Sept 14

September 14 Thursday. I got up really early to go out to an internet cafe, but it seems most of them don't open until later but I found one and was able to use Skype okay to call my mom. Then I ate some more "cake" for breakfast, more like a plain muffin actually. The day before I was charged 125 riyals I think, which I thought was expensive for Yemen, maybe .60 cents. And then yesterday I was only charged 25 riyals, or maybe 12 cents. I'm pretty sure it was the same guy too... Then I went off to my lesson at 9:30 but Isma'il didn't show up then (he has a reputation for being the best teacher, but also always being late) so after about a half hour I started walking back to the student housing when I ran into a new student named Matthew from the UK who just arrived today. He was with Abdul Karim getting a tour of the school, etc, but since it is the weekend most people weren't around at the school, ie the director. So I was just hanging out on the street watching packs of wild cats and talking to the children. Then I ran into Matthew again after he finished at the institute, so we talked for awhile. He has studied Arabic for two years at Oxford, I think, and is planning to stay here for 10 to 12 months. Then all of a sudden Isma'il came walking down the street, we weren't even at the school... He apologized for being late, the water at his house wasn't working so he had to wait for it to be repaire, I guess. So we had our lesson for an hour, and Isma'il invited me, Matthew, and Marcus to lunch at his house. We took a tiny, cramped, and very hot bus out to his house in the old Jewish quarter. We had a really delicious salad to start with, and then bint as-sahn, which is this sort of sweet bread-like concoction, it was very good. Along with rice, salta, some beef and potatoes. We ate with his two sons. So we sat around in his mafraj for an hour or so until his friend came and me and Matthew went along with them to another house where they were having a gat chew. They were a bunch of teachers and government officials, so it was a little easier talking to them and understanding their Arabic since they are more educated in standard Arabic. After about a half an hour there me and Matthew headed back to the student housing and I got ready to go to the wedding. Went and met Hassan at his store, he was all dressed up in the long white thobe, and jambiya (the dagger), and suit jacket. And he introduced me to a lot of his friends, and relatives before going to the actual wedding. The actual wedding consists of really loud music, lots of traditional dancing with the dagger. They had fireworks, and some foam they were spraying on everyone. And the groom was really dressed up. It is strange though because they push me right up to the front with the groom to have my picture taken with him and I don't even know him nor did I talk to him. I did have my first encounter with someone who really didn't like Americans, or at least American politics. I couldn't understand exactly what he was saying but knew it wasn't positive towards Americans. His friend or relative that was with him kept telling me to ignore him "he's not educated!" And then when he started listing off things "Afghanistan.... Iraq..." his friend just took him away. And that was that. This wedding took place all outside on the street, and then everyone goes to this large tent they set up, which is made to be a big mafraj, sitting room, where people can continue chewing their gat. The power cut out briefly so we all sat in the dark for awhile. Then as we were leaving the wedding we ran into one of Hassan's friends who is studying at a university, and studies English at an institute. He was very good with English, and his Arabic was very intelligible to me. So we sat on this overpass walkway talking mostly in Arabic for a long time. This stranger that neither of them knew even stopped for awhile to talk and listen when he noticed this foreigner speaking Arabic. Except he was really difficult to understand so, Hassan's friend Abdulla, would have to slow it down and make it more understandable for me. The other guy wanted to know all about elections in America, how they are different from Yemen, what do we think about the elections in Yemen, etc. They also both were emphasizing how killing is not Islamic, and that Osama is not a real Muslim. Anyways, I plan to meet up with Abdulla again, I think he can help me a lot with my Arabic since he can speak the spoken and standard Arabic and help me understand both...