I had an unexpected conversation with a friend a few nights ago. I was talking to a local bedouin that I've known for the last year or so. Out of all the Egyptians that I know, he's probably my closest friend.
Anyway, we were having tea at a local coffee shop with a group of fisherman. He pulled me aside and told me something. He said, "I've known you for a long time now, and I know that you try to be everyone's friend. But you can't, because not everyone is respectable."
It was an unexpected nugget of wisdom from an unlikely source. Truth be told, I don't really know why it struck me the way it did. It's actually a total no-brainer when you think about it. But it made quite an impact on me when my friend said it. It was a freeing moment, like getting permission to be genuine.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Gher mouteH
Hey guys,
Okay, so the words "gher mouteH" in Arabic basically mean "not in service." It's the recording you hear if you call someone and their mobile is off.
I think I've been gher mouteH by accident for the last week or so. I've been having some troubles with my email for the last few days. So if you wrote to me during the last week and I haven't written you back, I'm not ignoring you. I promise :) If you don't hear from me, try my other email account (jenson.de@gmail.com). But do keep in mind that while my other email account is secure, gmail is not. So that being said, use a bit of discretion in what you write.
Matt's up in Cairo for a few days. It's the perfect chance to be lazy and kick back. But I was incredibly motivated this morning and decided to clean the whole flat. It was actually a funny moment. I had been listening to a podcast from a pastor in the States. Matt and I usually listen to his podcast together on Saturday evening. There's no church service here in a language I understand, so listening to the podcast is the closest Matt and I come to church. Anyway, our schedules have been out of sync for the last week or so, and we haven't had a chance to listen to the podcast together. So today I decided to listen on my own. The pastor was railing against lazy, passive men. I think I felt like being active and productive because of his sermon. So the most productive thing I could find to do was clean the house and do my laundry.
It made me chuckle. Probably not the most "manly" thing I've ever done, but necessary nonetheless.
The pastor's sermon was actually pretty good. He was talking about how men are to be defined by what they produce rather than what they consume. It flies in the face of what the advertising industry says. Hey, it even got me to clean the house! :)
Okay, so the words "gher mouteH" in Arabic basically mean "not in service." It's the recording you hear if you call someone and their mobile is off.
I think I've been gher mouteH by accident for the last week or so. I've been having some troubles with my email for the last few days. So if you wrote to me during the last week and I haven't written you back, I'm not ignoring you. I promise :) If you don't hear from me, try my other email account (jenson.de@gmail.com). But do keep in mind that while my other email account is secure, gmail is not. So that being said, use a bit of discretion in what you write.
Matt's up in Cairo for a few days. It's the perfect chance to be lazy and kick back. But I was incredibly motivated this morning and decided to clean the whole flat. It was actually a funny moment. I had been listening to a podcast from a pastor in the States. Matt and I usually listen to his podcast together on Saturday evening. There's no church service here in a language I understand, so listening to the podcast is the closest Matt and I come to church. Anyway, our schedules have been out of sync for the last week or so, and we haven't had a chance to listen to the podcast together. So today I decided to listen on my own. The pastor was railing against lazy, passive men. I think I felt like being active and productive because of his sermon. So the most productive thing I could find to do was clean the house and do my laundry.
It made me chuckle. Probably not the most "manly" thing I've ever done, but necessary nonetheless.
The pastor's sermon was actually pretty good. He was talking about how men are to be defined by what they produce rather than what they consume. It flies in the face of what the advertising industry says. Hey, it even got me to clean the house! :)
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