Your permission to punch me - hard

I lived in Iowa for 40 years before moving to the middle east.  Over the years I learned that there's nothing worse than an Iowan who moves to a warmer climate coming back to Iowa in winter.  Invariably they'll say, "Oh, it is sooo cold.  How does anyone live here?"

It's like saying, "I was good enough to get out, what's wrong with you?"  To me these people put the "douche" in the term douchebag.  I don't wanna be that guy.

If I say anything like that please feel free to slug me.

I'm back!

It's 2AM Saturday morning.  I'm still awake - which may or may not be a good sign on the getting over jet lag issue.  At this point Ann is on the same flight right now over Iran.

It was not a great trip but at one point I yelled "Wow!" in a men's room.

I'll try to have the brain cells to explain tomorrow.

2011 Christmas flight home

For those who would like to track my 14-15 hour flight on Friday:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/ETD151/history/20111216/0625Z/OMAA/KORD

My flight will arrive in Chicago between 3-4PM on Friday.  Right now I am on a flight to CR that will arrive at 10:45 PM.  If I'm lucky I will get through customs and catch an earlier flight.  I haven't even lined up anyone to pick me up at the airport because I really hope I can make an earlier flight.  

T-shirt wanted

I wonder how difficult it would be to have this made:

Democrats

(for Obama)

for Newt

Quote of the day - II

A student whose cousin lives in the US said, "I want to marry my cousin to get the passport."

Quote of the day

In class I said to a student, "When I was your age I was actually a runner."

A student sitting behind her blurted out, "NO WAY!|

I have been laughing ever since.  The student stopped by after class to apologize for offending me and I said, "Not at all!  It's really funny..."

Newt

Democratic congressman Barney Frank said,

"I did not think I had lived a good enough life to be rewarded by Newt Gingrich being the Republican nominee."

Newt's leading in most national polls and leading in Iowa, which goes first on January 3.  He's a close second in New Hampshire and ahead in South Carolina.  If he were to win all three he'd pretty much be unstoppable.

How did the guy Democrats most want to be the Republican nominee become the front-runner? The answer seems to be Reagan.  In the late 1970's Democrats were rooting for Reagan because they thought he'd be the easiest to beat.  We all know how that turned out.

I don't think Newt is Reagan 2.0 but apparently many Republicans think the "big ideas" guy is the right guy to be their nominee.  Today my boss' boss (a Republican) indicated he'd be fine with Newt as the nominee.  Poor Mitt couldn't seal the deal.

In 2008 some Republicans lived to regret rooting for the black whose name rhymes with "Osama."  Maybe my side will end up eating crow but for now I'm agreeing with Barney.  I will happily caucus for Newt on January 3 because I believe he's the best opponent for Obama.

I think it's the right thing to do but please, don't ask me to bet $10,000 on it.

Christmas Party 2011

At 1:30 AM the guests from Christmas Party 2011 have left.  It was a great party in that anytime you can get 30+ people to show up and bring great food you have had a good night.

Ann helped with most of the prep work:

I don't think I'm the only American to have a fascination with the Greeks.  To have Greek friends at my party bringing an awesome quiche-like dish?

 OK, my photo doesn't do this anything close to justice.  The couple here are standing in front of the there quiche-like dish and the home-made Greek bread to go with it.  "Phenomenal" is all I can say.

Canadian friends brought mulled wine and intricate Christmas cookies.

This is my favorite picture of the night.  My Singaporean neighbors dressed their daughter in a winter coat to walk her the 60 feet from my apartment to their apartment.

As I made fun of them my friend said, "She's from Singapore.  Her blood is not used to this cold."  The temperature was 65.

******
I love to throw a party.  I've said before that I much prefer to throw a party than to go to one.  The Christmas Party 2011 was a notable party: Over the course of the evening 30+ came, so in total numbers it was a success.  I am amazed at the people who went out of their way to say to me, "I will be there" and then didn't show.  I've never had so many nationalities at one party.  I think I may have topped 20 nationalities.   That's a huge plus in my book, but when the Spanish speaking South Americans started greeting/arguing with the Greek/Italian guests?  Yeesh, I felt bad for my neighbors.

I don't have many gifts.  Teaching is one.  Planning and throwing a party is another.

I'm happy that I have to come to know my gifts and limitations.

And there goes my run for public office...

...but it was so much fun it was worth it.

By the numbers

I woke up this morning at 4AM with the realization that it is 10 days and counting until I am back in the US.

Later I checked the weather in Cedar Rapids:  -11 <-- That was the temp my iPhone showed for Cedar Rapids.  The NWS says the overnight low was 23.  Huh?

Also the 30 day temperature forecast is for a normal December:

I am happy the -11 was a mistake.  I confess I was thinking, "Do I love my friends and family that much?"

I'm sure that will earn me a warm welcome home.

Matt, are you listening?

I don't think my confederate friend reads the blog anymore but in case he is, I wish he could hear me saying, "Newt! Newt! Newt!"  I am chanting it many times per day every day.

Is it a Diet Coke?

I don't have children because I am too afraid I'd have a moron as an offspring.  Perhaps that's admitting too much about my side of the gene pool or my possible parenting abilities, but I just had to get that out there...

Coke created this really cool can for holidays which they have promptly pulled because people thought it was a Diet Coke can.

Seriously?  If you can't tell the taste difference between Coke and Diet Coke your problems are deeper than the can you are holding.

I really want one of these cans.  Please, if you are one of the four blog readers I have left get me one of these!

Paradise

Mohamed was a student of mine in 2009 and he became a close friend over the past couple of years.  Creating a cross-culture/religion friendship is not easy and we definitely hit many bumps along the road.  For most of the time, however, our friendship was good for each other and we certainly have similar personalities.

I bought him this t-shirt:

Little did I realize how ironic the gift would be.

While our friendship was enduring Mohamed was always insecure.  He'd be jealous of any friend I spent any time with and that even followed me to the US.  Last week I broke down as he again accused me of liking another friend more.  I thought my breakdown would be the end of it; he'd understand that he has no reason to be insecure.  Unfortunately, that only lasted until my second day back here.

Now I realize that we are simply incompatible as friends.  I thought things would get better when he recently started a romantic relationship but alas, it only became worse.

I am not blameless; I am sure I did things to lead to the deterioration of our friendship.  I certainly had many moments of anger.  As the anger has now subsided I now feel the loss of a good friend.

*****

Last week Mohamed posted this video on youtube:

I watched it and didn't understand.  I posted on his wall:

You know I like Coldplay... but one of the reasons I stopped watching music videos is that I often don't get it... I have no idea what this is supposed to mean!

He replied:

I think it means that when you are around the people you like or your friends then it is like Paradise so he is searching for his friends to find Paradise :)

I wish Mohamed the best; I hope he finds his elephants... I hope he finds Paradise.

My day in the kandura, 2011 edition

December 2 is National Day, the equivalent of July 4 in the US.  In honor of the holiday I wear a kandura (robe).  Last year I had a white kandura and I wore it again for cultural night in the post below.  This year I decided to have one made with color.  I joke with students, "Don't you ever get bored wearing white every day?  I can't imagine opening my closet door and seeing nothing but white kandura's staring back at me."  I like a little variety in my closet. Anyhow...

I had a tailor make a blue one with subtle stripes.

Dr. Omar grew up in the Emirates and received his Ph.D. in the US.  He started teaching at UAEU last year and his office is next to mine.  I don't get to see much of him but we've become friends.  I love the US and enjoy teaching and living in the Emirates.  Omar loves the UAE and really enjoys his time in the US.  He and his wife return each summer to Arkansas.  (I raised my eyebrows the first time he said it, too.  He explained that he's from the one liberal town in Arkansas.  That makes sense.  Living in Iowa City is a world different than western Iowa.) 

Omar and I are wearing the egal (black ropes) because it is appropriate for our position as teachers.  The shebab (young males) only wear them when they have something formal to dress up for.

 Khaled is one of my favorite students.  Here is demonstrating the nose greeting.  While I found it unnerving last year I got over it quickly this year.  I still can't bring myself to make the "smooch" sound as I touch the other guy's nose.  Obviously I can't say it is "too gay."  I'd have to say it strikes me as too intimate as a way to greet a casual friend almost anyone.

 I have been teaching more years than I care to remember but this is the first time I have had a German exchange student.  My ancestors are from Germany and I have long believed my family has very, very German attributes - for good and bad.  It is fantastic to be able to talk at length with a pure-bred born and raised German to learn whether my German stereotypes are accurate.  The answer?  Yes, but that's a story for a different post.

Lukas also had a kandura made and right after this picture was taken he said, "I don't know what my grandmother would do if she saw this picture."  I laughed because I know my grandmother would have started with "Oh, pshaw" and gone downhill from there.

 Rashed is a student from Afghanistan.

Afghanistan... as in, a year ago he was living 50 miles north of Kabul.  One of the reasons I don't get bored in my job is that I love, love, love the chance to talk to people whose life experience is simply fascinating.  For the record, he's more optimistic for Afghanistan than most American pundits seem to be and he had some solid, yet anecdotal, evidence to back it up.

We are wearing scarfs that celebrate the 40th National Day and have pictures of the rulers of the country.  Patriotism leads to commercialism here.  (I don't mean that as a pejorative.  The fact people are willing to spend lots of money to show their spirit for National Day is something I like.  It's nationalism without any of the bitterness of the Tea Party.)

OH!  There are few pictures that have disappointed me more than this one.  This is my favorite class in my four years of teaching in the Emirates.  A few of the guys bought a Coke, Coke Zero and Coke Light (Diet Coke) for the class.  Unfortunately, there was no good place to take the picture at this time of day.  My lack of foresight on this really bothers me.  I'd like to do a do-over and probably will; this is a class I want to remember.

It's ten o'clock, do you know where your central bank is?

On Wednesday, November 23, something potentially catastrophic happened:  Germany, considered the rock-solid safest place in Europe, tried to sell bonds and there were not enough buyers.  In other words, the world market was afraid to buy German debt.

I told Ann, "This is either the first sign of Armageddon or something really big is going to happen very soon."

Exactly a week later we got something big:  The US Federal Reserve (our central bank) is leading a joint effort with Canada, Japan, Britain, Switzerland and the European Central Bank to push "dollar liquidity."

What does that mean?  The US is basically lending billions (trillions?) of dollars to the other central banks.  The world operates on the dollar - something I knew but didn't quite realize how true it was until I moved here.  Those central banks will lend them to their banks.  Those banks will, hopefully, start lending again.  The world's monetary system is on life support right now and this is a very good, albeit short-term medicine.

I can't wait to see how this plays out for the public in the US.  I see this as nothing short of "America comes to the rescue of the world" but it can be easily played by the right wing as "Obama is bailing out the rest of the world."  Never mind that the Federal Reserve is not part of the Obama administration.

I don't write about the economy much because I fear there are so many ways things can get worse that it is simply too depressing.  And, really?  If the euro collapses all bets are off.  Today's action does nothing to keep the patient alive beyond a few months.  Unfortunately, in this case the patient is the world economy.  Austan Goolsbee (the best economist Obama appointed when elected but then ignored) depressingly sees no positive outcome to the euro crisis.

Cultural night

Friday, December 2, is National Day - The 40th anniversary of the founding of the UAE.  (Maybe someday I'll get over living in a country that is younger than me, but I'm not there yet.)

In the run-up to National Day the college hosted a cultural night that I attended.

 I am on the left (in case you couldn't recognize me).  Here I am meeting with students who are part of the volunteer organization with a mission to improve things in the UAE.

How much do Emiratis get into National Day?  They even have headscarfs made for the occasion.

UAEU has students from many countries.  These are Omani students heading to the center square to dance.  Notice that four in the front row are walking on gravel with no shoes.

Tougher feet than mine.

 The Omanis drug me out to the dance floor sandlot. It was fun, but I suck so bad at dancing that they graciously allowed me to quit early.

You don't have to be gay to appreciate the traditional greeting among men of the same tribe.  As a member of a relatively cold German family, I find it refreshing to see this level of warmth between distant family members.

Boycott Butterball for halal turkeys?

The rightwingers in the US are stunning in their ability to raise Fox faux outrage.  The latest?  Halal turkeys.

Halal is the Islamic term for "religiously acceptable."  As Jews should eat kosher foods, Muslims should eat halal foods.  For turkeys halal specifically refers to the way the animal is slaughtered.

From Wikipedia: "This method of slaughtering animals consists of using a well sharpened knife to make a swift, deep incision that cuts the front of the throat, carotid artery, wind pipe and jugular veins but leaves the spinal cord intact."


In other words, kill the animal quickly and humanely without decapitating.

How does the neo-con right see this?

"In a little-known strike against freedom, yet again, we being forced into consuming meat slaughtered by means of a a torturous method:  Islamic slaughter."

There's stupid and then there's stoooopid...

I'm happy we'll be serving Butterballs on Thanksgiving.

Bill Flanagan

I am fortunate that I had a class with the natural Santa Claus.  A kind, gentle soul who also knew how to keep track of who was naughty and nice.  The beard helped.

Sadly, he passed away this weekend.

In the spring of my freshman year at Coe I took a class in Sociology.  (I really like Sociology but it wasn't until grad school before I took more classes.  Only in Sociology classes do I think, "I am the most conservative person in the room.")

The class with Professor Flanagan was eye-opening.  Sociology should be named the "social science that studies all the ways the world is unfair."  I have thought about the class many times since coming here.

I also think about him from a teaching standpoint:  In his class he assigned a book to read but never talked about it in class.  On the midterm he asked an essay question about the book worth 20% of the grade.  At first I was angry. I thought, "If it is that frickin' important why didn't you talk about it at least once in class?"  Then I paused and thought, "Welcome to college."

As a teacher I have never followed Professor Flanagan's example.  I pretty much give test questions that come from lecture - I consider it a reward for those who stay awake in my class... but this semester I failed to mention a topic in one of my classes and a few students were upset to get questions about it.  It was in the textbook so I had no problem smiling and saying, "Welcome to college!"

Cheers Professor Flanagan!  I really wish I had had a chance to talk to you about all that I have learned about "income stratification" since I arrived in the Emirates.  I'm one of your students who greatly appreciated you as a teacher and I'm only mad at myself for getting a B in your class.

Paragliding

Thirty minutes of paragliding costs $100.  I did it last year but the weather was cloudy and the Himalayas were not visible, yet it was still worth $100.  This year?  Priceless.

A jeep took us up to a mountain ridge where we walked up a trail to the launch.

  A paraglider is taking off from the mountain just as we arrive.  I did a tandem paraglide.  Unlike skydiving, paragliding is much more relaxing.  Rather than hang attached to the person you jump with, in paragliding you actually sit in a seat and allow your feet to dangle.

The view from the air was incredible; Himalayas in the distance and rice farms up the mountainside right below us.

This was the first good day for paragliding in weeks so there were many out.  The updrafts were strong.  We could have remained aloft indefinitely. 

Farmers in this picture are harvesting the rice.  The large black spot is a shadow from our parachute.

My feet are at the bottom of this picture just before we land.  My tandem guy nailed the landing better than a Chinese gymnast.

This is a short video I took of the trip.

Himalayas by moonlight

The Eco-village is a difficult place to get to with amazing views of the Annapurna range of the Himalayas.  We arrived there after dark on a clear night.  The moon was nearly full.  I borrowed a tripod and set my camera to 30 second exposures.  The result is a set of pictures that almost looks like daylight.

 It was nearly pitch black at the time I took this with the Himalayas shimmering in the distance.

How the trees here appear green is quite amazing to me... they were black to my eyes.  

I love how the Himalayas seem to float with stars above the plants and flowers in the foreground.  This may be my favorite picture I've ever taken.