the Flip-side...

Ok, I feel kinda bad for not saying all the wonderful things about Yemen and the middle east in my last email. After three weeks I'm growing a bit impatient with middle eastern culture, so even though everything in my email was true, it was probably tainted towards the frustrating differences vs. the awesome ones!

Here's what I will say...obviously from the pics there are some beautiful incredible people and places. The market ("souq") in the Old City was amazing and colorful with winding streets and people selling their wares of all kinds. I took lots of pics b/c it all struck me as so incredibly beautiful. Same thing at the House on the Rock which is toward the end of my web album, just gorgeous. Regarding culture, I have learned more than a thing or two about hospitality. People here openly welcome friends and strangers into their homes (of course separated by gender). They always serve you tea and usually with an appetizer or full meal whether it was a planned visit or not. If you're invited to someone's home it's understood that you can bring all your extended family, so they are fine with it if you show up with 10 extra people. We in America have gotten so closed off with our fences and locked doors and busy over-planned schedules that many would be offended if friends brought over uninvited guests or (gasp!) were to stop by unannounced. Here I have been lavished with graceful and generous hospitality and have been made to feel comfortable, special, and doted on.

I also think it's amazing the way they take care of their family and extended family here, taking care of ailing relatives, widows, and unmarried women. They don't just throw money at the problem for someone else to deal with. They take people in and take responsibility for their longterm care. You have to respect that.

Also, regarding modesty, while it's way out of whack here with the face-coverings and full-length robes, there is something to be learned from it in moderation. I think of some of the ways women and girls dress and act in America and it is kind-of out of control. I can't blame guys for staring & lusting when our junk is all hanging out!! I am in no position to judge either culture, but I personally am learning about some of the benefits of modesty... again, IN MODERATION!! :-)

My last thing is that it is not as dangerous here as everyone makes it sound. Yes, there's tribal violence going on in some parts of the country and there are the occasional dangerous fundamentalists you have to watch out for, but by and large I've felt safer here than in any big city in the states. It's considered extremely dishonorable to bother a woman in public, so except for the occasional "welcome to Yemen, I love you" from men on the street I've been completely left alone. In fact, the other day my aunt and I walked right through the middle of the quat souq (market where the men buy the quat drug they chew) and you would have thought we had a bubble of protection around us. Even though it was a sea of hundreds of red-eyed men getting high, they let us pass untouched in total peace. I wouldn't walk through a group of men like that in the states or Europe for a million bucks!

So, there's my other side of the coin. I feel better now.

Ma salaama, salaam aleykum! (goodbye, peace to you)
Sooz