Signing off from Sana'a

It seems like just the other day, I arrived at Sana’a International Airport in the middle of the night, naïve, and green to the world, not even sure I would be able to obtain an entry visa. I remember it clear as day, as we drove into the city and I looked around me, puzzled, wondering what decisions (or mistakes) I had made in life that had brought me to the bottom of the Arabian Peninsula for three months. This was followed by the overwhelming loneliness that consumed me when I checked into my room and realized that there was no way to even contact my family to let them know I had arrived safely. Skip ahead three months and it is a different story. While I am very excited to come home, I am also going to miss the excitement of life in Yemen. I’m sure Jenna doesn’t want to hear this, but I can assure you I will be returning to the region in the near future; there are already rumors about a summer in Damascus next year, inshallah.

From my experience the last three months, I encourage people to follow their dreams and adventure out into the world. I came to Yemen with no prior knowledge of the region, I knew no one, and I would be reluctant to say I knew any Arabic. Nevertheless, I made a large contingent of Yemeni friends, both from the school and the streets; I made friends from around the world (Europe, Asia, Africa), I traveled to two continents, and along the way picked up a second language. In addition to this, it has also made me respect and value how well off I have it in the United States. Okay, I’m done with the “deep” and “reflective” babble for now.

As for my last few days in Sana’a, they did not quite go as I had imagined. On Sunday night, after almost three months of being healthy, I finally got very sick. It started when I woke up in the middle of the night and had to use the bathroom a few times, and then all of a sudden broke out into a full out fever. At first I had awful chills, so I bundled up in all my clothes, even wrapping a shawl around my head. About an hour later, I awoke again, except now I felt like I was on fire, as evidenced by my sweating straight through my layers of clothes and sheets. Needless to say, I did not sleep much at all, and when 10:00am rolled around for my lesson there was no way I was going to class in my state. So I stumbled over to the school, told my teacher Adel I was not fit for class, and stumbled back home. 

Unfortunately, this was my last lesson with Adel, which stunk, because this was not the way I imagined finishing up my lessons. I slept the rest of the day, except for about three hours in the afternoon when I forced myself to get up, eat some food, and get my laundry from the laundryman down the street.

On Tuesday, I awoke around 10am, after sixteen hours of sleep and I was feeling much better. It was a holiday, similar to our labor day, so there were no classes. Thus, I took my day off to walk around town and take pictures of Sana’a. My buddy Ali accompanied me, and we just strolled around leisurely, talking and taking pictures of the souqs, the Sila, the Old City, etc. It was funny, because when we finished our little trip, he gave me a huge packet of materials about Islam that he just “happened” to have in his car. How convenient! I definitely led him on during our qat chew on Thursday, with all my praise of Islam, and I give him credit for being persistent. For Muslims, one of the best things you can do is to help convert a Christian, Jew, “non-believer” etc., and show them the true path. Behind, "Where are you from?" and "What is your name?", "Are you Muslim?" is the third most popular question I have been asked. I do not see myself converting anytime soon, but who knows; perhaps I'll have some divine inspiration. After my walk I had one last lunch at Sadaam’s of rice, sahawik, and chicken, then forced myself to do some Arabic. In the evening, myself and a few of my friends from the Center went to Hamra, on Hadda Street for dinner. To add some excitement to the trip, there was a huge grease fire on the roof (they definitely needed Brink’s expertise).      It turned out to be harmless in the end, but it was raging pretty well for about ten minutes before the workers were able to extinguish it. The best part about it was the host kept making sure we were not leaving because he did not want to lose our business. Great business there, make sure the customers stay, even if their life is in danger, because you want to make sure to get your four thousand rials. From the restaurant, Tim and I went over to Tahrer, one last time, to watch the second leg semi-final between Liverpool and Chelsea. Much to my satisfaction, Liverpool won on PK’s in an exciting game. Unfortunately, I will not be able to watch my team (Man United) tomorrow night, but Tim is going to give me updates on the phone while I wait for my plane.

As for today, in the morning I got my usual egg sandwich and ate it along with some tea at Sadaam’s as I said my goodbyes. Around noon, I caught up with Mohammad and we went and bought qat for tonight before I head to the airport. Then for lunch, just like for Danny, Mohammad’s wife made a huge meal (check out the pics), and we all ate until we were full. Now the plan is to have one last lesson with Ghaleb from 3pm-5pm, chew a bit o’ qat with Mohammad, Ali, and Ghaleb. Then say my goodbyes and head to the airport. I cannot believe the end is here. They changed the time of my flight though, so I hope that my ticket gets me on the plane, or else I will be livid. I also received my certificate of completion from Jameel, which stated I had completed Level 3, with a “level” of excellent. Whohoo! They probably give everyone an "excellent".

Also,  my teacher, Adel, told me another interesting bit of information about eduction in Sana'a the other day -- It turns out that the public schools in Sana’a are overrun with students and do not have anywhere near the amount of teachers needed for the job. Adel, who also works in a government school, said that in his school, there are 6,000 students and only 60 teachers. In each class there are anywhere from 100-150 students, and the periods are only 40 minutes long. On top of all this, the teachers get paid dirt, maybe $100-$120 a month, and the students only go to school for four hours each day. Half the students go in the morning from 8-12 and half go in the afternoon. Crazy. 

That’s it for now. I hope everyone has enjoyed my blog. I intend to put up a few more posts reflecting on my time in Yemen / the culture shock I experience (if any) when I return to the States.

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Ma salaama!

Rich

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Check out my buddy Issac's blog if you feel like procrastinating and not studying for your upcoming finals. It is listed as Blogging in Yemen under my links on the sidebar.