Orientation
Trip Start
Oct 13, 2005
1
22
Trip End
Dec 22, 2006
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Sana'a,
Yemen
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Well, I found my own way to the internet cafe today so that's all good. I'd decided to write my emails in advance on the laptop I brought with me so as to save time and money. Anyway, I had 2 emails written that I was going to send now, but the stupid Yemeni computer won't format my disc. So I'll just have to improvise my blabber using the silly arabic keys (so excuse my spelling).
Btw, for those I've not spoken to for a while, I took a basic Arabic course at B'ham Uni while doing my MA and I figured learning it properly would boost my employment prospects to go with the International Relations Masters. So, I chose Yemen because it's cheap, it's non-Westernised so you pick up the language quicker as you're forced more to use it, and the local dialect is the closest to Fus'ha (modern standard) Arabic which supposedly helps. So, insane as most people think this makes me, here I am in Yemen.
Being the excellent planner that I am I timed my arrival in Yemen just perfectly, touching down on Friday morning (the holy day) in the middle of Ramadan. Suffice it to say the whole city was dead, as, unable to eat or drink etc between sunrise and sunset, the locals basically stay in bed all day long. This is really wierd to get used to and I'm basically spending most of my time feeling hungry and not able to do anything about it. Some places do open in the afternoon, so I'm planning to go and buy some fruit and bread and stuff so that I can have a supply of food to eat inside during the day - I'll try where I can to embrace the culture but Tom needs to eat in the day or Tom will die!
I'm on my third day here now.
dancing yemenis
I'm still pretty unsettled as I feel unable to get around and buy stuff wihout someone with me. However, today I had my 1st lesson - I was very keen to get started as I've been mostly sleeping to get over the hunger and boredom that was setting in. I figured once I started classes I'd find it easier to get about with some basics. Anyway, my teacher is really nice, the class is one-to-one tuition so it's very informal and pleasant, and I don't feel embarrased to make mistakes. My teacher, Abdul Jaleel, was very impressed with me and said he'd never got so far with any student of the same level in the first lesson before! He probably tells that to everyone, but it was a nice confidence booster given I was manifestly the worst student in my class at B'ham Uni. I've not ventured around too much so far, so I couldn't tell you too much about Sana'a where I'm staying. The weather, however, is just perfect. It's not as hot as much of Yemen and the Middle East as it's 8000 feet above sea level. But it's warmer than I'd been led to believe both in the day, and particularly at night. In the day it must be about 28c and sunny, and I'll be unlucky to see a single cloud before I come home at Christmas. At night, though I'd been told at this time of year it gets down to -5c, so far it's remained warm enough to wear short sleeves and sandals.
As for people I've met at the school, frankly it's a German-fest right now. There are males and females, but I've not met everyone yet, but the German's seem pretty intent on staying in their rooms and working constantly on their homework.
dancing yemenis2
There are no British here right now, but there is one older American guy, Aaron, with whom I've spent most of my time so far. He's a bit strange but very kind and helpful so far. I've really been reliant on him for everything I've done so far, from eating to shopping to just getting about. Anyway, he was a human rights activist in DC but left in protest after Bush was re-elected. He ran out of money while here in Sana'a, so somehow got a journalism job for some UN agency out here to pay for his Arabic classes. He's also recently got back from a trip to Rwanda (flew out from Yemen via Ethiopia) where he met up with a human rights buddy, so I'm very jealous about that. He says if I go there at some stage he can get me in touch with various HR people etc. Aaron reckons the group dynamic at CALES (the Arabic language school I'm at) changes constantly as people come and go. Like I say, it's a German-fest right now, but apparently through the summer it was almost exclusively British and American students both male and female (more girls if anything). I guess it's the wrong time of year for them now with it being term time, but I really hope one or two Brits or Yanks arrive while I'm out here.
What else - oh, I bought a large bottle of Pimms in Dubai duty free for about $8 which is damned cheap. I know it's unashamedly English and middle-class, but hey, I've got to have some taste of home to keep me sane while in such an alien environment. Yep, I figure with the many sunny days ahead of me, a cold glass of Pimms & lemonade will be just the trick as I sit down to do my homework.
Ethiopian meal
Haven't come across lemonade yet in Yemen though unfortunately, but I'll keep looking.One other thing that's going take some getting used to is the call-to-prayer. It happens 5 times a day, the first being at about 2 or 3am and can last for anything up to an hour! It's quite incredible. There are so many mosques in Sana'a that once one starts its call, the others follow with increasing volume and increasingly indecipherable chants. Anyway, some of them are quite nice to listen to, with their mellifluous tones resonating through the narrow stone streets making it very atmospheric. However, some are frankly obnoxious, especially at 4 in the morning when you're trying to sleep.
All the students I've spoken to reckon they were constantly hungry for the first month that they were here because they either couldn't order the food or they couldn't get their head around the the strange opening hours of eating establishments. I can totally see this already - I've pretty much been hungry since I got here, and getting food is not that simple without the language. People really don't speak English here (apart from those who've memorised three key phrases which come out of their mouths as if one whole word: "hellowelcomeinyemen" or "hellohowareyou" or "hellowhatsyourname", but that's it for the most part). I think my diet is basically going to consist of what I can pronounce and remember in Arabic. Hence, it's not going to be the most balanced diet for a while. 'dajaj' is chicken, 'ruzz' is rice and 'khubz' is bread, so that's what I'll be eating for the next few weeks I reckon. Oh, btw, chicken is the main meat here which I was very pleased to find out, followed by beef and liver. Lamb is actually quite uncommon which is fine with me.
Anyhoo, I'm blabbering and this email is getting to be long so I'll sign off for now. Thanks to those who have emailed me so far. During this period of self-inflicted isolation I would be most grateful for as many emails as possible, and I'll do my best to respond to them personally in addition to the group-e. Okay, that's all for now I think.
Ma'as salaama,
Tom
