Wrestling Terrorist.

One day as I was sitting in front of my friends shop like I do almost everyday, but this day we were talking about the loss of my best friend. A man walked right up to me and it perfect English told me that he was glad that my bike was stolen and I deserved it because of the way that my country has robbed the world of all good things. He said that since we have done so much bad all over the world that this is what I deserve. He then went on to say many unkind things about me, my country and my best friend. I tried to defend my country and the honor of my best friend my bike, but it did not work. He then proceeded to tell me that every dog has its day and hopefully someday his country will rise to power and at that time he wants to kill all the people from my country. At this point my friends did not know what he was talking about because they do not speak English but understand that we are having a heated debate. They then draw him into their shop to talk to him. I do not know what they said but he calmed down. But as I was leaving he told me to watch out and told me that he was a terrorist.

***** To follow up with this story I did some background research on this guy he is not a terrorist but is just plain crazy not scarier terrorist crazy and he just likes to cause fights with anyone who will argue with him******

But to add a little spice to an already spicy story as we sat there he wanted to wrestle me, little did he know that I wrestled in high school. I took great pleasure in quickly and easily taking him to the ground. I do not know that if it is always smart to wrestle with people like this but I have not always been know for doing the smartest thing.

A New Best Friend.

On the morning of June 10th, 2005 my best friend was kidnapped from the from the front of my apartment building. We were very close and went almost everywhere together. I could not believe that someone could do such a thing. I had only one best friend and it could not be replaced easily. My best friend and I met almost 3 months ago. We had experienced so much together. I bought my best friend from a bike store. The best friend is the actual name of the bike, please don't worry too much about me I will recover from the loss. It has been over a week since my bike was stolen and I have gone to look at other bikes, but I do not have the heart to replace my best friend. I am leaving the country for a week long break maybe when I come back I will be able to replace such a wonderful friend like by best friend.

Computer Crash.

When I left the U.S. I put everything on my laptop, music, my favorite sermons, photos, books. Actually I was able to get away with only bringing one bag because of my laptop. I was able to store almost everything on my computer. These was great until my computer crashed last week. When it crashed it crashed, which means that I lost everything. There was not a single file or document left on my whole computer. Luckily, I backed everything up, but my backup CD's are in the U.S. But my computer was actually a really good thing for me because when I got my computer working again it was like having a brand new computer. All the viruses that I had and all the extra junk that I had collected was gone. But it has taken me along time to reload some of the programs and get everything rereregister.
Hopefully my new computer will last me another 3 or 4 years.

Can I have a Visa.

I get asked almost everyday if I can get someone a visa to the United States. I have to tell them that I am sorry but I do not have the power to grant visas but they have to apply with the government. Also I am asked if I can them a job in the United States. I again have to apologize because I do not know anyone that is hiring in the U.S.. Then the question how much does it cost to go to America, this question is hard to answer because the U.S. is so varied in cost. Sometimes all these questions hurt because I feel like I am being used. They are not interested in me but what I can do for them. I have very few friends that are just friends and nothing else. Some people are my friend so that they can talk to me in English. Some hope that I will be an open door to a better life in the U.S. But there are a handful out there that are my friend because they just want a friend.
I understand how some of these people feel, it is a hard life for many people here. And if you only make a few hundred dollars a year and you had the possibility to make twenty thousand a year, would you try to improve you position in life. Some people do this out selfish motivation, but some people do it for there family, so that there children can have a better life. So no I cannot get them visas but hopefully I can be there friend. Which it is better to have friends then money anyway.

Holy Bread.

I come from the land of Wonder Bread and enter the land of Holy Bread. The bread is not sold in loafs, but rather as flat pieces of bread that are a lot like a pizza crust. This country is no different than many Islamic countries in which the bread is a holy thing. It is revered and respected. No one throws away bread here, if you have left over bread you will feed it to the birds. I have been with friends walking in the bazaar and when they see a few small crumbs on the ground they stop to pick them up. I have bread sitting in my house right now that is old and to be honest I do not know what to do with it. The best thing that I know to do is try to eat it all so that there are no left over, but the bread goes bad really fast because all the bread is made with out the preservatives .

If Only Doves Brought Peace.

It is a struggle from time to time because we have peace right now in the country but to me it feels like under the surface there is a war taking place. There is peace for a moment but we never know when fighting will break out again. One of the things that I have also noticed is the huge numbers of doves. There are doves every where and they are such a peaceful bird. I watch them almost everyday out my window. The dove is a symbol of peace but here it has not brought peace. As I study the history I do not know if there has ever been peace in this part of the world. I know that in a matter of years there will be more fighting and killing. I wish in my heart that the dove brought peace and that there could be rest in this land.

The Guys Down Stairs.

Since moving into my new apartment I have been able to make dozens of friends. The building that I live in has three floors. Down stairs on the street is a fabric store, print shop and a stationary store. I have made friends with these guys and regularly eat lunch with them and we hang out almost every evening. It is a very wonderful place for me to learn language and to meet people. Actually I now know just about everyone on my block. Every night we hang out in front of all the shops drinking tea and talking about everything under the sun.
The number of people that hang out with us is growing. Last night we had almost 12 people, it was 4 people when we started.
We sometimes get funny looks because the look like the gangsters sitting there all together.
I think it suprises many people that I have time to sit with them. I am suppose to be in an office some where, but they have quickly learned that I am just a person just like them that needs friendship and enjoys a good laugh just as any other.

Techno Music and Shopping.

There is no such thing as a Super Walmart here, every shop is about 10 feet by 10 feet. This is small business to the extreme. This also means that nothing has a price on it. So this is wonderful for my language. I have to go in and ask what each item cost and some items you have to ask for because they are not visible to the customer. After I moved into my new apartment I needed to go shopping to get all the basics. As I was walking down the street two of my friends saw me and asked me what I was doing I said that I was going shopping. They offered to take me. One of my friends has two wives and he does all the shopping for his family, so he needed to get some things too.
Usually I just ride my bike to the market but today we took my friends car. As we head to the market he put in a techno music tape from the United States and lets the music pound. It was a little overwhelming for me because I am used to the sights of the bazaar but I was not used to the clash of cultures. This is my life a world of extremes. Techno music and open air markets.

A Shower a Day!

Since arriving in country taking a shower everyday like I did in America has been very difficult.
One in my first house we did not have a hot water heater, so you had to heat the water, which took about 30 min and then you had to stand on the cold floor and with a cup pour the water over you. This was entirely too much work to do every day so I showed once or twice a week. But now that I have a new apartment that actually has a shower and a hot water heater I have taken a shower almost everyday. Actually now it has warmed up here I really do no need the hot water heater the water is warm enough just the way that it is. Most people here only bath once a week, but how I enjoy it everyday.