Lost in ... Translation

One of the many reasons why I love teaching english:

When asked to write about a favorite vacation, one student wrote:

'My favorite vacation when I was eight years old. I went with my family to the island. When I was there I used everything to enjoy. I used my boat, sand, rock and my brain.'

I love that language holds more than words, it holds ideas and concepts - which can not be translated word for word. In order to re-explain your own experience in a new language, you have to learn new ways to construct ideas. And like anything worth having, it takes a lot of trial before figuring it out.

The following should be read in the voice of Demitri Martin...if you can...

'The food was not very expensive in fact, it was delicious. I have experenced about Syrian food, tradition and culture and their hopitality and If the god wihes I will visit them again, I hope God wihes.'

Christmas - near Eastern style

We wish you a Merry Christmas - and a Happy New Year.

Being a former British Colony - it seems as though many Yemeni locals are familiar with the Western winter holidays - but a little confused. Today, December 29th, our last day before the weekend, one student said to me, "have a happy christmas." Happy Christmas? Yes that's right. Understandably - many people here mesh the two holidays as one in the same- after all they are only a week apart...and basically you celebrate in the same way......or so it turns out. This is Christmas - Yemen style!

Let me walk you through our adventure which took place on the actual 25th of December.

First, work - from 12-8pm...we wish a few people merry christmas, and they respond with a scrunched face in confusion, 'isn't that next week?'...
Second - 10pm We invite some neighbors over for snacks and homemade christmas cookies (well acutally a far cry from real christmas cookies...but it makes the story a little better). Perplexed some say, 'wasn't that yesterday?' and others, 'Great, Happy New Year to you!'
Our friends bring food, candies, and a whole lot of fun. After eating, we sat around wondering what is the perfect Christmas activity...cards of course! (2am) We play some spoons, have a lot of laughs, and then...

Its time for the countdown. Hamoody - brings in a huge confetti bomb - so fittingly we start a countdown in chorus...10....3....2...1... Merry Chirstams - the bomb explodes and glitter fights proceed for the next 30 mins. Is it the new year?

Finally, (4am) we finish off the night with the best way to spread Christmas cheer, singing loud for all to hear...well not quite, but we do get knock at the door from security with a noise complaint (oops)...

So we turn on the most appropriate Christmas movie for the occassion. Elf.

We give thanks for our friends and community here as we organize the chaos of dishes, food, and furniture - and promptly sleep. For the next day at work was to come early.

a NEW day on the OLD chopping block

Sometimes it seems - nothing goes according to plan. And thus I reluctantly transform.

Minaret

As I sit up, suddenly awoken by the loud friday sermon blaring into our window- from the speakers on the minaret, I remember why I am so thankful to be here. We are alive, well, and relishing in Gods graces.

This past month we have been busy with life- the good things, and the hard things. Kyle got sick with Malaria, and was out of it for a while. He spent time resting, intraveinously rehydrating and pumping the meds and Today- he is 100percent himself. Alhamduliah.

Above are some pictures of an isolated beach Kyle and I went to with some friends. A Paradise of sorts. We hopped on a boat and got dropped off along the coast....it was beautiful, but the water to our surprise was full of sea urchins. After running exitedly into the deep blue -- we were limping with sharp pains in the bottoms of our feet... yikes. Al shok - our friend 'fetu' said.... Needless to say, we were out of there with bleeding soles.

Do you see the blow fish? One of many treasures Kyle was able to find. Walking along the rocky coast, Kyle said, "Lisa come here -look at this!" He beckoned me to come see a jellyfish trapped by/under a rock in the ocean. He had a prodding stick and gently poked the reddish pink inflated blob. Hard to see because of the reflection of the light on the water, I was unsure that it was actually a fish - further investigation was needed. I asked Kyle to free it from the rock... He did, and out came his discovery - a plastic bag full of aging water, it popped to the surface to thank Kyle for its freedom im sure.

We stayed in the shelter briefly for protection from the hot sun. But not long enough. See it is winter time, the weather is incredibly pleasant, and locals say it is colder than they have ever known it to be. Our skin was warm by the sun, but not hot - well, we found the next day the power of UV, with bright red necks, and noses.

Next Kyle found a miss matched pair of shoes in the rocks. To our delight this was the key to getting back in the warm water - our feet were safe. Thank you Kyle.

On a different beach, an hour or so later, we swam, and built sand animals. It sure is good to be young and outside on our day off. I attempted an elephant... I will spare everyone of the picture as it looked more like an anteater... 'Fetu' made a bear - which was perfect because she looks just like a teddy in real life. I wish I could post a picture for you all, but for privacy reasons - you will be left to your imaginations.

Some of you have asked how I dress. At the beach and to swim, I wear long pants and shirt. The slender black figures are, women in their abayas. They are always worn in public places, even for swimming.

Last night I was walking with a group of friends, all girls, fully clothed and shapeless in the abaya of coarse and most were veiled, the eyes being the only part exposed. I was in my typical big balck pants and long, long sleeve shirt and scarf over my head. Unfortunately we got a lot of stares, as that is inevitable when you are with a foreigner - at one point we overheard a Yemeni man talking to his friend. "Yemeni women are so much more beautiful than foreign women."

That was really nice to hear. A releif and an incredible compliment to the reason behind a beautiful culture so different from the one I know. This was nice to hear for many reasons, but it did cause me to wonder. "How do you know?" One day they may really get their opportunity to see the beautiful women here.

We have been soaking up all that is around us with so much joy and pleasure. The annual Gulf Country futball tournament was hosted by Yemen this year - and it was located in ADEN! The hubub was incredible - with a week of celebrating the daily matches - big screens posted up along the main roads where you would see crowds gather around to watch the games. Lots of visitors from other countries filled the roads, and restaurants, security was everywhere. Kyle got the opportunity to go with a freind to the staidum to watch the final match between Saudi and Kuwait.

Most Yemenis were routing for the underdog Kuwait, in the blue - and with a 1- 0 score in overtime - Kuwait won!

Now its back to the regular swing of things for us. Thanks for your questions and comments.

Peace to all.