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~ الصراحة راحة ~.: I'm Serious. Usually. :. September 24 From Jordan...In the Beginning It's been more than three weeks since I last turned on my computer. It feels a bit strange to use the keyboard and touchpad on my laptop again. I keep making typing errors and have to backspace and correct the words. Annoying. I'd better get used to it though because classes will be starting after tomorrow and I plan to use my laptop to take notes on inshallah. Plus, I really have resolved to write about things here in Jordan, however silly they may be. Since I don't have internet at home, there isn't much to do on my computer but write. I feel like I haven't written in a long time. Emails don't count. Sheddeh My uncles are playing cards, or sheddeh, in the living room. When they play cards, it is always a multiple-hours affair. They loudly call out for tea or coffee every fifteen minutes, and keep close track of their game scores in an old notebook. One particular uncle likes to argue heatedly about how everyone else is cheating whenever he loses. The others laugh and tease him, irritating him further, which makes him call out for more coffee and shuffle the cards again angrily. My youngest cousin tells me the uncles are like a gang when they play cards. He wonders which uncle could be deemed the gang-leader, and we decide there really isn't a leader. The gang is made up of three core members, all with the same amount of authority and experience, and various temporary members who get invited to join a game when they happen to visit during a card-playing session. The wives and children of these card-playing uncles gather in the other room and talk or watch television, cursing whoever invented cards, and waiting for the uncles to call out for the final cup of coffee and end their session for the night. Today's session lasted five hours, with breaks for prayer and food of course. Before I let myself get annoyed about these long card games, I wonder what other means of entertainment there are for the uncles anyway. I can't think of many besides going out to a park or to visit relatives. I hear my middle uncle start to yell. He must be losing. Again. Colder It's getting colder here. Fall is beginning, although for me, coming from Minnesota, it only feels like a cool summer. I'm very happy about the breezy weather. Last night I stood at the living room window (since we can't open the bedroom one for fear of cockroaches that might come in from the window well) and looked out at the sky. It was a dark purple color and there were hardly any stars. The neighborhood was very quiet, the quietest I've heard it since I've been here. In fact, it seemed too quiet for Amman. I could hear the leaves of the neighbor's trees rustling in the wind. The night air seemed to carry excitement; I felt as if something should happen on a night like this one. The neighborhood buildings were outlined sharply against the sky, and in a split second, the wind suddenly stopped blowing. At that moment, it felt like the world was perfect. Then someone in the building next door started to snore. I sighed and went to bed. July 13 Türkiye: Room 207 ( and 208 a Week Later)Ah, our room at the Sunlight Hotel on Piyerloti Caddesi resembled the little odd-shaped rooms not uncommon to apartment buildings in the poorer areas of Cairo. The awkward pillar near the left side bed and the slanted ceiling gave it a homely feel. I looked around: the TV worked, nice but unnecessary for a guest like me. Let's see..well the shower doesn't drain properly, but no matter, there are plenty of towels for sopping up the water that overflows...bed is comfortable, window is large, everything is clean, including the nice-sized mirror..The telephone works, the mini-bar is well-stocked, the price list is very easy to read, thank you very much, even with the couple of spelling mistakes. The room affords a clear view of the well-traveled street, of the men who come to pick through the garbage piles looking for cans and cardboard to recycle, of the restaurant next door with its overpriced food and love of alliteration (Find Fine Food Here, the sign outside advertised), and the strange, seemingly abandoned building across the street with the posters advocating some political figure all over the front. Nicest of the room's many positive attributes, however, was being able to sit at the window and watch the drunk German tourists stagger out of the restaurant next door, singing loudly and blocking traffic at 1am on a Saturday morning.  View from Room 207 July 05 Türkiye: On Wearing Jeans to Fancy RestaurantsThe "Blue Fish" or Mavi Balık, was our first dining experience in Istanbul, and not a very pleasant one as far as I was concerned. We had just arrived in Turkey a few hours earlier, gotten the keys to our hotel rooms, and taken a walk (or a 'steep climb' as some liked to refer to it) up the hill to Divan Yolu, the street with the tramway line. There we had found ATM machines and money exchange offices, experienced what it was like trying to cross a street used by both cars and a tram simultaneously, and gotten shouted at several times to come into some rather 'touristy'-looking restaurants. Needless to say, by the time we had returned to the hotel and gathered in the lobby to head to the Blue Fish, most of us were ravenous. The thought of a seafood dinner at an expensive restaurant right on the Bosphorous was appealing, except for the fact that I could hardly keep my eyes open from lack of sleep for the past 28 hours. The Blue Fish was impressive. The menu I saw priced their cheapest item at 40 YTL, the equivalent of about $30. We were seated by unsmiling waiters at a table with a beautiful view of the chilly waters of the Bosphorous. The restaurant and the handful of fancily clad customers eating there reminded me of the high-end restaurants featured in a (trying) Turkish soap opera, Bir Istanbul Masalı, that our Turkish 1002 class had grown accustomed to watching every Friday morning back in Minnesota. The coldness of the waiters, combined with the striking fake-blond mohawk (or was it spikes?) and bright blue eye makeup of a nearby wealthy fellow seafood eater, my headache, and my wrinkled jeans in an overtly 'fancy dress only' area served to make me a feel a little uncomfortable. The wonderful grilled sea bass helped ease some of the discomfort, as did the candied pumpkin and sweet clotted cream on the dessert plates, but I must admit that I left the Blue Fish with absolutely no desire to return. I did enjoy the fact that I had been adventurous enough to try some of the rather dubious-looking seafood appetizers we had been served, but I was most happy to climb back on the bus to the welcoming smiles of Murat Kaptan, who, given the salaries usually associated with his profession, probably did not make a habit of eating out at places such as the Blue Fish (another bit of common ground we shared), and who would probably go home to his three children and enjoy a hearty, under-40 YTL meal that did not include cold waiters or women with very startling haircuts. At that moment, full of seafood and completely exhausted from our trip and uncomfortable sit at the Blue Fish, I envied Murat Kaptan and the simplicity I associated with his lifestyle. I shouldn't make assumptions about people. June 28 Türkiye: I Will Blog. I Promise. Here's The First Part.I did write about my trip. But first, let me explain, in a very unclear way, about al 7eerah. بعد رجوعي من تركيا ، هذا البلد المذهل حقا ، أحسست بشيء
من الاكتئاب لأنني عرفت أنني سأقضي بقية أيام الصيف هنا في مينيسوتا ،
مكان ممل جدا بالنسبة لشخص مثلي، مقارنة بالمدينة المذهلة التي للتو
رجعت منها ، مدينة اسطنبول. المهم ، رجعت و بعد انتهاء مرحلة الاكتئاب
الأولى التي مررت بها ، وجدت نفسي أقلب فكرة بسيطة في ذهني ، هذه الفكرة
أن اكتب شيئا ما عن تجرباتي في اسطنبول (و تركيا بشكل عام) ثم أنشر
كتاباتي ليقرأها أصدقائي و غيرهم.
جلست أفكر قليلا عن ماذا سأكتب ، كيف سأبدأ ، و هكذا ، و وجدت نفسي في حيرة شديدة ، لا أدري من أين أبدأ الكتابة. يجب أن تفهموا شيئأ هنا - أحب أن اكتب عن الأشياء التي لها قيمة أو أهمية ، و ليس كلاما فارغا ينقص من قدري ككاتبة (بل بالأصح كفتاة تهوي الكتابة). بمعنى اخر عندما اكتب عن شخص ما او حدث ما فمعناه أنني أمنح لهذا الشخص أو هذا الحدث نوع من الأهمية ، و من هنا تأتي الحيرة ، فلا أدري كيف أحدد ما هي الأحداث "المهمة" التي حصلت معي هناك في تركيا و ما هي الأحداث "الغير مهمة"، فبنظري جميعها مهمة الى حد ما ، و اذا تراجعت عن ذكر أي شيء مما حدث مفمعناه أنني لا أروي لكم القصة كاملة..و هذا طبعا لا يجوز..هلا فهمتم الان وضعي المحير أيها القراء الأعزاء؟ و بعد أن شرحت لكم هذا كله أردت أن أوضح لكم أن ما قررت الكتابة عنه كله مهم و ما تراجعت عن ذكره مهم أيضا لكنني بالطبع لا أستطيع أن اكتب كل شيء ، كل تفصيل ممل، لكوني انسانة عادية بقدرات عادية جدا ، فسامحوني على هذا  I'm not really that confused. I just felt like writing that and after I had, I didn't want to delete it. Anyway, what I have chosen to write about is entirely random - things that I remember vividly, people who made me think, and so on. I derived some sort of benefit from everything/everyone that I'm going to write about, but I'm not always explicit about stating what that benefit was/is, mostly due to laziness, often because I want to focus on "the moment" of whatever it is I'm writing about without having to make the focus of the piece be on "benefit derived." A greater amount of pieces containing negative sentiments is not because I like to complain about life, but because negative stories are often simply more interesting to recount and read. ---------- Türkiye: On Porters and Conversation The bus driver from the airport to our hotel, Yılmaz Kaptan, had reacted positively to my hesitant attempts to speak his language, and empowered with the realization that I actually did know what I was doing, I told the porter "this bag is mine" in perfect Turkish. We had both been standing in the hotel lobby waiting for the elevator, and he had gestured to me asking which bag belonged to me. He nodded in understanding when I pointed mine out, then proceeded to stare at me for a while, which pushed me to say something lest the silence become awkward. After first thinking over my sentence carefully, I spoke up: "I only know a little Turkish. I'm originally Palestinian, but my great grandfather was Turkish, and now I'm learning the language at my university." I expected an encouraging response, such as the smile and "your Turkish is so good!" that he had given my classmate who had thanked him perfectly in Turkish just a few minutes earlier. However, all I received was a somewhat blank stare, followed by a nod as the elevator arrived. I was thoroughly crushed. Had I said something wrong? Was my verb not at the end of the sentence where it was supposed to be? Did I use an incorrect tense suffix? I thought over my sentence again, and realized that I had made only a minor mistake, saying "çok biraz" instead of "çok az" for "a little bit." A simple mistake like that, however, should not warrant blank stares and cold nods from strange porters. The only conclusion I could come to, then, for the very odd and not at all nice reaction of the short, dark haired porter was that he simply did not want to talk to me, for reasons I do not know. I looked him up and down, and reconciled myself with this thought (along with other thoughts that I will not elaborate on here - something along the lines of certain porters having issues). I never did understand why this porter did not want to speak to me; the odd pattern of silence and somewhat blank stares from him directed at me continued until we left Istanbul, but after my experience from that first evening, I paid him no attention. Two could play at this game. --------------- May 14 Hi.Salaam...inşallah yedi günden sonra Türkiye'ye gideceğim. I'll probably try to blog while I'm there, iza Allah araad. With pictures, possibly. Places to be visited per our itinerary (iA): İstanbul, Ankara, Kapadokya, Konya, Bursa. Time frame: May 21 - June 8, 2007 Ppppeace out fer now. (try 'peace out' in 3arabi: سلام خارج..haha, I laugh. Too funny.) January 06 Junoon.Advocates of writing Arabic using a Latin script need to get a life. No joke. Let's look at a small example: writing the slang word "look" : (masculine) shuf, shof, shuof, shoof, shofe, chouf, (feminine) shufi, shofi, shufee, shofee, shoufi, shoufee, shoofee, shoofi, choufi, choufee Better yet, what about the real word for "look"?: (masculine) undhur, unthur, undhor, unthor (feminine) undhuri, undhuree, unthuri, unthuree, undhori, undhoree, unthori, unthoree That's just scary. Hint hint, Said Akl. November 28 Random Phrases on Random WallsOf the very few good random phrases I've seen written on walls/desks/bathroom stall doors, this is one of the best: "They gave me $5 for a $100 textbook." It was written on a couch somewhere in Coffman. The moment I read that statement, I could just feel the burning anger and frustration of the author at receiving such a small amount in return for selling their textbook back to the bookstore. It was cool. Made me think a little bit too. Back in the UAE we had an obsession with covering our school desks with white corrector goop (whiteout). The stuff comes out of the pen ever so smoothly, and you apply it ever so carefully, until the whole wooden desk is covered with a smooth layer of wet white corrector pen. The next day, you can use your new white desk proudly. If math class gets too boring, amuse yourself by scraping off the layer of whiteout with a metal ruler, and reapplying it all over again. Make sure to pop any bubbles of air that get trapped on the surface while you're at it. If you like to be even funkier with your desk-decorating, use different colored highlighter pens to make colored patterns on your white-washed desk. I unfortunately know all this from experience. But anyway, back to random phrases on random walls. It's really weird how one person writes a sentence or two about a lost love or some frustration they have, and a totally random stranger actually responds with some words of wisdom such as "he's so not worth it!". People, get a life. Seriously. Talk about adaab il hammam, or lack thereof. One Arabic word for the bathroom is 'bayt al adab' which just goes to show how you're supposed to behave in the bathroom. Unfortunately, I've never heard an equivalent term for that in English, which probably says something ... November 26 Guns at Jordanian weddings
من مذكرات زينب ابن عمي صالح سيتزوج ، و قد جئنا لنشارك عمي فرحته بزواج ابنه ... كنت أتأمل هذا العدد الكبير من الناس ، و سرني جداً أنني لم أسمع صوت عيار ناري ، فقد طلب عمي إلى المدعوين ألا يطلقوا الرصاص ، و استحسن الجميع رأيه "From Zaynab's Diary"
(context: young Zaynab goes to Madaba for her cousin's wedding): "I was happily wondering at the large number of (guests), and was very pleased that I didn't hear any gun shots, for my Uncle had asked the guests not to fire any guns, and everyone respected his wishes." I guess Jordan has been having a problem with guns at weddings going off unexpectedly or backfiring...therefore, the sure way to solve the problem is to subtly teach fourth grade kids that firing guns at weddings is not necessary and that you can in fact ask your guests to leave their rifles at home, without being shunned by society for giving up aspects of your culture's celebrations, as Zaynab's uncle did. It's called instilling values/norms in a child at an early age. Quote from a certain Ryan who went to Jordan's blog: "The one custom I haven't gotten used to is the firing of guns into the air for celebrations. Our village, at times, has sounded like a war zone. Not the smartest practice if you ask me, but it happens at weddings and tawjihi parties all the time (I just stay indoors... for fear of falling bullets). In fact, last week in the village next two ours, two wedding guests were injured when bullets fell back down.... DUH!!!" (Source) There you go. Hey, I just realized I did a previous post in which the humor revolved around the issue of guns at Jordanian weddings accidentally killing people (the JFK Asassination: The Jordanian Theory). And I don't mean to be dissing any culture or anything, but in my opinion, if the cultural practice does more harm than it does good, why keep it? Or at least, let it be constructively criticized (I'm probably not criticizing it in the most constructive way but whatever, hopefully my point has been made).
November 25 Thanksgiving and why I do not appreciate it.
Would you like to share a meal with us? November 13 Salma and I discuss serious issues online.Hooray for online chatting. (censored btw) Salma: this movie... :'( me: what is it? Salma: not really but you know me: tell me Salma: a movie about a pregnant lady that lived in walmart and then had her kid me: HAHAHAHA are you serious? Salma: and her mother came back after having left her for a long time and took her 500 dollars its soo sad her baby just got stolen by bible loving mississippians Salma: a tornado is about to happen,and they are all going into their cellars cellers? you know me: i know what a cellar is thanks its like someone who sells stuff HAHA jk Salma: hahah that was good me: it was. I learn it from you Salma: she walked into the tornado and is like threatening it psycho weirdo she grabbed onto the stairs and is flying all the stuff is flying out of the cellar Salma: guess what ? me: what? Salma: the lady she was living with died in the tornado me: hahaha Salma: and then she left all the stuff to the walmart lady pretty cool huh? me: yeah is that the end?! Salma: no now she is a photographer and she just go back from winning a contest --------------------Salma: her friends kid just called her and asked something and he wouldn't put his moma on the phone and now she is in her friends house looking to see what happened and what happened was her friend was beated up by her new boyfriend wallah man, alhamdullilah we don't have all that crap me: beated up? sad dude, sad Salma: whatev man what ev -----------------------------Salma: well. what are arabica beans me: umm coffee bean *coffee beans Salma: oh... do you know if there is anything special about them? me: no they're just really really great coffee beans I mean well known the arabica bean is of supreme quality out of all the coffees of the world Salma: oh ooooohhhh i knew there was something cool about them since they have the word arab in it me: yeah now if they were Palestinarabica beans holy baloley that would be something Salma: that would be That's what lack of sleep does to you. Salaam. November 10 Advertising.It isn't very appealing how one of MSN's main advertising companies is Lamisil. How gross is it to be reading a blog post on here with a huge picture of a fungus-infected toe being very obnoxious at the top of the page? That's just not cool. MSN needs to get a life.
Nothing more to say, really. Except that other people should update their blogs, because what is the point of having one otherwise?. Oh, and I have recently discovered the absolute best way to make the greatest tea ever. No joke.
November 06 Whoosh.So I realized that when you open this blog page, you are overwhelmed with a 'whoosh' of pink flower power. Which might be kind of annoying for some people.
But I'm not changing it. a) because there are no better alternatives, honestly, and b) because I like pink flowers, to an extent.
It's really kind of funny that I am choosing now, of all times, to blog. I have a midterm tomorrow that I'm only half done studying for. What do I do when I have midterms and am supposed to be studying? I procrastinate, and part of that is updating this blog with the most unnecessary posts ever. I think it would be interesting to conduct a study that shows the degree of increase in my blogging activity relative to how many exams I have that week.
Tasneem, I hate the fact that you are causing me to speak Lebanese so easily. My accent is easily influenced when I'm around Lebanese people; I attended a Lebanese school my entire life so that makes it all the more easy for me to start saying things like "kinti neymeh shee?", "shoo 3am b'illik", and "biddi illik shee" instead of "kunti naymeh?", "shoo 3am ba7keelik", and "biddi a7keelik ishi". On the other hand, I have successfully implanted the word "bardu" into your speech permanently; a great accomplishment.
Aramaic is so cool. Look (source Wikipedia, what else):
Neat as heck.
October 19 طلاب مدارس العين الخاصة - يا عيني عليناHolla. Long time no blog. Because I am not in the mood to type much, and because I am in need of some big time laughter right now, I'm posting this. 3aad yfarri6 mi'9i7ik *UAE accent*: So I'll post the whole thing even though it's long; I was in Al-Sanawbar school and some of what's written here is true, actually. Especially the bit about ywaalah and ghash :p. Completely hilarious, let me know what you think, and here goes: طلاب العين وكيف تعرف من اي مدرسه خاصه
مدرسه العالميه الخاصه:
اووووه عاد العالميه مول هب مدرسه.. غجر العين كلهم في هالمدرسه....واتحصله بو الشباب ياي المدرسه من الساعه 6 الصبح عنبوو حارس مب طالب مستعيل على رزقه الاخ ...لااااا ومرات على كيييفه يداوم الساعه 12 ولا 11 واتقول ياي العين مول هب مدرسه.... واتشوفه مرصص هالعيون على باب البنات (اتقول رادار) صدق مب شايفين خير و....طبعا واول ما يوصل المدرسه ما يروح صفه هذا لانه ما يدله اصلا.. يروح عند المدير ولا الوكيله وايتقهوى ويدق سوالف اتقول قاعد مع واحد من خويه لا ويوم يخلص ياخذ لفه على قسم البنات (مستوي مشرفة البنات لوول) ... وهذا طبعا حالهم كل يوم .... وايام الامتحااااااااانات اوووه معيدين الشباب ايام الامتحانات....طبعا اذا دخلوه قاعة الامتحان يكتبون اسمهم ويكتبون اغنيه على كل سطر في الورقه....ثقافتهم واسعه ما شاء الله عيني عليهم بارده....وعقب حوااااااااطه فالمدرسه الاخ يتمشى عالكرنيش... وهاذيلا ما عندهم سالفه غير الضرابه اي ضرابه تستوي ولا اي واحد من ربعه يستويبه شي على طول ماشي كلام ضرب ودم وسيوف يتحرون اعمارهم في حرب
مدرسه الصنوبر الخاصه:
(الغش هو طريق النجاح وبدونه يخرب عليك الصباح ) هاي قاعدة الحياه عندهم...وطبعا اصغر واحد فيهم عمره 30 احليلهم عمروو فالمدرسه عايبتنهم القعده ولانه المدارس الثانيه عيزت وهي تنجحهم واخر شي راغتهم وما لقوا غير الصنوبر .....لا تعال وشووف سياايييرهم الي ضارب عاكس والي رقمه ثلاثي الي يشووف السياره ايقوول اكيييد الي فيه مزيوون ما يدري انه احلا واحد فيهم يشبه خالد الملا واقصر واحد فيهم طوله مترين... تهريب الاكل عندهم شي اساسي ومهم جدا لول... انا احيد الناس اتهرب مخدرات حشيش لا هذيلا اكل عنبووو مجاعه لا بس في منهم الي يدوخون وهذا النوع تحصله كله نايم في الصف ما يدري وين الله حاطه و في الفسحه يروح مع ربعه ياخذون شفطتين في الساحه الي ورا المبنا داخل الاشجار و يرجع الصف يكمل نومته.... وطبعا ما عندهم شغله غير اليواله و يواله ثم يواله يعني وين ما يروحون وين ما ايون راقدين تعبانين انت بس شغل اغنيه ام كلثوم وسلاااااامــــــــي عاليويله .. واذا اي حد فيكم يبا فرقه حربيه فلا بد من فرقه الصنوبر الحربيه بس هاه ما وصيكم انا ما يخصني اذا كسروو روسكم.... وطبعا حالهم حال طلاب ييرانهم العالميه ...ترا يقولون من عاشر قوما اربيعا يوما صار منهم
مدرسة الظفره الخاصه:
وما ادراك ما الظفره....سلامي على طلابهم احليييييييلهم دور البرائه امره راكب عليهم بريئييين سجاجييين قصدي مساكين...ينفعون حق الافلام الهنديه.. لا لا ما يرقمووون منو قال لوووول(من برع هاللله هالله ومن داخل يعلم اللله)...لا اونهم عاد ما يسوون هالحركات محترمين عسب يطيحون البنات ومناك اكبر طاف مسكين حالهم تعبهم راح عالفاضي لول.... ولولا المديره جان ظهر اليور والمنكر وطبعا نقطت ضعفهم المديره... واكبر واحد فيهم طوله نص متر ...وما عندهم سالفه غير يخيسون باصات المدرسه بالبيض ويكسروون جرس الانذار وايد عليهم.... واتشوف الولد اللي طول ماهو ماشي محتضن دفاتره وكتبه تقول هذا يحضر ماجستير وطبعا هذيلا هب المواطنين لانه عدد المواطنين الي فيها 2 ونص وهال نص مشكووك في امره ...ومن يدق جرس البريييك على طوول اتشوفهم عند غرفة المدرسات الي في قسم البنات اونهم عااااد مثقفين عندهم سؤال لول ... وطبعا ما خلو طاوله ولا يدار الا وكتبو ارقامهم بالغلط كتبو على طاولة المديره ...وبعضهم ايون المدرسة ما عندهم سالفه غير الطنازه على كل من يشوفه و خاصة الاستاذ ما يقول الاستاذ كلمة الا و اطنز عليه مثال:طالب كان قاعد يرقص في الصف يقول له الاستاذ شو فيك؟ يقول : انا اخوي مايكل جاكسون نحن خوان في الرضاعه)) يحاول يخف دمه و ما يخلي حد من الطلاب الا واطنز على شكله وهو شكله اخس منه...لا وايام الامتحانات الاخ داخل قاعة الامتحان وهو مبحلق هالعيون عالبنات نو وي يصد اي صوب ثاني اتقول ظاهرتله اعصبه في رقبته وطبعا ما يحل شي الاخ... ويظهر من الامتحان وهو شاق هالحلج من الفرحه على باله بينجح فالامتحان
مدرسة ليوا الخاصه:
اوووه عاد ليوا ... طبعا عصباح الله خيرتلاقي الواحد ماشي وفاج هالحلج ليش ما ادري الظاهر انه يستمد طاقته من استنشاق الهوا أو يمكن له مأرب اخر لا أعرفه..لا وبعضهم اييك من صباح الله خير وريحته سقاره (مصنع دخان متحرك) تلقاه مخلص باكيت كامل قبل لا يدخل الصف وتشم ريحته من بعد 10 ميل
مدرسة الشويفات:
اسميها
هالمدرسه تنقع من الضحك وبالذات طلابها ياي المدرسه ورافع هالخشم وعلى شو
ما ادري...تحصله مسوي تقشيرحق ويها وبدكير ومناكير اونهم عاد كول...لا
والمشيه اتقول مشية عارضة ازياء (مس ليبانون)...ولا وفي بعض الطلاب يعني اللي يرقص في مشيته ما ادري سبحان الله ربي عطاه الهز الطبيعي من دون ادنى ضرب على الطاوله يقوم يرقص على باله الحفله بدت لول September 10 BusySorry for the recent lack of blogging (and responding to emails) - been very busy with school and teaching, among other things. As soon as I get my schedule settled and figure out what I am doing this semester, I'll be back iA.
and to those who can't forgive I say skar alina :D
(Thank you Alg. Now our blogs look similar!) August 31 DisturbingI wasn't going to update today but I have just been informed of a disturbing occurance involving my blog.
So apparently when you open my blog page from the UAE the layout is blue with palm trees?! Until you refresh the page, then you get the true pink layout with flowers (cheesy, I know, but I've gotten used to it and there is nothing nicer as a substitute).
Anyway, to anyone who might be confused and wondering what's up with the blue plam trees layout: I did not put that layout on my blog, and I don't know who did. It might be some glitch that's making it appear that way, because when you refresh the page the true layout shows up fine. My real layout is bright pink with pink and white flowers everywhere. Hope that clears up any confusion inshaAllah.
Görüşürüz inşallah. August 27 Anasheed Updates - Surprise Ending for AmzFor Palestinian anasheed fanatics, I recommend the newly released album "Ya Msaafir 3ood" by Abdel Fattah 3wainaat. All his songs are available with or without eqaa3 (إيقاع ). He used to sing with Mais Shalash and Ayman Hallaq, as well as others, for their albums, but now he's finally going solo, alhumdulilah :). Since he's part Lebanese, he brings in some Lebanese influence to the traditional Palestinian tunes (see Ya Dar Innakhl - يا دار النخل ); it's subtle, but it's there. All his lyrics are very cool.
Also, try Fanateq.com for some cool stuff. Firqat Asiraat (فرقة الصراط ) has some new takes on good old weddingy stuff, although their mawwil-ing just sounds scary, unfortunately. At first I thought the singer was in pain.
The album La7n il Muqaawim (لحن المقاوم ) has become very readily available for free all over the internet. Khalli ishoog (خلي الشوق ) is a great song.
Firqat Al Baraa' (فرقة البراء ) and Firqat Al Yarmook ( فرقة اليرموك ) have some anasheed that I've not been able to find anywhere on the net, including 3allo Rayaat il Fara7 (علوا رايات الفرح) although most of their albums have long been available on enshad.net. Also, the famous tape Khansaa' Filasteen (خنساء فلسطين) is almost impossible to find online for free, although with a lot of searching (and registering on Arabic forums) you can find the most sought-after track, 3al Yaadi il Yaadi (عاليادي اليادي).
Finally, most anasheed by Firqat Al Ansaar (فرقة الأنصار ) are almost impossible to find online, especially my favorite song Il Maarid (المارد ).
Hmm..I think that's the latest I have with regards to Palestinian anasheed. If I think of anything else I'll add it inshallah.
Last but not least, there must be a way to find lyrics for the rather strange but hugely entertaining Algerian song, Sougi Belati. :D After having listened to it at least 11 times, I have only been able to decipher the following words and semi-sentences:
karaj - irkibi l7zaam - ouraniyeen something isma7li ya shabaab - ya radar - jdeed - yom sabni ichouffeur - tbghi - footi 3ala iddawwar - birdi birdi - beeraj - 7aawli wit kaisi - raii raii - ya Ra7ma (is that her name?!) - khatar - mghaamreen - karwaz - min il sharb (drinking, too :o) - berkan - esh tbghi - SOUGI BELATI !
Although admittedly not much, I get the big picture. Annd, I will from now on try to sougi belati as much as possible, even when I am given the freedom to drive 70 mph.
This gives me an idea for another post.
August 25 Palestinian Embroidery and National ResistanceI've always been interested in traditional Palestinian clothing; especially women's dresses and identifying the area/region that different articles of clothing come from. You can tell by the colors, type of embroidery, and other interesting features (like the shape, or the sleeves) whether the dress is from Yafa or Ramallah etc..For example, dresses from my city, Hebron (al Khalil) are identified by two main telling characterstics: first, the use of black or dark blue as a background, or base color for the dress, and second, very tiny embroidery stitches.
Examples of (fancy) Khalili dresses:
   Notice in two of the pictures the model is wearing a traditional Khalili wedding item: the coin headband, or wuqayat al-darahim.
Anyway, an interesting topic, in my opinion, is looking at what embroidery and national resistance have to do with each other. Be sure to read the last paragraph on Israeli stealing (yes, stealing) aspects of Palestinian cultural and claiming them to be their own culture.
The intifada was to play a major role in the revival of Palestinian costume, as the embroidered costume became a statement of national and social consciousness. In the Occupied Territories the wearing of "traditional" costume began to assume a more overt political function in that by wearing it one declared a social and political affiliation. In the opinion of one 45 year old woman who now helps administer a woman's embroidery cooperative, although young women don't wear a thob on a daily basis, Palestinian women are wearing the thob, in it's new varieties, as a demonstration of national pride: "women of the new generation who are in universities wear thoubs full of embroidery because it is their heritage...even educated people are turning to their heritage" (Price 2000 p.16). This national pride was taken one step further with the creation of a new style of shawal dress specifically designed to the promote the intifada. Made for a limited period in the late 1980s and early 1990s, examples of these intifada style dresses (thought to have originated in Hebron) feature embroidery predominantly in the colours of the banned Palestinian flag, with embroidered nationalist motifs such as the flag and map of Palestine, the Dome of the Rock mosque, guns and grenades or the patterns of the kaffier, all worked into the structure of the qabbeh and the vertical skirt panels. Some even feature a back shinyar panel with nationalist themes. At a time when Palestinian costume had almost completely fragmented as a communication devise, it again at this time assumed an important role as an expression of national identity, of defiance without violence.
At the same time this nationalism played a part in the Palestinian embroidery industry, with cushions incorporating the words ‘Palestine’ and ‘Abu Amar’ in English and Arabic. The inclusion of the word "Palestine" on embroidered items was originally a protest reaction against the use of refugee products being sold in Israel as Israeli handicraft. Embroidered items were clearly marked with tags reading "Israeli handicraft" in English and Hebrew from the mid 1980s onwards. This stopped being done on a large scale after the "Palestine" calligraphy was incorporated into the embroidery design - although the Israelis have always had a bad habit of appropriating Palestinian heritage, whether it be food (as in the infamous "Falafel - Israel's national snack" postcards, showing a falafel with an Israeli flag stuck in it), or traditional costume (the Archive possesses a lovely newspaper photograph showing an American Mayor being greeted by "Miss Israel in traditional dress" - clearly a Bethlehem wedding outfit! We also have a beautiful hat designed by an Australian Jewish artist and acquired at the Jewish Museum's shop in Melbourne, made from a cut up 1940s Sinai bedouin embroidered dress but referred to by museum staff as being made of Israeli embroidery). For further information on cultural appropriation see 'Ammar, Khalid, "Palestinian popular heritage subject to faking" Al Quds 23 March 1995 and Annelies Moors, "Embodying the nation: Maha Saca's post-intifada postcards" Ethnic and Racial Studies v.23 n.5 September 2000.
August 23 Just a Joke?! Maybe.At the Farewell Dinner last term I remember one of the guys from "Allah Made Me Funny" cracking a joke that went somewhat like this:
"Anyone from Palestine here?"
*cheers from the audience, especially our table ;) *
*he looks at us and says:*
" Are you also from Jordan?!"
*only mild laughter from the audience, because hardly anyone gets the joke*
Alright. Faced with this joke, someone like myself can do two things: find it funny, or find it not funny. It really is a choice; and I personally chose not to find it funny.
Uptight? No. I don't need to be told to loosen up, really, because my choice to not find it funny did not come from me being t'eelit dam or anything.
Rather, I chose not to laugh at it because I believe that if the situation is joked about enough, the intensity of its terribleness (!) could be reduced. Does that sound ludicrous? Possibly. But I think there is some truth to what I'm trying to say.
Why I bring this up is because I've noticed here that non-Palestinians, or even Palestinians who are really not familiar with the 'Palestinian situation,' get annoyed when certain kinds of jokes about Palestine are cracked and some Palestinians in the room scowl. I personally don't scowl, but some jokes I simply choose not to laugh at. And that does not mean that I am offended, or that I wish people would stop making such jokes, or that I wish others wouldn't laugh at the jokes. It does mean that I am trying to take a stand, however small, on an issue that I feel a lot of people do not grasp the importance of.
So don't feel like you have to be careful around me. I honestly couldn't care less whether or not you enjoy jokes like that, and laugh at them or crack them yourself. If I find the joke funny, I'll laugh; if not, I won't. However, I would appreciate less of the 'oh come on it's just a joke' or 'you guys are SO uptight' remarks, because that's really not what it's about.
يا مسافر عود
طوّلت علينا غيابك
دبل العنقود
و رمدت عيني عفراقك
....
وين الأيام
طوّل فيها سهرتنا؟
صارت أحلام
نذكرها بدمعتنا
يا ربي عيد
أفراحنا و مباهجنا
بشوف الحبيب
يا قلبي صبرك صبرك
طعم الليمون
عإمه كبر و زهّر
و فِرخ الحسون
من عشه راح و طيّر
عتبة هالبيت
تحكي أنا بتنور
لما الحبيب
يخطو أرضي و يرجعلي
- عبد الفتاح عوينات : يا مسافر عود
*sniff*
(available without the music too)
Algie: DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK PLEASE. ;)
Or you won't be getting anything in the mail from me.
Muwahahahahaha.
August 22 Explaining Israel's Imperialist Agenda
*After note: Sorry the link hadn't been working. Fixed it now. Hope it works inshallah.
August 21 Much RejoicingAlhumdulilah! I am delighted to announce the fact that soul-sista Amz has arrived home in the UAE safely after an exciting summer vacation to Algeria. What makes it all the more exciting is the fact that she will commence, as soon as is humanely possible after a long journey, to MSN and write me long, intricately detailed stories of family adventures, attending weddings, going to the beach, and most importantly, pasta-consuming. I am waiting with utmost anticipation.
This blog post serves two purposes: one, to express my happy sentiments regarding her safe arrival home, and two, to serve as a means of pressuring her to 'start talkin'. It is obvious that the first purpose has been achieved; the second, however, won't happen for at least another day due to time zone differences. InshaAllah khair.
Without further ado, Amz, git online. You have been terribly missed.
August 18 "We're going to reconstruct," they promised. And they will deliver (iA).(Just had to post this)
And this is why Hizbullah is loved and supported by so many:
(Full Article Here: Hezbollah Leads Work to Rebuild, Gaining Stature ) In his victory speech on Monday night, Hezbollah’s leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, offered money for “decent and suitable furniture” and a year’s rent on a house to any Lebanese who lost his home in the month-long war. “Completing the victory,” he said, “can come with reconstruction. While the Israelis began their withdrawal, hundreds of Hezbollah members spread over dozens of villages across southern Lebanon began cleaning, organizing and surveying damage. Men on bulldozers were busy cutting lanes through giant piles of rubble. Roads blocked with the remnants of buildings are now, just a day after a cease-fire began, fully passable. In Sreifa, a Hezbollah official said the group would offer an initial $10,000 to residents to help pay for the year of rent, to buy new furniture and to help feed families.
In Bint Jbail, Hezbollah ambulances — large, new cars with flashing lights on the top — ferried bodies of fighters to graves out of mountains of rubble. Hezbollah’s reputation as an efficient grass-roots social service network — as opposed to the Lebanese government, regarded by many here as sleek men in suits doing well — was in evidence everywhere. Young men with walkie-talkies and clipboards were in the battered Shiite neighborhoods on the southern edge of Bint Jbail, taking notes on the extent of the damage. Sheik Nasrallah said in his speech that “the brothers in the towns and villages will turn to those whose homes are badly damaged and help rebuild them. “Today is the day to keep up our promises,” he said. “All our brothers will be in your service starting tomorrow.” Hezbollah men also traveled door to door checking on residents and asking them what help they needed. Although Hezbollah is a Shiite organization, Sheik Nasrallah’s message resounded even with a Sunni Muslim, Ghaleb Jazi, 40, who works at the oil storage plant at Jiyeh, 15 miles south of Beirut. It was bombed by the Israelis and spewed pollution northward into the Mediterranean. This all makes me very happy. People who promise good things to those who are suffering and follow through with their promises. The people of Libnaan are in my prayers; I hope the reconstruction efforts are quick and successful bi ithn illah. Indeed, raaji3 raaji3 yit3ammar raaji3 Libnaan! I knew it all along :). Alhumdulilah.
August 16 عامية and homework
بيصير الواحد يكتب بالعامية؟
ليش لأ! عادي .. أنا شايفة إنو اللهجة المصرية هي أسهل لهجة ممكن الواحد يكتبها بالعامية الصراحة ما عندي شي مهم أكتبه هلأ بس حبيت أحكي للأخت صنعاء (أو صنعة) اشي : شفيتش إنتي!؟؟ ليش تتطنزين عليّ و انتي ما تسوين شي أصلاً .. يال بشكارة انتي .. شو تبين مني؟ ها؟ بمزح معاكِ طبعا ، سلميلي على شخبوط من شان الله اوكي؟ And now: if you can figure it out, feel free to use it! My favorite ma'lubeh recipe - voila! It's very easy, çok çok kolay. Biraz patlıcanı kızartıyorum. Sonra, tancereye patlıcanı koyuyorum. Eti pişiriyorum. Sonra, pişmiş eti koyuyorum patlıcanın üzerine. Pirinci ve baharatları tencereye katıyorum. Yarım saat bekliyorum. Tenecereyi çeviriyorum. There you have it. Affiyet olsun. Next post's tıtle, ınshallah, ıs "Explaining Israel’s Mysterious Imperial Agenda" courtesy of Cipher. August 13 Texan MuslimsAn interesting video; I think it's weird that they ask "Can you be a Texan and a Muslim" but I honestly think many Americans can't associate the word Islam with the word Texan.
And this is their website: Turn to Islam
Fabulous.
PS. I have to admit it annoys me when women walk down the rows in the mosque straightening the lines when they are fine. If people aren't facing the qiblah properly or are really not lined up right, ok, but if not then it's just annoying. Especially when the 'straightener lady' starts praying, then leaves her prayer to go straighten somebody else, then comes back and reenters the prayer. I don't know why but it kind of irritates me.
Also, I was pretty confused where they were talking about David getting married the traditional way by using a matchmaker. I was like "huh"? I hope they didn't mean that the traditional Islamic way of getting married is by using a matchmaker (understood by most Americans to mean something negative).
August 12 Some 'hmmm!' articles.Hmmm:
"The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s publishing arm has released a book that says President Bush organized New York's Sept. 11 attacks.
The decision by the 160-year-old Westminster John Knox Press, the trade and academic publishing imprint of the Presbyterian Publishing Corp., to attribute the attacks on the World Trade Center brings into the U.S. religious mainstream a conspiracy theory long held by the world's jihadists. In 'Christian Faith and the Truth behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action,' author David Ray Griffin calls the United States the world's 'chief embodiment of demonic power, says he initially scoffed at 9/11 conspiracy theories. But after investigating he concluded that the Twin Towers were brought down by controlled demolition, military personnel were given stand-down orders not to intercept hijacked flights and the 9/11 Commission, ostensibly created to uncover the truth behind the events of 9/11, 'simply ignored evidence' that the administration was involved in the attacks." (The Truth Will Set You Free) AND: Government Foreknowledge of the latest "terror plots":
August 10 راجع راجع يتعمر راجع لبنان
راجع راجع يتعمر راجع لبنان راجع متحلي و أخضر أكثر ما كان هلا يا با هلا يا با راجع لبنان هلا يا با هلا يا با راجع لبنان **** رجعنا الساعد بالساعد مشبوك مليح ومشينا مشية مارد يضحك للريح طلتنا الكرب الواعد بعد تلاويح يبشر بالصيف الوارد موسم حربان هلا يابا وهلا يابا راجع لبنان هلا يابا وهلا يابا راجع لبنان (Insha'Allah)
~ From Zaki Naseef's: Raji3 Raji3 Yit3ammar Raji3 Libnaan
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