculty.

Most of my week had pretty much consisted of going to my lessons or studying but yesterday to break up the monotony I decided to go watch Real Madrid v. Bayern Munich (live at 10:45pm here) at a little cafe in Tahrer which has pay per view tv. The place was pretty much packed with fans and it was amusing watching the Yemenis celebrate when either team scored a goal. Whenever someone would score at least a couple guys would get up and run over and start yelling in someone elses face. Ben (who I went with) was telling me that the Yemenis tend to root for Barcelona, Real Madrid or Chelsea, although he mentioned and I witnessed that they pretty much just cheer for either team. I also smoked sheesha (sp?) for the first time. We got grape flavor and I couldn't believe but it actually did taste like grape. It was a pretty cool experience having the big huka and just sitting there puffing on grape tobacco while watching the game. Plus you don't inhale, or else I probably wouldn't have been to in to eat because than it would just be like smoking flavored cigarettes. As for the game, it turned out to be a cracker with Real Madrid winning 3-2 over Bayern in what is the first of two legs. Now in two weeks they will play each other again in Munich and the team with the better aggregate score will advance. It is currently the round of 16 so it is starting to get exciting. Tonight Ben and I are going again to watch Barcelona v. Liverpool in their first leg game in Barcelona.

As for the upcoming weekend, I have a couple plans. Tomorrow I am going to chew qat for the first time with Crazy Mohamad, Abdul Ghader and whoever else decides to join us. I'm looking foward to seeing what it is actually like since I've been here two weeks and have yet to try it yet. Plus it will provide me with a good opportunity to practice my Arabic. Oh, I also have class tomorrow morning because my Professor Ameen was not feeling well today so he canceled class. Then on Friday we have team football practice because as evidenced by the last game we definitely need to practice/ get in shape before we play another game, at least against a real organized club team like the one we played last weekend.

Good Luck to everyone running at New Englands this weekend!

Sunday, February 18, 2007

The Weekend and Other Miscellaneous Stuff

I'm back,

Hello everyone, I hope everyone is currently enjoying their weekend in the states because mine unfortunately ended two days ago. So, where to begin. Well I've already pretty much filled you in on the game. As for how I played, well not too bad. CALES United only has about 4 players with football experience so we are to say the least not a very skilled team. On top of that I am the only one in shape, so excluding our goalkeeper who is very good, a large amount of the work load is up to me, which is difficult in a game which consists of the participation of 11 players. Anyway I scored our only goal on the penalty, had two shots on net that were stopped, hit the cross bar once and put one inches over once on a free kick. Those shots consisted of about 80% of the scoring chances so you get the point. Hopefully within the next two weeks we'll actually have high speed internet at the school so I'll finally be able to put up my pics. I have a couple good ones from the game. As for the game as a whole it was a tremendous experience. We had another large crowd that was loud and for some reason quite partial to the home side (I wonder why). Plus a couple of my young buddies I met the other day actually came to the game so that was really sweet.

After the game I was incredibly sore but kept quite busy. That night (Thursday) a bunch of us went down the the local souk (market) around the corner from school and watched some of the wedding celebrations which were going on. I pretty much consisted of about a hundred men gathered around (Yemeni women aren't allowed) doing the jambiyya dance about 5-6 guys at a time to the beat of a man playing the drums. Pretty much the men would move around in circles, rhythmically waving their jambiyyas in all directions in coordination with one another. I took a pretty nice video for all to see when I get back.

From the wedding it was off to dinner and then to the Russian club. The "Russian Club" is this seedy little bar inside a compound on the outskirts of town called Tourist City. Yemenis aren't allowed in but foreigners are, a nice double standard. Anyway we (Ryan, Thomas, Daniel and I) headed over there and spent the night American style conversing with one another while drinking numerous whiskey and cokes. Of course we picked the only night of the week when they charge to get in and it was 3,000 rials (actually expensive). Nothing really exciting happened other than us watching bad Russian television shows and probably drinking one too many drinks. I don't think I'll be attending the "club" again anytime soon because I spent too much money and slept in way too late on Friday.

As for Friday, nothing much happened. I slept in really late, then spent most of my day reviewing Arabic, walking around town, reading, etc.

Then the new week started on Saturday (yesterday) which meant four hours or Arabic a day for me from here on out. My first class with Abdul Rahman went well in the afternoon. He is a laid back guy who works somewhere in the morning and then teaches at the school at night. He will be a nice balance to my other teacher, saghreer (little) Amin, who is full of energy. As for my Arabic, I'd say it is coming along quickly considering, even though I get frustrated regularly because it is very difficult. I am able to string together simple sentences now which makes conversing with natives and getting around town a bit easier. With my four hours of class a day plus a good 2-3 hrs of homework, my schedule is going to be more rigid from now on. Pretty much my day looks like this: 8:30am- Wake up, shower 9am- Go to Square for potato and hard boiled egg sandwhich plus tea for (35 cents), 9:30am-10:30am Review Arabic for class . 10:30am-11am- relax (usually means read for leisure), 11am-1pm Arabic class w. Amin, 1pm-2pm= Lunch Time (go out for chicken, rice, bread, veggie dip stuff, potatos in sauce, etc) 2pm-3pm- Do Arabic homework/review, 3pm-4pm=relax, 4pm-6pm=Arabic Class with Abdul Rahman, 6:30-8pm- Dinner Time/Relax, 8-10pm- More Arabic, Yeah, 11pm(ish)= bedtime.

Oh also, this is for Mark Driscoll, the other day I saw a Arabic karate instructional book with Chuck Norris on the front but I didn't have any money! If I see it again I will make sure to purchase or steal it.

To Mio, as for the driving being like NYC cabbies, imagine NYC cab drivers, than get rid of all traffic lights, stop signs, rules of the road/laws, etc and make the road narrow and then you have driving/traffic in Yemen.

Also, breaking news, I gave in and got a cell phone because I was relying on Skype to talk to people on the phone and it turned out to be very unreliable with the crappy internet connection. Plus the fact that everyone in the school has a phone and kept asking me for my # and I didn't have one so it makes it easier to contact my teachers and friends in Yemen. If anyone wants to call me my cell # is (967) 734-737-469, click on the link below and use the third option: SIMPLY and you can get an international calling card for cheap.

http://www.comfi.com/calling-cards/Yemen

Other than that I don't have too much to report at this time. Because I am going to be spending most of my waking hours now in class, doing homework or studying Arabic my life is probably going to become a bit lame, but I will try my hardest to keep the blog exciting and informative.

I hope all is well in the states!

Much Love to All.

Anthony Richard Rivaldo Mahmood Heffron III

P.S.- This is directed to my Father, I apologize for not having impeccable grammar but I am lazy and do not feel like proof reading my blog. Think of it as a whole stream of consciousness type of thing.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Al-Ahli Trounces Newly Founded CALES United

Hello All,

I finished writing my article for the magazine about the football match yesterday. I had to do it at the internet cafe so it probably isn't a masterful piece of literature but it is quite humorous. I actually have a ton of Arabic work to do today for class tomorrow because I spent my weekend playing football, watching wedding dances and going to a sketchy Russian bar on the outskirts of town (yes...you can find a place to drink in Yemen), so I'm not going to update the blog at this time. Below though is the article I wrote for the magazine. I hope you enjoy it. This represents the beginning of my career as a freelance journalist in the Middle East, haha.

Local Club Al-Ahli F.C. Trounces International Contingent

Yesterday afternoon, Al–Ahli, Sanaa's local football club, scored a smashing victory over the newly founded CALES United (Center for Arabic Language and Eastern Studies). The match was played at Al-Ahli stadium under the afternoon sun with a crowd of three hundred voracious spectators in attendance. The game was very close at 2-1 through sixty minutes before the CALES United players' lack of fitness caught up with them. In the closing minutes of the match, the skill and conditioning of Al-Ahli F.C. was too much for the international contingent of CALES to handle, evidenced by Al-Ahli F.C's five goals in the last twenty minutes of the match. 


The game started off with a bang when CALES defender, Ryan Terry, knocked down Al-Ahli's captain in the box. In a questionable decision the referee granted Al-Ahli a penalty which their captain Abdullah Azizi tucked away past the outstretched hands of the Danish goalkeeper. Al-Ahli F.C. put away another goal shortly before the whistle blew for half-time.


After the break, CALES United came out strong, rejuvenated by orange drink and a motivational speech by Coach/Goalkeeper Tommy. It looked like the tide was turning when CALES's French attacking mid-fielder Guillam was taken down inside the box, warranting his side with a penalty that American Richard Heffron placed neatly into the bottom right hand corner of the goal. Unfortunately, CALES's lone goal proved to be the highlight of the match for the international contingent.


Shortly after CALES United's penalty, Al-Ahli F.C. superior fitness became apparent as they dissected the tired and forlorn CALES players scoring six goals in the closing minutes. The onslaught of goals was pioneered by the Al-Ahli F.C. captain who notched three more goals in addition to his penalty in the first half. CALES United could not muster a second wind, though it must be noted that they went down fighting in only their second match ever since their creation two weeks ago. CALES United was also hindered by the absence of defensive midfielder Callum Llundberg who suffered a groin pull in the team's last match.


CALES United captain Benjamin Hanna has already demanded a rematch, stating that: "With a few weeks practice and fitness training, I believe the score would be reversed in our favor." Until a date and time for a rematch are set, the fans will have to patiently wait for the next clash between the local favorites and the upstart foreign footballing students.


On a side note, CALES United's foundation was a banner event in the history of the language school located on Az-Zummar Street in Old Sana'a. It is the school's first ever football team and brings together a vast array of young international students from all corners of the globe. Among the countries represented are: England, America, Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, China, Latvia, and France. Over time, and with much more practice and conditioning, CALES United might just become quite a

         1-2 — Final
Al-Ahli: 2 6     8
CALES:   0 1     1


-Written by Richard Heffron, CALES United team member and Student of Arabic at the Center for Arabic and Eastern Studies

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

The Weekend has Arrived!

Marhabben,

Hello everyone. The weekend has arrived here in Sana'a. Wednesday night is like Friday night in the states, the beginning of the weekend. I finished up my first week of classes today and am happy to say that I am making considerable progress. I have covered the possesive nouns and the tenses for verbs so I can actually start putting together some coherent sentences. I actually had my best Arabic conversation yet on my way to the internet cafe. Along the way some boys, probably about 12-14yrs old, said hello to me. So I stopped and introduced myself. I could tell they were enthused to talk with a foreign so I told them were I was going and they decided to tag along. It was about a 15min walk to the internet cafe so I got to practice on them quite a bit. There was one kid who spoke a tiny bit of english so he tried to help me out when I had trouble. Don't get me wrong, this was a very basic conversation but still it was great practice. We pretty much covered that I was a student studying Arabic at a school on Azzumar street. I was from the U.S. My family was still in the U.S. I like football and am playing tomorrow, etc. More like we traded statements back and forth.

On to other more exciting things, we have our big soccer game tomorrow. Our team actually all bought green Yemen national team jerseys so we will all match for tomorrow. We are playing on the best field in Yemen with a ref, linesmen and the works. It shall be exciting. I have no clue how good our competition will be. I'm also writing a story about the game for a local magazine that gets the students to occasionally write articles in english for them. Hopefully I will be able to report that we had a good showing.

Hmmm, what else. I have been invited to a wedding celebration which will be taking place the next two days out in the square right around the corner from the school. It sounds like there is going to be a lot of dancing and music so it shall be fun. Plus it will provide me with a great oppurtunity to practice my arabic. I think I am also going to try qat for the first time tomorrow, so we'll how that goes. While we are on the topic of weddings, something funny happened in class today. There was a question in my homework (wajib) asking if my wife was American. I put yes b/c my girlfriend is. So my teacher asked me when he was checking it if I was married. I told him I didn't but I had a girlfriend of three years. So then he asked "how many times I'd met her?". Literally meaning, had I ever even met her face to face. I told him in a subtle way that I saw her everyday. Then he obviously asked why we weren't married? It was pretty funny, sometimes I forget the immense cultural differences. I mean right now I'm sitting next to a kid playing others in some first person shooter game and he has a cell phone, but he probably will only meet his wife once or twice before their arranged marriage.

Now for answering some questions. My Mom asked what I have been eating. Well, usually for breakfast I'll have fruit that I buy at the market, mainly oranges and bananas with some dry cereal and tea or lately I've been walking down the street and getting egg and potato sandwiches for 25 cents in the morning. For lunch I always go out to restaurants nearby. Usually lunch consists of either, chicken, liver, vegetables, rice or eggs all usually served with bread. Then for dinner it is 50/50 whether I'll make pasta with some veggies from the market or go out to eat. For instance the other night I had bean dip, chicken, liver and flat bread for dinner. Followed up by some mango juice for desert and then a cup of tea. The food so far has been quite good, although I can imagine it will get a bit old. As for my stomach, it has been holding up incredibly well (KNOCK ON WOOD). Throwing up into a whole in the ground toilet would not be any fun so I'm going to try and avoid that.

Colleen asked how sleeping was going. Well, it hasn't been bad at all and seems to be improving each day. For instance, I actually slept straight through the call to prayer this morning. I couldn't believe it. I woke up at around 9am and was quite proud of myself for snoozing right through that loud and obnoxious banter.

For now I can't think of much else to report. To be honest I do still get a bit lonely sometimes, like yesterday when nobody was around in the dorm, so I went to class, got lunch by myself, studied arabic until my head was spinning (2hrs or so), then read for an hour and still no one was around. Times like those are a bit annoying, but overall everything is going great.

I almost forgot (Cicc you'll be happy to hear this after your post), I went for a run last night!!! Yah, Tommy and I went down to the local football pitch and did two miles of laps. It was really slow (Tommy is a big guy, 90kilos), about 9min pace, but it still felt good to work up a bit of a sweat. No one bother us and it felt great to run so I think I'm going to try to go over there a couple times a week and get in some 30min runs.

I also tried to upload pictures but because the connection is so slow over here it didn't work. I attempted to put up eight of them and waited 30min while it "uploaded" and finally gave up. Then I reduced the quality of one of them and tried and waited 10mins, lost my patience and gave up. If anyone has any ideas let me know.

Well, I think that is it. I pulled some pics from goggle images of Old Sana'a. All of the pics you see below are places I live right near. For instance the one of the skyline is similar to what it looks like from our deck. My favorite one is of the city and the main gate (Baab al Yemen) lit up. We are trying to get wireless in our dorm, so if that happens I may finally be able to show you guys my pics. I can't wait for you guys to see them.

Happy St. Valentine's Day to All!!!

Maa Salaama



I picked out a few pictures I found on the web that are from Old Sana'a. I have seen all of these things and live within a couple minutes walking distance from them.

http://www.yemenweb.com/gallery/lady-s.jpg

http://k53.pbase.com/o4/01/632101/1/55014510.Sanaaoldcity1.jpg

http://www.netribution.co.uk/cc/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2066&g2_serialNumber=1

http://www.ylcint.com/photos/sanaa_minaret_sm.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.china.org.cn/english/en-whii/photo/30.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.china.org.cn/english/en-whii/30.htm&h=399&w=600&sz=70&hl=en&start=12&tbnid=H3xuCnOFpg2n_M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dold%2Bsana%2527a%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den

Monday, February 12, 2007

Three Days in a Row

Ahlan-wa-Sahlen,

I can't believe I'm updating my blog for third day in a row. The fact of the matter is though that I went out to dinner with Tim and Ryan, and we were right near a internet cafe so we all decided to stop in.

All is well. My third day of class went great. I am starting to learn verbs. They will be quite useful considering it is hard to string together a sentence without them. I also went to the a gym today. It was a little hole in the ground place with free weights. Quite a site. There were a bunch of skinny Yemeni boys trying to become Arnold Scharwzanagger. You should have seen the place, the walls were covered in pictures of body builders with 50% of them being Arnold. I fit right in with my skinny little arms and bird chest.

Other than that there isn't too much exciting to report. Daily life is good. I hit up the supermarket yesterday and got some pasta, tuna and Arabic fruit loops. They aren't too bad, as long as you go in expecting them to taste a bit funny.

One thing I'd like to touch on is animal cruelty. There are no actual house pets over here as I mentioned before and unfortunately, the children are quite brutal to the dogs, cats and goats that roam freely. Today for instance I saw one boy swing a metal rod at a pack of four cats. Then on my way back from lunch I witnessed a little boy spitting on a cat as it ate scraps of chicken and to top it all off on the way back from the gym I watched a little boy drag a baby goat down the street by one leg.

On a similar topic, the Yemeni children over here are the toughest S.O.B's I've ever seen. Today Tommy and I watched a couple of 4 yr olds scrap it up in the street. You'll see kids 2-3yrs old hitting each other with sticks, all alone without their parents and they don't cry a bit. A toy most these kids consists of a tire or a metal rod with a wheel at the bottom. If they are lucky they'll have a cheap-o football which they all use and the most fortunate have bikes. There is nothing like seeing a three year old kid though stand right in the way of a honking car and walk away unfazed. It would be quite amusing (I know this is kind of sick) to put five American four year olds in a ring with five Yemenis and let them have at it. I can guarantee you who would come out on top.

I'll leave my rantings at that for now. I hope all is well in the States. Quite a nice performance I saw by the Bobcats this weekend, especially the ladies, 4th freakin place! Congrats. Also what about Alan Culpepper with the win at USXC's going away. I wouldn't have expected that.

Take care all!

Maa-Salaama

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Filling in the Gaps

Asaalam-u-Aleykum everyone,

It's me again. While sitting in bed this morning at 5:15am after being rudely awakened by what seemed like the loudest call to prayer yet, I was thinking about all the things I left out yesterday. So because I didn't fall back to sleep until about 7:30am I made a list so that I would remember some random things I wanted to mention.

First off, I have yet to chew qat. This the the leaf which every male in Yemen age 8 or so and up apparently chews. It is a natural stimulant, which from what I heard is similar to taking aderol or something. Anyway, because I want to be able to sleep at night I have refrained from chewing so far. It seems quite gross to me because these guys, all over, in shops on the streets jam the leaves into their cheeks and proceed to chew on it for hours. It turns their mouths all green, at least on one side. They look like chipmonks, it is absolutely amazing how much they can fit in their cheeks. Seriously they'll have raquetball sized lumps just sitting there in the side of their mouths. Crazy. Plus most people are pretty much addicted to it. As crazy Mohammad said, he chews three times a day and if he doesn't he can't process, he'll have headaches and the sweats. But verbatim he said that when he chews he can do anything, even be the president of Yemen, haha.

Second, the clothes Yemenis wear. Well most women where the full "burqa" I guess its called. Its is a hijab which covers their hair and neck. Then a full length black garment, with a "nikab", the piece that covers their face. All of them wear black. It is quite ridiculous because the little Yemeni girls are very cute and they can wear whatever they want until they hit puberty and then all of a sudden they are forced to adhere to the strict dress code. Also it is not appropriate for men to sit next to women on the bus or converse with them in public if they are not your wife (zowja). As for the men, they typically will sport a loose male skit type of garment, with a collared shirt, a sports coat and the belt with the jambiyya. Or they will where the one piece long following garment, usually still with a sport coat over it and their jambiyya. Most also where I scarf on their heads or around their necks. I think the sport coat is definitely the key to topping off the outfit, that and the jambiyya. I actually got a sweet red and white scarf yesterday that I am currently sporting. Oh, the men also all wear sandals, another thing I picked up today. My purchase of sandals was my first haggle experience in Yemen. The guy wanted 4500 rials and I got him down to 3600 by the end. They felt nice when I tried them on so hopefully they don't fall apart. The box says they are "Crazy Men" - Italy. Haha! I can't see myself sporting on of the full length garments or skirts, but I am definitely going to pick up a sport coat on the street. So at least I'll have the scarf, coat and sandals, with some khakis and a tshirt.

As for sleep it has been going alright. I've been knackered (picking up the British dialect) at nights but am usually awoken by the call to prayer. I haven't been able to sleep in, which I think is partly due to the altitude because I remember in Boulder I had trouble sleeping for the first 2 weeks or so. Plus Old Sana'a is a loud city and all of the buildings are packed together so the sounds from the street echo loud and clear up to my second story bedroom.

There are also a lot of cats (qitta) and dogs (kalb) around town, but they are all strays. No one actually has pets unless the are used for something. For example, donkeys and camels which are used for physical labor.

My dorm is quite nice. Most the buildings in Old Sana'a have five or six stories. It is almost like an apartment building the way it is structured. The doorways are very short, probably b/c all the Yemenis are short, but the ceilings in the rooms are about 20ft high, kind of odd. I like it though, plus I have stain glass windows in my room which you will see in my pictures hopefully in a couple days. The only not so nice thing is the bathrooms. My room is right next to the bathroom. In the bathroom we have the toilet which is pretty much just a porcelain hole in the floor and the shower is right next to it with nothing dividing them. It is going to take some getting used to.

As for the weather, it is amazing. Literally perfect. It gets up to about 75 and sunny during the day and down to about 50 at nights.

And for today, I had my second class which went very well. I got a good amount of homework to do tonight, so I'll have to start buckling down because starting next week I'll have 4hrs of class a day plus a good two-three hours of homework. So pretty much Arabic will be my job which I look foward to because I hate not being able to communicate better with everyone.

As noted before I hope to put up pics later this week. The hidden seihk Daniel (he is from Berkeley, California and literally converted to being a seihk (sp?) 9 months ago so he wears a turban and has a huge beard). Actually yesterday the police were looking for Daniel because he didn't get his visa renewed. He told me that there is an internet cafe where you can hook up your laptop, so if I find that I'll definitely put up my pics.

Ma'salaama!

Also keep up the comments. It puts a big smile on my face when I hear from everyone.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Food, Football and Jambiyyas

Asalam u alaykum everyone,

Greetings from the internet cafe in Tahrer, a little section of town in New City. I can say after three days, I have started to get my bearings in Sana'a. There is so much to tell you, so I hopefully my travel log will help me inform you of everything which has happened so far. If you are sitting down to read this make sure you are comfortable. Heck you might even want to print this out so your eyes don't go crossed reading from the computer screen for too long.

Alright, lets start at the beginning. Last time I left you I had just arrived in Sana'a. My first night was quite depressing. After being driven to the school from the airport and settling into my room I was overcome with a swell of loneliness. It was difficult knowing that I had no clue where I was, knew no one at my school, was hungry and thirsty, plus it was midnight and I couldn't even contact my parents to let them know I had arrived and was alive. Since that night, things have been improving steadily and with each minute that passes my adventure has become more surreal and enjoyable.

My first day here, Wednesday, was spent eating great food and being shown around town. In the morning Mohammad, the man who drove me from the airport the night before took me out to get breakfast, call my parents, and exchange my money. Than for lunch I was lucky enough to be invited to the director of my school, Jameel's, house for lunch. Talk about a feast. All of the new students were invited to lunch. I guess this happens once a month so I was fortunate to arrive when I did. Plus it allowed me to meet some other students. For lunch, we all sat in a room with cushions on the floor and the food was laid in front of us. There was rice, chicken, potatoes, vegetables, some type of yogurt bread dip, salta (mix of cheese, meat and veggies), flat bread and for desert fried bread laced with honey, oranges and bananas. Most of the food you ate with the bread which you tear off into pieces and use to pick up/ dip whatever you want. So you'll tear off the bread, scoop up some salta and enjoy. After the delicious meal we went into the sitting/living room, which had cushions around it and enjoyed hot sweet tea while we introduced/talked to each other.

Later in the evening, I was lucky enough to have Eric, a student from New York, who has been all over the Middle East the past two years take me out for dinner and show me around a bit. We walked about 30min to a fish shop where we got fresh shrimp, which the picked and cleaned in front of us. Then we brought the shrimp next door to a restaurant (unaffiliated with the fish shop), where we had it prepared to eat. We had half the shrimp "fried" (not gross greasy style" with some type of seasoning and the other shrimp was cooked in this tasty red sauce. Along with this we once again had tea (shaee in Arabic), and oh is it good. To eat the shrimp we used flat bread like usual. After dinner we headed to Tahrer where I am now and got gelato for dessert. Eric also pointed out different things to me, one of interest was a honey shop which is on the US terrorist organization list for supposedly funneling money to Al-Qaeda. Who would've guessed? He also showed me the gym where he runs everyday. It is walled so he runs around the inside perimeter of the wall, about 400m. I don't know if I'll be doing that because its 15,000rials a month to belong (75 bucks) and I'd probably go only a couple of times a week. Before heading home I bought oranges (bortuqal), bananas (mouz), and water (ma'a) for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Woke up early this morning and ventured around Old Sana'a. I couldn't find my way to the Baab Al Yemen (door to Yemen), the front gate of the city, so I was pretty bummed that I couldn't even get to the main entrance of the city I am living in. The Old City has a huge wall around it so there are certain points of entry, thus I felt like an idiot I couldn't find the main gate. It is tough though because the streets are very narrow, winding and the buildings are pretty similar. Plus the fact that my Arabic is still limited and on top of this everyone stares at you everywhere you go, making you feel like even more of an outsider. Luckily, when I arrived back to my "dorm", Amin, one of my teachers who lives in our dorm was there and offered to show me around a bit. So he took me all around. Then for lunch I was fortunate once again to get invited to another feast. This one was hosted by Mohammad (different one from the one who works at the school: it is quite a popular name), who had a bunch of students over. Once again we sat on the floor of a room and ate exorbitant amounts of food. It consisted of many of the same things as yesterday. I've noticed to that Yemenis LOVE HONEY. Once again we had fried bread with honey on top and although it was supposed to be for desert, the Yemenis ripped into it about half way through the meal and devoured it. It is like a natural aphrodisiac for them. After lunch we headed up to the mafraj, on top of the house. It has windows on all sides, with the perimeter surrounded with sitting cushions. You can see the whole city and mountains because it is at the top of the house, plus it is ornately decorated. I'm definitely adding a mafraj to my house someday because they are comfortable and beautiful. Up there we sat around and talked. I got to meet a lot more of the students from CALES. This helped to raise my spirits. The only upsetting thing about lunch was that Mohammad our host explained to us that he was a good man, not a terrorist, and that Yemenis were good people. I felt bad that he felt the need to defend himself b/c I would like to believe that the students at the university are open minded enough not to stereotype the native people. Other than that lunch was tremendous.

Shortly after lunch I was invited to play football (soccer for you Americans) with a bunch of the guys from the school. We took a bus (dabaab) to an outside part of town where there was a full sized dirt pitch. We had ten guys, three Brits (Calum, Ryan and Alex), a german (Ben), a Chinese (Tim), a Frenchman (Gillam), a Spanaird (Sergio), a Dane (Tommy), and two Americans (myself and the crazy hidden sheik, Dan). We played a official Yemeni team and there coach reffed. It was pretty official. We had two halves and played full length. The field was dirt, so it was not to great a surface because the ball bounced all over and you were constantly slipping. In the end we ended up winning the game 7-6, even though the Yemenis were much better than us and probably out shot us 40-10. There was quite a crowd by the end of the game also, hanging around to watch the foreigners play. The only reason we won was because at halftime we got a good Yemeni striker who scored three goals for us and because our goalie used to play semi-pro in Ireland and their goalie stunk. Around halftime it dawned on me that this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Sitting there, playing football in front of 150 Yemenis, on a dirt field in Sana'a, at 8000ft, with the mountains providing a serene backdrop. As for myself, I played pretty well considering I haven't play in so long, plus the altitude was burning up my lungs. I also took a nice digger which tore up my right knee pretty good. Today I can barely walk I am so sore. Next Thursday we have another organized came against another Yemeni team.

Then last night I went to a Yemeni hotel for dinner with my new friends Tommy, Calum, and Ben. They had all types of food and I actually got spaghetti and meatballs, haha, and it wasn't too bad. After dinner I picked up a key essential, toilet paper, and got some delicious fresh mango juice for the equivalent of 20 cents. Before bed I had a very interesting conversation about politics and religion with Amin. He is a Sunni Muslim and it was great to hear his point of view on different topics. For instance we were talking about Sadaam Hussein, because in Yemen after his execution he has become a popular figure. Everywhere you go there are posters of him, I'll make sure to bring some back. Anyway, Amin was saying that most of the Yemeni's look up to Sadaam because he did not flee Iraq when it was overthrown and he showed pride and gumption by standing his ground after he was arrested and put on trial. Amin though said he deserved to die because he didn't repent for his sins before he was killed. Thus he committed haram (sin) and was a non-believer so he deserved to be executed. Personally I think the Yemenis also like Sadaam because his daughter wanted to have him buried in Sana'a. Anyway, I could talk forever about what Amin and I discussed but do not have the time or patience. Maybe another time. I can tell you that he is a devout Sunni and truly dislikes Shiites.

And now, on to today. I had my first class this morning, two hours, one on one with Amin. I learned more in those two hours than I learned in a month in the States. Right now I can go out and carry out a basic conversation, order food, and little things. I think my arabic skills will improve rapidly though because I am constantly using them. After class, I went out to eat for the first time by myself and had no trouble ordering my food. I got a half of chicken, rice, vegetables and tea for about 2$. Then I had the gratifying experience of helping a fellow American tourist order his meal b/c he did not know any Arabic. I talked with him after and he was here for some conference for a couple of days. That brings us to the present.

Now for the miscellaneous:

Driving in Yemen is insane. There are no lights, or traffic patterns. The cars and motor bikes go everywhere. I have already seen two accidents. I worry most about the little children you are constantly not paying attention and run in front of the impatient/hostile drivers. Not to mention that cars do not yield to pedestrians so you have to constantly keep your head on a swivel. Most of the cars are old and beat up but run okay. The motorbikes are the most annoying because they come flying around blind corners. Horns are like the national anthem of Yemen. It is one big cacophony of horns and people yelling arabic.

The call to prayer at 5am is loud and annoying. Every morning the mosque down the street has speakers which blast the "call to prayer". So pretty much, at least for now I'll be waking up around 5am, and then attempting to go back to sleep. Most of the Yemenis pray five times a day. The other day I went by the mosque at 1pm and they were all lined up with the prayer lines on the street facing mecca praying. A pretty awesome site. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed in the mosques because I am a non-Muslim.

Overall, people have been very friendly and helpful. You get many stares when you walk around but that is to be expected. The Yemenis are very honest and so far no one has tried to rip me off. Only twice have I had "altercations". Once walking home a child was telling Eric and I, "shame, shame" and then the other day we were playing football in the street with the kids and I man came up and kicked the ball away. He said we weren't allowed to play on the streets and told the kids they should be ashamed for playing with foreigners. Other than that though everyone has been helpful and friendly. I like talking to the children because I can carry out basic conversations with them.

Oh, I also say a man swing his jambiyya (traditional Yemeni dagger which is worn tucked into the belt) at another man in a fit of rage in the Souq (market) the other day. He missed though and then was restrained. Exciting stuff.

That's all! Ha,ha! Now I am off to the supermarket so that I have food at home so I won't have to go out to eat all of the time. I apologize for what I may have forgotten but I'm doing my best to give a detailed account.

Good luck to the Bobcats in MD.

Much love to my Family and Friends.

Hopefully I'll talk to you all soon. Inshallah (god willing)

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Thursday, February 08, 2007

My Arrival in Sana'a

I made it everyone! Luckily, I had no problems along the way, even at the airport. I was picked up by an employee from the school and he drove me to my new home. It was quite a shock driving to Old Sana'a. It is definitely quite the culture shock. So far though everything is going great. I met a couple students last night, two americans (boy and girl) and a chinese boy. They seemed nice enough. I also got a decent night sleep which was much needed. I did awake at 5am when the Call to Prayer occured in the town. It was quite loud. I am currently being shown around town with a "guide", he is very friendly and speaks decent English. I got my money changed over this morning and got breakfast, consisting of a plate of chopped chicken and beef, which we ate with flat bread. You just scoop it up and shovel it in your mouth. I also had tea, which was delicious.

The city of Old Sana'a is absolutely beautiful, but very confusing. Huge brick buildings all together, winding around with narrow roads between. My room is good, even though it is right next to the bathroom, I guess the newcomer gets the worst local in the building. I have so much more to tell but am pressed for time. Plus the internet connection is even slower than my Mom's dial up. I hope all is well in the states.

Good luck at NEC's this weekend.

Mom, Dad, Jenna, Family and Friends, I love and miss you.

Till next time.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Halfway to Sana'a

Hey everyone,

Sorry to be so brief, but I bought 15mins of wireless internet connection at the airport so I don't really have anytime to talk. I am currently in Frankfurt about to board my plane to Cairo. So far my trip has been seamless, hopefully it will stay that way. I haven't really experienced much yet, but I didn't sleep on the plane so I've been up for 24 hours. Hope all is well in the states. The next time I talk to you I should be in Yemen. Hiyo!