Variations on a Theme

In oral societies lessons can be quite different. Now that Jared has completed practice exercises from his teacher's own book, he's moving on to songs. His teacher sings a bar, and Jared is expected to pick it out on the oud, building up to the entire piece. And, all this happens with an audience consisting of multiple brothers and a sister-in-law, and whatever friends come by for the excitement. Good thing Jared's used to performance.More than oud lessons...

...how-to-make-Arabic-coffee lessons.

Did I mention this is a hard instrument to learn - and quite tiring!

Pass the Shears

During our Africa trip in the first year of our marriage I began cutting Jared's hair...and I've been doing it ever since. At first I buzzed it with the electric razor, but neither of us are into that look any more; so I use scissors the old fashioned way.

Yesterday I decided to take a whack at my own. At one point (in our low-budget circumstances) Jared returned the hair-cutting favor; but since then he's refused - it's too much pressure. My hair was driving me crazy, so I decided to turn in the wardrobe mirrors and have go.

Some of you know that I've been growing my hair out since last winter - in Arab culture women's hair is long. Maybe later I'll shorten up when I understand all the cultural meanings of hair. But until then, I've been working on growing it...until yesterday. I don't know why exactly, but I cut a lot off! I intended a trim and a re-shaping. Instead I took off about three inches! That's not much, but since I have curly hair, the shorter it is, the more it curls up and the shorter it looks. As I was cutting, it looked like less in the backwards image of the mirror; plus it was pretty fun; and I got carried away.

It looks fine, but it's a bit sad since just this week (1) my friends were remarking (favorably) how long my hair was getting and (2) Jared noted how pretty it was long. So, kinda too bad that I just chopped the long part off.

Next time I won't be so drastic, and maybe I'll even beef up on my salon vocabulary so I can try to explain what I want in Arabic and let a professional have a go. (But to be honest, I'd rather mess up my own hair than someone else. Even in my own country I'm always suspect of haircuts!)

Tech Update

We found out one reason our Internet has been so malfunctional...there is a router plugged in to a three-way plug in a high-traffic office. A chair sits in front of this outlet, and anytime the plug is knocked by the chair...Internet goes offline until it's re-knocked and the electrical connection is made. Crazy how low-tech a problem it is that has kept us off the net for so long. I tried to tape it securely, but not very well. Good news is it should be pretty simple to find a solution.

Hairy Situation II

So I did decide to shave my forearms: they were soft for a few days before they got a bit prickly. And, the regrowth hair isn't as blond. Jared didn't even notice the change. I don't think I'll continue on a regular basis. Perhaps I will do it again the next time I go to a [sleeveless-dress] party. I went to a wedding a few months ago and I forgot about the arm-hair issue. I realized it, to my horror, sitting at the table. Those banquet halls are little up like an operating room so that the ladies can show off their elaborate make-up and sparkly dresses...and it also makes arm hair more noticeable than you ever would have thought. I will admit that I kept my arms beneath the conveniently-high table as much as possible.

Maybe I'll be shamed into more action. Today on TV I saw an ad with a woman shaving her arm! It wasn't actually a shaver, it was some rubber grip contraption that removes the whole hair (ouch!). Women here wax/sugar their arms.

It's not just me though...one night we saw a Gillette commercial which was advertising their masculine razors, and low and behold, the video cut to a silhouetted man shaving in the shower - shaving his arm pit! Jared did a double take and exclaimed, "Was that man shaving his armpit??"

So, fair's fair here - and Jared's got his own hairy cultural investigations to do!

Oops

Anyone learning an foreign language is fated to make many, many mistakes. Some are funnier or more unfortunate than others.

These were some of the better ones from my precious 7-8 year olds last year:

* “I love you bananas!!” Exclaimed a boy trying to join in the warm-up class discussion about fruit. He knew the stock phrase, “I love you,” but he didn’t know which parts are adaptable and which aren't.

* “That’s sh**! That’s sh**!” Shouted one little boy in the height of frustration while playing a ‘communicative’ game. His mistake: he couldn't pronounce the ‘ch’ sound, and he also didn’t know the present continuous: “That’s cheating!”

* “Miss, show me your tits,” One little girl sweetly said as she looked at a picture of Jared and me. Slightly shocked, I asked her to repeat, and she said the exact same thing. My best guess is that she was looking at my teeth in the photo, and asking to see them in person. She didn’t know the irregular pluralization of ‘tooth,’ and she didn’t get close enough on the pronunciation either!

Such mistakes make me smile (I try not to laugh at the time), and they do make for good stories. However, my students also have their own stories to tell their parents:

* Today my language teacher pointed out that I've been shouting 'slap him' to my Summer School class of 4-5 year olds, when I thought I was staying "Stop!"

School Teachers

Now that school is out and our regular students are all vacationing around Europe, I'm missing them! Though some of them are a real handful, but they're also a lot of fun. Here are a few pix.

Since I spent most of my Primary School hours with Year 3, I was invited on their field trip to local Roman Ruins.

We have 55 nationalities at school and for International Day they all get excited about dressing up. These are local kids in their traditional costumes. Many of the girls are shadowed by their drivers because of the family gold they wear!

As well as teaching, Jared also organizes most musical events for the school. He arranged for a traditional band to play for International Day. Here you can see the bagpipe-like instrument. There are also several drummers, and they all twirl in circles, making their white skirts billow like dirvishes'.

Jared also directs and/or accompanies musical events, such as the end-of-year Primary Concert.

The past four months were really more than any one person should have been given. Jared truly amazed me (and the administration, staff and students). But it definitely wore us both out.

Too Hot to Handle

When our metal gate is too hot to touch, it's hot.

When I wash my dishes with hot water from the 'cold' tap, it's hot.

When the tile is too warm to offer any sympathy, and when you can feel heat radiating off window panes without touching them, it's not.

Solar heating takes on new meanings.

Yesterday it was 120F. It really does feel like an oven.

Ironically, yesterday we also chatted with an electrical engineer who specializes in air-conditioning - how wonderful. Perfect time to ask why our ACs won't produce much cold air at key times. [Rough] Answer: they weren't made to function at this temperature. The temperature of the gas in them runs at a higher temperature than the outside air, which allows for exchange of the gas - and cold air. But, when the air outside is as hot or hotter than the gas itself, well...no cool air. So, basically we won't get much cooling when it's really hot. And, with less electricity to go around than is needed, we'll be running low during peak usage times as well.

We decided to sleep in the living room last night. It was still really hot and the AC wouldn't give, so we decided that room was better. Jared was happy on the couch, and I was cozy on a thick rug on the floor...until I remembered those mammoth cockroaches! I switched to the loveseat. Around 1am we finally started cooling off and got some sleep.

One-Man Band

Add to the growing list of instruments: the oud. It's the Arab lute, and it's an ancient instrument. After his ethno-musicology studies, Jared set his sights on this instrument and was counting down the days until he could purchase his own. He went out with a friend a few weeks ago and selected this one. Good thing he took a knowledgeable friend because the first oud he picked up was for a woman - and that would have been a cultural disaster!

Since then Jared was scouting for a teacher who is a master of the instrument, and who also speaks some English. Recently he found one. He pays for an hour, but usually spends about three at his teacher's house. The whole family is enthralled with this foreigner learning the oud (and Arabic). I'm invited to go tomorrow to hang out with the non-English speaking wife. So, it will be practice for me too.

The keyboard in the background is a school loaner for the summer while he doesn't need it for his classes. Today he practiced for several hours on all three instruments...his little heart is just bursting with music!

Another Dream: Check.

[He exclaimed that the oud slips off his pants while he's trying to practice. Next time I turned around he was sitting in the chair with his pants around his ankles, wearing his boxer shorts and practicing. Now that's a great picture (especially since his boxers are a British flag patter), but in this country from a man's knees up to his waist is considered sensual...so don't want to tempt you ladies!]

Peanut Butter Fingers...SOS

Some of you know that I really love peanut butter. And, we both enjoy the natural kind - just ground peanuts (and salt). Needless to say, that isn't available here, but peanuts are, soooo.......I've tried to make it myself. However, my efforts haven't been too successful, and Jared won't partake of the results.

Namely, I can't get it very smooth. It's not like the kind we use to buy. I have added extra oil, but really, how much do you have to add?? When is the peanut suppose to release it's own oils?! First I tried roasting and grinding my own, but gave up on the roasting in an effort to succeed. I also switched from a (not so great processor) to the blender. I even tried almonds.

If you have the know-how, please do email! Our pancakes just aren't the same...

Our Pets

Within the last two months both my sister and my parents have obtained new puppies. I must admit I’m a little jealous when I see how cute they are via Skype. Here, dogs have a bad rap, involving religious taboos; and cats aren’t too popular either. I've been offered kittens, but among other things, I’m afraid they’ll eat rat poison from the building lots next-door. That’s too much, I think. Interestingly, the pets of choice for locals are tortoises and song birds.

We're far from alone in our apartment, though. Here's our growing list of ‘pets’, in order of our fondness for them:

1. Gecko – he stayed in our bedroom for several days and provided endless entertainment as we did a “Where’s Wally” hunt to find him. Plus, he ate bugs, which is a major point scorer.
2. Singing Bird – he built a nest in our air conditioner vent, so he perches outside our window and sings. Sometimes he sings angrily when we crumble in the heat and turn on the AC. It’s pretty funny, though, to see him fly around in a rage.
3. Ants – big ants find their way inside, and then can’t escape somehow. They’re so big that it is mesmerizing to watch them. The bathtub usually seals their fate because they can’t climb up the slick walls.
4. Spiders – are fairly minimal, actually. While I like that they eat bugs, I will admit to terminating some in our bedroom. I don’t know which ones are harmful and which are peace-loving, but I don’t like the idea of being bitten while I’m asleep!

5. Weevils - birthed in a bag of dried beans. Solution: set bowl out in the sun so they hatch and fly off; soak them so the rest float to the top and discard; cook as normal.
6. Mosquitoes - they’re in season now, and I’m Jared’s personal mosquito repellent as I attract them all to me. I can have over a dozen bites, while he remains untouched *grrrr*.

7. Flies – they're seeking out water from our eyes/mouths and food.

8. Big Mama Cockroaches

– these also surprise us as they randomly turn up on our title floors. The solution: trap them under a Tupperware bowl until we have time to exile them.