Category: Uncategorized

Rick came home straight from his haircut. His barber is a Kurd (don’t remember if he’s from Iraq or Turkey) and gave Rick some advice for me. He suggested not studying in Morocco since the dialect is so different from anything else. I had already come to the same conclusion. Morocco sounds like a great place, but I’m not sure how marketable my new skill would be if I went there. Sacco (the barber) also recommended not going to Yemen since a handful of Al-Queda guys just broke out of jail there.

I have to admit, that caught my attention, these were the guys that attacked the Cole and planned an attack on a French ship. Not exactly the kind of people you want to run into as an American. On the other hand, there are Al-Queda members and sympathizers ALL OVER the middle east. Folks, they are there and they are something that will be in the background no matter where I go. Plus, thinking a little further, the blasts that blew up several posh hotels on the sinai peninsula didn’t dissuade me from going to Egypt, and that killed HUNDREDS of people, why would I get freaked out over 14 criminals escaping from jail? No, the jailbreak doesn’t really faze me.

Since I had eliminated Morocco from my list of possibilities, I could concentrate on what was left. Basically there is Cairo, Yemen, and Oman. I would prefer learning a gulf dialect, they are in the most demand (after the syrian/Iraqui dialect, but that’s almost strictly government interest) from businesses and the government. I would also like to be in a place where English is not spoken. From my correspondence with various people learning abroad, the complete immersion experience speeds up the language learning dramatically. Cairo has many western influences and many many people that speak English (both for the tourism industry and for professional reasons). A couple of people mentioned that they spoke more English in Cairo than Arabic, that’s no good… That leaves both Yemen and Oman. From what I can tell, both are relatively safe for westerners, and they are both pretty inexpensive. The place in Oman has the disadvantage of being in the middle of nowhere (and I mean NOWHERE) which limits cultural opportunities.

So that leaves Yemen. I’m intrigued both by the language opportunity and the cultural setting. It seems that it is the only place that I am willing to go to that offers this combination (Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia having been crossed off the list from the get go).

But you’ll be in incredible danger! You’re sure to be killed! Actually, I think I’ll be fine. The ONLY Americans that have been killed in Yemen since 1990 were either wearing a navy uniform or were evangelizing southern Baptists. I have yet to see any credible proof that Americans are in any more danger there than any other middle eastern country. Yes, there is always some danger, but I got over that before I told anyone that I was doing this. Once again, by the numbers Yemen is safer for Americans than Egypt or even many cities in the US.

I think that the fear (I’m tempted to call it hysteria) about Yemen is due to the fact that very few Americans know anything about it other than the Cole was attacked there. It turns out that there is a lot of history there, a lot of variation in geography, and a rich cultural heritage that has stayed mostly intact for the past 6 or 7 hundred years. It is this history and culture that is important today, not the Pharaohs and Cleopatra. Mosques dating back to Mohammed, the residence of the last Imam, and plenty of still used historical places made and used by the various caliphates are what Yemen offers. Living history that still is relevant today. Not to sound too much like a tourist ad, but the more I research Yemen (and yes, I have been researching, including primary sources… people actually living there and getting their comparisons with Egypt, Jordan, etc.) the more I’m convinced that this is an opportunity not to be missed.

Here’s where I’m leaning towards. I’ve heard universally good things about them both from students that have gone there and other snippets I’ve run across on the internet. The cost is such that if I were forced to leave (due to whatever, health, deteriorating political situation, etc..) , it wouldn’t break me. Turns out that I have a month to decide to stay and still get a refund. So don’t worry! If I think the place is sketchy, I’ll leave. All I ask is that you trust me and my judgement. In the end, I’ll go where I want, so it’s better not to waste energy on something as silly as worry:-) It feels good to have narrowed it down again, now all I have to do is get ready!

Isaac

Just finished watching a Dr. Who episode. An old one in B&W. I had a roommate in college that liked to watch them, but he only had more recent ones. Gotta say that this was a better show than any I had seen before. The story was pretty good (mad general trying to start war with aliens by kidnapping their ambassadors) and the acting was a distinct cut above the ones i had seen before. Plus they didn’t try to rely on cheesy effects. No Tardis, but there was a leggy blonde in a miniskirt and go go boots for an assistant, maybe that’s why I enjoyed it so much.:-)

Isaac

Nothing like an unexpected blast of the Beastie Boys to liven up some web surfing…. Just discovered the wonderful world of meta tags for websites. I’ve loaded mine up, let’s see if it affects the traffic. I’m up over 7000 hits on my site!

Isaac

My good friend Giane has put her baking business online. You can see it here. She makes some amazing stuff. I’m particularly fond of her truffles, I better stop thinking about them cause I’m getting hungry… Anyway, her desserts are as sweet as she is, plus they are Brazilian, so they’re a little out of the ordinary for white guys like myself. Check it out and order lots of stuff! They’re really good for parties, weddings, showers, etc. I’ve also got the site up permanently on my links page, so if you want to go back and forget the URL, it’ll be right there for you.

Isaac

There’s something refreshing about listening to songs where it’s obvious that they don’t care what the fuck you think of them. The one I’m listening to right now from Wilco is about driving drunk. (You’re going to make me spill my beer if you don’t learn how to steer… I’ve got a court day in June, I’ll be driving soon). Another great one for this sort of thing is Mojo Nixon, he delights in living the rock and roll attitude. Can’t say that I condone what they sing about, but the songs sure are fun…

Isaac

OK, here’s one of those silly tests you can take on the internet…

After you die… Guardian Angel After death, you will exist as a guardian angel in order to protect your still-living loved ones. You might even inspire a classic Christmas movie.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Isaac

Only 8 more pounds to go to reach my goal of under 200. Maybe if I exercised some more (or at all for that matter) I could get there quicker, or go past that. I seem to have far less time than I did before, not exactly sure what I’m doing with it other than working, but exercise and my guitar have fallen down the list of priorities. I guess I shouldn’t fret too much, I feel good and I’m still gradually losing the weight. I think my diet and or tastes have changed considerably over the years. Went to Pizzarea UNO today to use a gift card that I got for Christmas. Nothing on the menu really appealed. Got one of their pizzas anyway and I feel as though I may have put back on 12 pounds in that one sitting. I used to like that stuff a lot, but now I don’t feel too good after eating it. I must be getting old, can’t be that I’m getting healthy right:-)

Isaac

Got the paycheck with the big holiday money in it today and went on a little shopping spree. Ordered some new clothes, new ties (it really is time to retire some of them), a cologne I’ve wanted to try (it was on sale!), and I will order my train tickets for my trip to NYC tomorrow! All of that and another $1000 towards my trip to the middle east, not too shabby eh? I’ll be working both days of this weekend, I am in constant money mode from here on out… Overtime here I come!

Isaac

I had a quick discussion with Rick about the possibility of me going to Yemen, he thought I was nuts. I shrugged it off, but here’s a link that should put things into perspective. A few highlights:

“However, violent crimes against foreigners are almost non-existent”

“There have been no major terrorist incidents against Americans in Yemen since the bombing of the USS Cole in October, 2000.”

“Travel is particularly dangerous in the tribal areas north and east of Sana’a, close to the border with Saudi Arabia.”

The site is designed to help American businesses determine what kind of risks their employees face when going to different countries. It turns out that the big problems in Yemen are the same as any other poor country, sketchy emergency response personal, lawlessness in rural areas, etc.

True, there are some areas that tourists shouldn’t go to, but that’s the same with any major city or country. To put things into perspective, one guy that I have been corresponding with said that in the time that he was in Yemen, there were 10 homicides in his hometown and none, zero in Sanna a’. Where is his hometown? Washington DC. Since 1995, there have been 6 killings (as opposed to accidental deaths, can’t find any data on that) of foreign nationals in Yemen. Two of them were Americans in a southern Baptist sponsored hospital. Some lunatic walked in and started shooting. There was some tension between the evangelizing hospital workers and the locals… The other four were European tourists and that happened in a well known trouble zone (around Aden). In contrast, the snipers around DC killed 10 people in 2002 alone and there were over 2 thousand murders in DC from 1994 to 2000. By any reasonable measure, DC is a much more dangerous place to be than Sanna a’. What would the State department’s travel advisory to DC look like?

How have I managed to avoid the amazing violence in DC, simple, I don’t do anything stupid. Everyone knows where the bad places are, and we all avoid them. The same is true in Yemen. Over 370,000 tourists visited Yemen last year. 6 were kidnapped (once again, from a place they shouldn’t have gone to) and there were zero deaths. How would that stack up against tourists visiting America?

Not to sound too defensive here, but the family members I have mentioned this to have been, I think, overly negative and quite frankly a bit on the hysterical side. When I talk with people that have actually gone there, they paint a much different picture. Yemen is not like Syria, Lebanon, or even Saudi Arabia. If you want to see what a “Do not go here” recommendation from the state department looks like, check out their page on Lebanon. Now go to the one on yemen. Notice the difference in figures and the difference in the danger described?

I have not made up my mind on where I will be going, but if I decide that I want to learn a Gulf dialect, I will go to Yemen. The other contenders are learning an Eastern dialect in Morocco or going to Egypt and learning the Egyptian dialect (which is generally thought to have the widest amount of understanding throughout the arab world). I’ll be doing some research into which dialect would give me the best employment opportunities after I get back. In the meantime, don’t worry or fret, I’ve never been one to do stupid things why would I start now?

Isaac

As the pressure was being put on to get my application in to the American University of Cairo, I started to think about the money situation. I would have to spend everything I have saved AND take out a sizable student loan in order to pay for a year there. Granted, it would be one hell of a year, but I decided to do a little more looking and see what else is available. There are several other language schools in Cairo, and they’d offer most of the advantages of the AUC (being in Cairo, learning a common dialect, etc.) but are far less expensive. I then took a closer look at some other places that I had glossed over before. WOW! There are a handful of programs that caught my attention in Morocco, Tunisia, and Yemen.

The ones in Yemen have piqued my interest on several levels. First of all, there are some great language schools there. There are 3 or 4 that have excellent reputations (are affiliated with Cornell and other really good schools) and are very very reasonably priced. A big savings comes from the lower cost of living there. Yemen also offers a cultural experience that is less affected by western influences. Both Cairo and Tunis are filled with nightclubs and Europeans. I really do want to know what it is like to live in an Islamist state, with little in common with where I’m coming from. I could almost afford to go for two years there (I could make it happen hook or crook), it’s that much less expensive.

Of course there’s the whole safety thing to worry about. Yemen has the reputation in the western press to be a lawless, wacko country that hates all westerners (and especially Americans). The state department suggests not going there, especially to the port of Aden. I have several relatives urging me not to go there. Here’s the trouble, the people that have gone, or are there right now don’t see what the fuss is about. Yes, it is a conservative Muslim country, and yes, there are parts of it that are dangerous, and not only to Americans. But in general, they seem to feel very safe there (in the capital of Sanna a’ in particular). The incidences of common crimes that we are used to are much less common over there. Muggings, murder, etc. are very unusual both because of the harsh punishments and the justice that rival tribes are likely to dish out…

It got me to thinking about people visiting the US. How many tourists are the victims of crime here in the US? I don’t really know, but my gut feeling is that there’s quite a number of muggings, and perhaps even some of the more serious crimes like carjacking, murder etc. It wouldn’t surprise me if some countries considered the US to be a dangerous place based only on what is seen in trouble spots in certain US cities (including our nation’s capital). In any case, I’m looking into it. I’m not convinced one way or the other yet, but one thing I do know is that I cannot afford what was my first choice, so Tunis, Morocco, and Yemen are all possibilities, I’ll let you know what I come up with..

Isaac