Hi guys,
Okay, I just had another fun cultural lesson. I was sitting out in front of a friend's shop, drinking a Coke and chatting with some guys. From the other side of the street I heard some loud wailing. This older lady ran out into the street screaming bloody murder. She wasn't really screaming any words or anything, just wailing. Everyone in the vicinity came running to see what was going on. I've never seen anything like it before. It was kind of like the story I told about the car accident a few weeks ago, only more extreme. This time even women came out in the street to see what was up. (Trust me, in my neighborhood it's a big deal when the women come out into the street en masse)
People were calling their friends and family, and carloads of people started showing up. I didn't realize there were that many people who live in my neighborhood! Anyway, the crowd finally managed to get her calmed down and taken care of.
One of my friends had gone to get involved, and when he got back I asked him what had happened. He said that a boy was sick, but they got him taken to the hospital. Apparently the lady had been wailing in order to attract attention so that someone would come take her son to the hospital. When one doesn't have a phone and there are no ambulances, this seems to be how you get someone to the hospital quickly.
I thought it was kind of cool. I'm sure it stinks for that lady and her family, but I was amazed at how the community immediately took care of the need. I guess it only works if everyone knows that that's the way things are done. I was thinking a little bit about what would happen if someone did that in the States. I think everyone would assume that they're a raving lunatic and pretty much ignore them. It was definitely a cultural lesson for me.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Schedules and Pie . . .
Hey guys,
I was walking down the street the other day when I had a random craving. I was overcome with a strong desire for a piece of pumpkin pie. (As much as I appreciate the thought, please don't try to send me a pie through the mail. It will not be so pleasant by the time it arrives) Had there been any chance of finding a pumpkin pie on this continent, I would have gone hunting. But alas . . . no pumpkin pie in the Middle East . . . sniffle . . .
The world-clock feature on my computer has been coming in really handy lately. I've been trying to sort out some stuff with my bank back in the States, and I have to make sure that I call them during their business hours. And some departments are located on the east coast, while other departments are on the west coast. So sometimes I'll be talking to one person, then they'll try to transfer me to a number at an office that's not open yet. (It was a fun morning / afternoon . . .)
It's been a really windy last couple of days. The coast guard here has actually closed the ocean a few times in the last week or so. The wind's been so strong that they're afraid that boats will sink. My roommate's a windsurfer, so he gets to sneak out and play in the strong wind. He's been loving it lately!
Okay guys, that's it for now. Hope you're all doing well . . .
I was walking down the street the other day when I had a random craving. I was overcome with a strong desire for a piece of pumpkin pie. (As much as I appreciate the thought, please don't try to send me a pie through the mail. It will not be so pleasant by the time it arrives) Had there been any chance of finding a pumpkin pie on this continent, I would have gone hunting. But alas . . . no pumpkin pie in the Middle East . . . sniffle . . .
The world-clock feature on my computer has been coming in really handy lately. I've been trying to sort out some stuff with my bank back in the States, and I have to make sure that I call them during their business hours. And some departments are located on the east coast, while other departments are on the west coast. So sometimes I'll be talking to one person, then they'll try to transfer me to a number at an office that's not open yet. (It was a fun morning / afternoon . . .)
It's been a really windy last couple of days. The coast guard here has actually closed the ocean a few times in the last week or so. The wind's been so strong that they're afraid that boats will sink. My roommate's a windsurfer, so he gets to sneak out and play in the strong wind. He's been loving it lately!
Okay guys, that's it for now. Hope you're all doing well . . .
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Rats and hole punches . . .
Hey guys,
I learned something today. You can't find a 3-hole punch in Egypt. Seriously, they don't have them. 2-hole punches and 4-hole punches . . . no problem. But a 3-hole punch . . . not to be found. I know because I spent a couple hours today looking for one. A guy at one store assured me that no such thing existed. When I asked why, he told me that nobody makes 3-ring binders. So I pulled one off the shelf in his store and asked "you mean like this?" I finally gave up and bought a 2-ring binder and hole punch.
Funny story from yesterday. I was outside at night, talking to a friend on the phone. I can't sit still while I'm talking on the phone. I'm not sure why . . . some kind of personality quirk. I have to walk around while I'm talking. Anyway, I was wandering while on the phone last night and saw a small rock in the shadows. I gave it a swift kick, only to realize that it wasn't a rock . . . it was a live rat. And he was not happy about being kicked. I almost dropped my phone because I was laughing so hard!
I learned something today. You can't find a 3-hole punch in Egypt. Seriously, they don't have them. 2-hole punches and 4-hole punches . . . no problem. But a 3-hole punch . . . not to be found. I know because I spent a couple hours today looking for one. A guy at one store assured me that no such thing existed. When I asked why, he told me that nobody makes 3-ring binders. So I pulled one off the shelf in his store and asked "you mean like this?" I finally gave up and bought a 2-ring binder and hole punch.
Funny story from yesterday. I was outside at night, talking to a friend on the phone. I can't sit still while I'm talking on the phone. I'm not sure why . . . some kind of personality quirk. I have to walk around while I'm talking. Anyway, I was wandering while on the phone last night and saw a small rock in the shadows. I gave it a swift kick, only to realize that it wasn't a rock . . . it was a live rat. And he was not happy about being kicked. I almost dropped my phone because I was laughing so hard!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Oh my gosh!
Okay guys,
It's hot today. At a certain point you just stop worrying about what the temperature is. I checked out how hot it actually is on the internet. It's 34° and 56% humidity today, which feels about like 40°. Just to give you a slight idea of what that feels like; I'm sitting inside pretty much naked (my roommate's out of town so I've got that kind of freedom), in the shade, with all the windows open, and the fan on, drinking ice water, sweating.
It's funny how your goals in life change when it gets hot. My basic goal in life right now is staying in the shade. You get up early and go out, come home around one, then stay inside until about seven. I promise, I will never complain about being too cold again!
It's hot today. At a certain point you just stop worrying about what the temperature is. I checked out how hot it actually is on the internet. It's 34° and 56% humidity today, which feels about like 40°. Just to give you a slight idea of what that feels like; I'm sitting inside pretty much naked (my roommate's out of town so I've got that kind of freedom), in the shade, with all the windows open, and the fan on, drinking ice water, sweating.
It's funny how your goals in life change when it gets hot. My basic goal in life right now is staying in the shade. You get up early and go out, come home around one, then stay inside until about seven. I promise, I will never complain about being too cold again!
Monday, May 3, 2010
I CAN DO IT BY MYSELF!!!!
I heard someone say something several years ago. They said, "To the degree that your identity rests on anything other than the fact that God loves you, you are to that degree insecure." I think most people would agree with that in theory, but it took moving overseas for me to realize what that actually looks like in real life.
I've lost it on people twice in the last few days, over the most trivial things. A few days ago I was playing dominoes with a friend at a coffee shop. At the end of the game I was counting up the score. I usually try to count the score out loud in Arabic for the sake of my friends. I can do the math a lot faster if I do it in English, but nobody else will understand anything. So I do it in Arabic. Simple math takes a little longer when you're translating while you're doing it. Anyway, some guy apparently thought I was taking too long, so he came and took the dominoes from me and started counting. And I snapped! I stood up, got in his face, and told him in no uncertain terms that I didn't want or need any help. He started laughing, so I just turned and walked off. I haven't been back there for a couple of days. Did I mention that the guy I yelled at is the owner of the coffee shop? Yikes!
Then today I was walking through the neighborhood, and stopped at a shop to get something for breakfast. I stop at this shop all the time, and the people who work there know me. This morning there was another guy shopping at the store too. I was waiting for him to finish so I could pay. While I was standing there he turned around and told me in English how much each thing cost. I told him quite rudely that I knew how much things cost, and didn't need his help. He was a little shocked, so I went on to tell him that I was insulted that he thought I was a tourist just because I'm white. I went on for quite a bit longer than was necessary, and he was quite apologetic by the end. He was probably just trying to be helpful.
Then I paid and walked away . . . feeling like a total jerk. I decided that since I'd snapped on people twice now with very little provocation, that's a good indication that there's probably something going on in my heart. I spent some time praying and thinking about it this morning, and I realized something. When you live overseas, you're very limited in what you're able to do. My language skills are still pretty limited, and there's a lot of things I don't know how to say. I feel like an idiot a lot of the time here because I just don't know how to express myself. I know what I want to say, I just don't know how to get it out in Arabic. And Egyptians are fond of telling you how much better at things they are than you. And after a while, you get tired of it. Because there's not a whole lot I can do, I get pretty militant about the things that I can do. If I don't need help, I certainly don't want it.
I don't know whether I'm trying to prove to myself or the Egyptians that I'm a capable person. But I've realized something. It's not a big stretch for me to believe that God loves me. I can tell you all the verses and sing all the songs. The real crux of the issue is this; "is that enough?" If that really is all I've got going for me, can I be content with that? If my Arabic never gets any better, if I don't have any friends that aren't trying to use me to get something, if nothing else goes right, can I honestly be content with the knowledge that God loves me?
I know what the right answer is, believe me. But when you're in a place where you don't have much else to stroke your ego, you find out just how "enough" the love of God really is for you. If the last few days are any indication of the state of my heart, there's quite a bit of work left to be done.
I've lost it on people twice in the last few days, over the most trivial things. A few days ago I was playing dominoes with a friend at a coffee shop. At the end of the game I was counting up the score. I usually try to count the score out loud in Arabic for the sake of my friends. I can do the math a lot faster if I do it in English, but nobody else will understand anything. So I do it in Arabic. Simple math takes a little longer when you're translating while you're doing it. Anyway, some guy apparently thought I was taking too long, so he came and took the dominoes from me and started counting. And I snapped! I stood up, got in his face, and told him in no uncertain terms that I didn't want or need any help. He started laughing, so I just turned and walked off. I haven't been back there for a couple of days. Did I mention that the guy I yelled at is the owner of the coffee shop? Yikes!
Then today I was walking through the neighborhood, and stopped at a shop to get something for breakfast. I stop at this shop all the time, and the people who work there know me. This morning there was another guy shopping at the store too. I was waiting for him to finish so I could pay. While I was standing there he turned around and told me in English how much each thing cost. I told him quite rudely that I knew how much things cost, and didn't need his help. He was a little shocked, so I went on to tell him that I was insulted that he thought I was a tourist just because I'm white. I went on for quite a bit longer than was necessary, and he was quite apologetic by the end. He was probably just trying to be helpful.
Then I paid and walked away . . . feeling like a total jerk. I decided that since I'd snapped on people twice now with very little provocation, that's a good indication that there's probably something going on in my heart. I spent some time praying and thinking about it this morning, and I realized something. When you live overseas, you're very limited in what you're able to do. My language skills are still pretty limited, and there's a lot of things I don't know how to say. I feel like an idiot a lot of the time here because I just don't know how to express myself. I know what I want to say, I just don't know how to get it out in Arabic. And Egyptians are fond of telling you how much better at things they are than you. And after a while, you get tired of it. Because there's not a whole lot I can do, I get pretty militant about the things that I can do. If I don't need help, I certainly don't want it.
I don't know whether I'm trying to prove to myself or the Egyptians that I'm a capable person. But I've realized something. It's not a big stretch for me to believe that God loves me. I can tell you all the verses and sing all the songs. The real crux of the issue is this; "is that enough?" If that really is all I've got going for me, can I be content with that? If my Arabic never gets any better, if I don't have any friends that aren't trying to use me to get something, if nothing else goes right, can I honestly be content with the knowledge that God loves me?
I know what the right answer is, believe me. But when you're in a place where you don't have much else to stroke your ego, you find out just how "enough" the love of God really is for you. If the last few days are any indication of the state of my heart, there's quite a bit of work left to be done.
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