Throwing shoes

My students generally live in a news vacuum. I'm not being critical; as an undergraduate in the Coe bubble I didn't digest much news either. All of them, however, knew about the shoes being thrown at the president.

They generally thought it was funny. One said he heard that the assailant was being tortured. I replied that I highly doubt it; the man will have the best lawyers in Iraq and America willing to defend him.

Another student complimented the President's quick reaction.

Nepal Day 3 - World Trade Center Views

This is the national soccer stadium. The seats are concrete.
Here's a view of the city from the WTC.
This street view looks more organized than any street I actually traveled on in 12 days.

*****
While at the WTC I headed to the bathroom. There were a long line of unoccupied urinals. I walked to the second one. A man followed behind and took the one right next to me. (Major social faux pax in the US, but whatever...) He proceeded to lean his head over the divider and unabbashedly check me out.
In a split second I had to decide: Do I get mad? Do I readjust to try to make myself more presentable? Do I say, "Since we're on these terms would you like to join me for coffee?" Of course, I did none of the above. As I headed out the door I said, "I hope I represented white people well."

Nepal Day 3 - Bangladesh show

After returning from the Himalaya's we went to the World Trade Center for a trade show sponsored by Bangladesh. Surpisingly, I didn't buy anything.

Nepal Day 3 - Himalayas

We got up early and traveled to the airport... only to wait for takeoff due to fog.
The views were beautiful, but honestly, it was anti-climatic. Looking at the mountains from a window of an airplane was similar to looking a large picture hanging on a wall.

A 53 degree swing?

I'm trying to think of what Robin would say... "Holy frozen balls Batman!" To which the reply would be, "It's OK, boy wonder I'll warm them up later..."

The high on Sunday in Cedar Rapids was 55. The low was 2. I have done a cursory search of the records for the past several years. I can't find anything close to a 53 degree swing in temperatures within the same day.

*****
The weather here in Al Ain? I'm glad you asked. Highs in the mid-70's with lows in the mid 50's. And, of course, sunny every day.

Throwing shoes - a middle eastern perspective

Today an Iraqi journalist threw both his shoes at President Bush during a press conference. He missed and I know many of my liberal friends are disappointed. (I'm not. I fear any attack on the president... especially when I read that Obama is planning a train ride to his inauguration. A train ride? No security problems there...)

Throwing shoes is symbolic. It wasn't meant to actually hit Bush. The idea was to say that Bush is lower than any part of the thrower's body.

Before arriving here I did not know the significance of the feet. Yesterday I was discussing the foot issue with my students (before the shoe throwing incident). I said, "If I have sit for long periods I'm going to cross my legs. I mean no offense to you. I'm from a country where that's not an issue."

Basically I was told, "Sure. We get that you don't mean it mean it that way... but how would you feel if we sat here giving you the finger? The middle finger isn't offensive to us but you probably wouldn't like it, would you?"

Nepal Day 2 - Feeling mighty big

I am 6'0". In twelve days I did not meet a native eye to eye. It was great in that I could look down a street over the heads of all the people walking along. It was bad because I'm a moron who didn't look at the short doorways. Once I cracked my head so hard I saw stars.

Nepal Day 2 - Street signs

More views of the busy streets of Katmandu.
This was a very common sight. At one point I literally saw a guy carrying a refrigerator on his back

Nepal Day 2 - Katmandu

Ann and I stumbled across this wonderful vegetarian thai restaurant. We ordered spring rolls and tea. They were huge and tasted great. The total cost with tip: $2.
As we were enjoying our meal we noticed a rat walking along the ledge.

Nepal Day 2 - Katmandu Durbar Square

Every major city has our equivalent of a town square called a "Durbar". On our second day Ann and I walked down to Katmandu's Durbar. Here you see bulls sitting peacefully amongst thousands of pigeons.
The scene was quite pretty. Being white western, Ann and I were charged a fee to walk around. This was repeated many times during our trip. I'm not complaining; the fee was small ($2.50) and if anything I wish they had charged more to help with the upkeep.
Being a city square it was a place that many people simply met to talk and relax. These are people far too poor to afford any of the luxuries we enjoy with our free time.
We came upon this ceremony. With the few braincells I have left I'm not sure if it was Hindu or Buddhist (help, Ann). I'm going to say it was Hindu. The girls are being married to earth before they grow up and become married to a man.

Do logos matter?

This was the runner up logo for the Obama campaign. The notion is that everyone is talking about Obama. Does such symbolism really matter in a campaign? I tend to believe it does.
I prefer the winner:

Nepal Day 1 - Katmandu

Over the next 12 days I'm going to recreate our vacation... The trip to Katmandu was uneventful. The weather was beautiful; sunny skies with temps in the 70's. We had no hotel reservations. We saw a desk at the airport offering hotels and transportation. The hotel was located in the Thamel district which was where we wanted to go.

Ann: How much is your hotel per night?
Agent: List price is $100.
Ann: I'll give you $20.
Agent: $25
Ann: $20 and throw in breakfast.
Agent: OK

The trip to the hotel was eye opening. Very crowded narrow streets. People walking, rickshaws, motorcycles and cars intermingle. Many times we pass within inches of hitting someone/something. Horns are constantly honking.
Most of the Thamel district looks like this. (Click on picture to enlarge.) The streets are lined with shops selling cheap goods. In this picture there is a shop selling artwork on the left followed by one selling scarfs, a small restaurant and an internet cafe. On the right you can't see a paper shop that is next to the clothing store. Add jewelry stores and rugs and those are the same shops repeated over and over in an area spanning 20+ city blocks.

This scene is pretty quiet at the time I took this picture, but imagine cars meeting each on this street.

Ann repeatedly asked for an interior room at the hotel but they gave us one on the street and assured us it would be quiet. Of course, it wasn't.

Quote of the day

"Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh?  Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?"

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on the state of the Republican Party.  He goes on to say:

"I think the party has to take a hard look at itself. There is nothing wrong with being conservative. There is nothing wrong with having socially conservative views — I don't object to that. But if the party wants to have a future in this country, it has to face some realities. In another 20 years, the majority in this country will be the minority."

Will Republicans heed his advice?  I’m skeptical, but I sure wish I could listen to Rush on Monday!

Dogs

The Emirates disturbs me because of the lack of dogs. Nepal disturbed me because of the presence of dogs... everywhere. It led me to pull up pictures of my favorite dog.Here is Gus encouraging my friend Sam to share his popcorn.

Disneyland it ain't

I’m going to need a few days to decompress from the Nepal trip. This is one of those vacations where going back to work is more relaxing than the vacation.

For now I’ll leave you with the jarring contrasts of the country.

From the peaceful view of mustard fields...

...to the streets of Katmandu.

Greetings from Nepal

Hello from Steve!
Quick update to let you know that Ann and I are alive and well. It's been an interesting trip. The number of firsts is beyond count: Washing/riding elephants, jungle safari, visiting Hindu and Buddhist temples, run into by a rickshaw, my first crocodile, rhino and wild boar sighting, Hindu cremation ceremony, hotel stays for as little as $7/night, and I'm sure there are more.

In 48 hours I'll be back in the Emirates. I hope to be back to regular posting by Saturday.

Thanks again to Karey and Denise for blogging in my absence. I look forward to one of your steaks, Karey, after I buy you dinner on our election bet. And Denise I wouldn't worry about "Steve-worthy" posts. Have you been reading this blog? I have no idea what "Steve-worthy" means!? Although... a group of school girls on a bus went nuts when they saw me and screamed "Hello! Hello!" I waved and said "Hello" and they all giggled.

Ann said, "Steven, you have groupies."

Yep, that's another first...

from Denise: I got nothin'

Steve has been periodically emailing some of us to let us know he is surviving his trip to Nepal. He's currently hiking through the jungle searching for elephants to wash. He'd better have pictures to share when he gets back.

It's funny: when he first asked me (and probably Karey) to fill in for him once a day, I didn't think it'd be a problem to come up with a topic. And I was thrilled when Karey came up with something. Then I did. And now, well, I'm stuck. What topic is "Steve-worthy"? He's the econ/political guru. He's the one in a foreign land. He's having an adventure. I'm freezing my fanny off in Iowa while dodging patches of ice on the sidewalks. Somehow it just doesn't compare.

from Denise: The Benefits of a Higher Education

Okay, well, I'm a virgin blogger too so let's see if I can embarrass myself. At least you'll have Karey's posts to read until Steve gets back.

Speaking of, Steve is alive and well in Nepal, at least as of this morning. They're headed to the Himalayas and have been wandering all over the place. I believe Steve is single-handedly reviving their economy with his self-described awesome bargaining skills. I'm glad to hear he's having a good time.

So he's still got a few days of vacation left and I'm just coming off of mine. My husband Jason and I went to Des Moines (Iowa...yeah, I know..."why?") for some holiday shopping and quality time away from work. Tomorrow I have to go back and face 132 emails (I just looked) and a weekly meeting with my supervisor. It's salary review time in our little camp and so I have to enter "my" recommended salary raises into our HR system so they can be officially approved and applied. I put quotations around "my" because I make suggestions, but rarely do I get what I ask for: sometimes good for the employees, sometimes not so much. I saw on the news tonight that the UAW has agreed to make some concessions for the auto makers for their bailout. The newscast said that GM workers average over $73/hour with benefits. Toyota workers make $44/hour. I obviously wasted four years of my life pursuing a higher education. At the rate I've been receiving raises, I may see $44 around 2012.

Not that I'm complaining. After all, I like turtles.

Guest blogging

I've asked two friends to fill in for me while I'm gone. Denise and Karey will be making periodic posts over the next 12 days. I look forward to reading their posts when I'm back. Hopefully, they'll catch the bug and start a blog of their own.

Ann and I will be staying in $20/night hotels (or so we hope... and yes they have indoor plumbing). I doubt they will have an internet connection. To go completely off the grid is not something I'm comfortable doing!

I wonder if internet withdrawal feels anything like caffeine withdrawal...

Getting ready to head out...

We leave here at 1AM to drive up to Sharjah and fly out at 5AM. I didn't bring any long sleeve from America. Today I purchased four shirts, two pairs of jeans and got my haircut. Total price under $50. (The haircut was $2.50.)