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Monday, July 20, 2009
Early morning hike
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Friday, July 10, 2009
Bath house
Wow, I realized how long it has been since I wrote anything here. I had several cultural experiences this morning so I thought it would be a good excuse to update my blog.
This morning a couple of my friends asked by to join them at 6 AM for a run at a nearby park. This was so refreshing for me to get out and run. We were going to go swimming after the run but the pool was closed so we went to a old Kurdish bath house instead. This was quite an experience. We went into the first room where we left our belongings. As I enter the next room I was hit by a burst of heat. I felt like I was entering a sauna. Here each person was given a stool to sit on and had a sink with a hot water and cold water spigot and a bowl to dump water on oneself. They had what looked like horse brushes to wash yourself and even had someone walking around to help scrub your back. I noticed that this wasn’t something done quickly. It wasn’t somewhere you just went in and out. No, this was a social time. You might spend an hour or more in this whole experience. Then when we were done we went back to the first room and just let ourself air dry in the cooler air.
After this long bathing experience we walked around the market and had a typical Kurdish breakfast of plain yogurt and bread and topped it off with mastow (watered down yogurt), and of course a couple of glasses of Kurdish tea. We also stopped by what looked like a game hall. This hall was filled with smoke and men playing traditional games like dominoes. We also eat some Kurdish desserts and a Kurdish drink (which I simply cannot remember the name), and of course I experienced all of these things without paying a cent. Kurdish people simply refuse to let me pay for anything.
So that was my experience today. Some of my days have been quite busy. I haven’t left the city much but when I’m not teaching I am often doing something with friends I have made here whether it by playing soccer, going to the gym, walking around the park, or just watching the crazy chaos on the streets at night because of the upcoming elections. It is during these times just being with the people here that I am sad about leaving.
I now have about 4 weeks left before I leave. We have 2 weeks of teaching the students and the last 2 weeks we are free. I want to soak in as much of this culture as I can in these final days. I’m not sure what is the next step in my life and when I will be able to return to this area, if at all. I really do hope that in 4 weeks I will not be saying, “goodbye” to Kurdistan but simply, “see you later,” and hopefully sooner rather than later.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Newroz
Also over my break I walked over to a local soccer court several times and either kicked a soccer ball around with Kurdish players or played in actually games. They have been quick to welcome me into their games. This has been a lot of fun for me because I could both get a little exercise and I have been able to try to communicate with them with limited Kurdish. I also had a few days trying to rest out some stomach problems which is to expected for the first few months living in a new culture.
Now it’s back to teaching. I have been back for about a week now. I was a bit surprised to find that part of me was looking forward to getting back into teaching. I think it is because I know that I am here to teach. I like having purpose for being somewhere and teaching (or building relationships with my students) gives me purpose for being here. I even picked up a new class this week made up mostly of teachers and Deans at the school. I taught one class with them and really enjoyed it. They are a lot of fun to work with. I was a bit intimidated at first since I never taught students who were older than me but they seemed to enjoy the class. So, I guess I am now a professor to professors.
Thank you all for reading this and for being interested in what is going on in my life. I am truly blessed to have so many people supporting me and my life in Iraq.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Professor
On my days off I have had a chance to go to one of the mountains around Suli and even explore a cave. I woke up yesterday and saw snow up in the mountains and had a chance today to go up until the snow with my roommates.
Unfortunately I have been unable to post any pictures since I have been here mostly because of weak internet connections. I will post some as soon as I find a way to do it.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Heroes?
So, I have been in Suli for over a week now. Probably the biggest surprise so far is the perception that people have of Americans. We 5 teachers have met with some important people so far including the president of the University and the head of the student government organization. The message that they give us is always the same. They tell us how the Kurdish people love Americans. That they regard us as heroes. They talk about how great Bush is and because of Americans they have been liberated from Saddam Hussein.
I have found that it is true that Americans are liked here. The other day I took a taxi back to my house from the grocery store with a co-teacher. After using limited Kurdish and hand motions we arrived at the house. The taxi driver refused to let us pay him. I had to insisted 3 times before he let us pay. I have heard from another American that sometimes taxi drivers will not let you pay no matter how much you insist.
This is such a different message than we hear in the States. Even though I’m sure we would hear a different thing in other areas of Iraq. It is very interesting to get a different perspective.
As far as teaching, we performed a written and oral exam for about 500 students. We will divide the students into sections the next day or two and start teaching on Saturday. The university itself is very nice. I hope to send pictures soon as I should have an internet connection at home within the next week or so.