The God Father

Really I have established quite a name for myself, it is funny when you are at a shop talking to a man that you have never met and he says “Oh, I have heard about you, you live here and you do this and you….. And basically tells me more about me that I know about myself. I have friends all over the city and those friends have friends which are also my friends and so basically I am friends with most of the city. OK so I am joking but only a little. I am kind of the connection man, if you need anything I probably have a friend that can help you, or a friend that help you find what you need. I am like the God Father, OK so I am joking again but only a little. I know the city really well and I know where you can find just about anything, if it can be found. But this is just because I walk a lot and if I am not walking I am riding my bike. I meet lots of people and everybody wants to be my friend. So don’t be surprised if I am not elected as major some day. But of course I would turn the job down. This country has a long history of killing its leaders and it is better to just be the god father anyway.

What is giardiasis?

Giardiasis (GEE-are-DYE-uh-sis) is a diarrheal illness caused by a one-celled, microscopic parasite, Giardia intestinalis (also known as Giardia lamblia). Once an animal or person has been infected with Giardia intestinalis, the parasite lives in the intestine and is passed in the stool. Because the parasite is protected by an outer shell, it can survive outside the body and in the environment for long periods of time.
Since living here I have had the wonderful privilege of carrying this critter three times in my bowels. Finding safe drinking water is a big problem, having properly treated foods and also lack of people properly cleaning hands, leads to a large outbreak of giardiasis. Last night I only slept one hour because I was so sick that I could not sleep. My stomach was so swollen and I had projectiles coming out both ends. This builds character and I would not change anything for a moment. I am out on the street everyday eating meals with friends and spending time just being in community. This just means for me about once a week I pick up a wonderful parasite that makes my life hell on earth for a day or two. But the great thing is that I have friends that know how to treat this bug and I have learned in the last month or two how to treat myself. The biggest thing is dehydration; I have a solution that really gets me going again after being sick. And I am back out on the street the next day eating a sandwich with a friend or two praying dear Lord let this not be the one that gets me.

Being an Ass in the Third World-

I often wonder what the worst job is in this country. There are many really bad jobs, the top three worst jobs are:
1) Ditch Cleaner- Here there is not really storm drains, just little ditches on the side of the road. These little ditches catch everything; they very quickly become full of everything unimaginable. They stink to high heaven and about once every week or two there is a crew that comes and cleans these out with shovels.
2) The Push Cart Guys- these guys push carts loaded down with hundreds of pounds of stuff all over down. There is no such thing as moving trucks these guys move everything by little wooden carts.
3) The Ass- The life of the ass in a third world is by far the worst of any jobs. This animals are loaded down with lots of weight, given very little to eat and what they are given is basically trash. It is not uncommon to see them being beat with one inch thick chains across the face. They work everyday from sunrise to sunset. So the gold metal for the worst job goes to the ass.

Watermelon

If there was ever a place that could have a watermelon festival it is the city that I live in. I bought three melons today for $1. I had one for dinner tonight and I will have the other two tomorrow. There are mountains of watermelon every where. It was interesting strapping three melons on the back of my bike. I have come along way when it comes to carrying things on the back of my bike. I can just about carry anything now. The watermelon are great for everyone, men will walk up buy a watermelon, sit down right there in the shade and eat the whole thing. It is possible to see this every where. The only problem is that a season is a season, when things are in season here they are cheap if it is not the season, you cannot find it. So take mangos for example when they really were in season I ate a couple a days, now it is watermelon so I will eat one a day. But the winter is tough here I have heard potatoes, onions, beets and carrots. That is pretty much it.
So I will eat a watermelon for you today.

Out on the Roof

In a land of no A/C, there is only one thing to do when it is time for bed. That is sleep out on the roof. I have been sleeping out on the roof the last two weeks and find it really enjoyable. There is almost always a breeze and the stars are a nice view just before going to sleep. It is funny that we in the west have become so dependent on A/C. It has not always been that way, there was a time I am sure when everyone just go used to the heat and made due. That is how everyone is here; there are lots of ways to live without A/C. And sleeping on the roof is one of the ways I have learned to escape the heat. But I have learned quite a bit about being on the roof. The roof is not a place to hang out and play on, it is for sleeping only. Also there is a phrase that you must say if you are going on the roof and there is a possibility that you could see someone else. This is to tell others that you are coming on the roof. This is a very major deal and not something to be taken lightly. Why is this big deal, because women go on the roof to do laundry and other activities. Men here are very protective of there women if it is thought that you are up there looking at some else’s wife you are as good as dead. I usually try to avoid the roof unless it is time to go to bed. We have one of the highest roofs in the area and it just isn’t worth dying over.

Pictures

Picnic with Friends
The Drive Home
The View

Pictures

The Cave
Watermelon
Music
Dancing
Our Music

Pictures

Music
The Cave
The Party part II
The Blue Mosque
Lamb or Lunch for picnic

Water and Weather

I drink more water now then I have in any time of my life. The weather is so dry here that the water is pulled out of you. When I do laundry and hand my clothes up they dry in less then an hour inside my apartment. This is with the windows closed. It has not rained here in months, I was talking to my language teacher and he said that as long as he has been alive it has never rained in the summer. He was very surprised to here that it rains in other parts of the world in the summer time. Actually if there was a weather report it would be the same every day all day long. Clear skies, slight breeze to heavy winds all summer long and that is it. The wind blows all the time and the humidity has to be a negative number if that is possible. But I actually have grown to love the weather. I do not think that there is any need for an A/C or really even a fan. I sleep out on the roof every night and enjoy the cool breeze all night long. But water is the key to everything. I drink liters and liters of water everyday. It is easy to go days without food but not more then a few hours without water. The heat actually fells good and really will be sad when the fall comes.

The Picnic

One of the favorite pastimes here is going on a picnic. If you asked the average person what they are doing on their day off they would say going on a picnic. I have been on quite a few picnics and they are a lot of fun. But this last week I went on the coolest picnic ever. About forty kilometers out of town is this huge cave. And inside the cave there are natural springs with the cleanest water in the whole world. It was actually said that this was a hide out of terrorist at one time, but now it is just a place for familys and friends. The cave is not very deep but it is very wide. We arrived at 8 am and left around 6pm so it was quite a picnic if there ever was one. The best part about the picnic was the music. There were so many musicians and just was one group would quit another would pick up, with music came lots of dancing and then more dancing until everyone could not dance anymore. We made lunch there and it toke quite a bit of time cooking with a little burner. Lamb and bread was what was served, later we would cut up a couple of watermelons and it is not a picnic if you do not serve tea. It was a great time to learn and to share.

The Shoe Repairman
Special on Goat Head
A Party

The Security Guard with His Roses
The Opium Plant Growing Wild in the Yard

On the Street
Need a Haircut ?
The Flying Horse

Pictures

Holding Hands and Drinking Tea
How many Kilos?
The Local Gang

The Bridge Out of Town
A Smile For You
Fresh Bread
Inside the Tent with the Guys
The Tent Village

Holding hands and kissing UPDATE

When I returned from Dubai in one day I was kissed by at least a dozen guys and also I have noted that over time there is a lot of guys that enjoy holding my hand. I did not really realize this until I started thinking back the first time that some guy tried to hold my hand. It was such a weird moment. But now I am used to it and frequently hold hands with my friends. It is just differences in cultures, in America we hug and put our arm around a friends shoulder. Also in America it is common to see men and women shake hands which would never happen here unless you wanted to be killed by a husband or brother of the opposite party. Also eye contact is basically out of the question and as is talking to a stranger of the opposite sex in public. But it is OK to hold hands with men. It is OK for men to kiss, it is OK to stroke the beard of a friend or older man, (this I have not done), but it happens a lot to Uncle J another American here with a white beard, which I guess are the best.

Flying Horse

When I returned home one of the first things that I did was buy a bike, this time I did it right. I speak enough of the language to buy actually a new bike and not a bike with bad tires and used parts on it. Actually this time the bike I bought was quite a bit cheaper and quite a bit better. Really speaking the language helps a lot. The bikes here come all wrapped in plastic and the cool thing to do is leave this plastic on as long as possible. So to try to be cool I am now riding around with all the plastic on my bike. The new bike off the showroom floor cost me $42 and then you pay another shop a couple of dollars and they tighten everything and make sure the wheels are true. This time I bought the biggest lock that I could find, so hopefully I can keep this bike more then three months.

Beaches, Bathing Suits and Big Bucks

The land of Dubai is not a far cry from where I call home but it is a million miles away when it comes to the difference in cultures and customs.
It has been 3 months that I have been living in country. It has been a very successful three months but a very costly three months.
It was time for a break. I flew out of country for a week of rest and relaxation. It was a great week. The break were many others there that I was able to spend time with and fellowship with like minded people. I spent more money in a week in Dubai then I do in a month in country but it was worth it. It was a real shock the difference in cultures. I have not seen any women in three months, I only see burqas and full head coverings, and here I was in what felt like the middle of sin city. Women who showing their uncovered heads, bare arms. I am not going to write about what people wore at the beach. But I think it would be good to pray for them too.
I am not a person to go shopping at malls, but we went almost every night in Dubai just because we could and also all the stores had air-conditioning. We had alot of time to spend swimming in the ocean and in the pool. The time went by really fast and now I am writting this from my home. This last month has been a hard one and I have tried to shake it off but it takes more then just shaking it off. Deep inside I do not know if I was ready to return, but as I arrived at the airport and drove through the streets it felt right and I am glad to be home.