Happy mood

music

Duduyemi the tourist
Nick in Nigeria has several new posts on his blog. Yay!

Design and geometry
Three weeks ago, during my stopover in Abu Dhabi, I was very inspired to take pictures but had no camera. I walked around the airport several times and crashed in a chair, jetlagged, sleepy, finally.
(I still don't have my camera, because it's in my luggage which may or may not be stolen/incinerated, thanks to Air France the frenetic. )
Most of the terminals in Abu Dhabi surround this centerpiece that is a large pillar filled in with blue and green hexagons that continue on overhead and to the outer walls. The small airport has for sale more than its share of luxury goods: large gold necklaces, so-called Swarovski crystal ornaments, and chocolate and sweets displayed in a most shamelessly tempting way. Maybe on the way back, I'll photograph the airport in Abu DHabi.

Welcome to Yemen
Of course, there's a lot to see in Yemen too. You should see it for yourself. And hear it, and smell it, and feel it, and taste it...the man who cooks here, wa'Allah I want to take him to California with me.

Sometimes, the kids in the city greet tourists with shouts, Welcome to Yemen; Hello; I love you; and other bits of English. Sometimes they use an accent, as in the rising "hellow!" Sometimes they guess (wrongly) that I'm Sudani, or Somali. I fell in love with Ismaili, a brilliant, confident 15-or-so-year-old boy I met in Old Sana'a for a couple of minutes. At times like that, I'm so sure it's a smart idea to be a professor. Today, a cab driver called: Hellloooo, Honey. The most unexpected thing! I like to think it was directed at the blonde classmate I was walking with.

I'll be back in the Middle East soon, Insha'Allah.

Crappy Mood

music

I like this place.
I promise to not live in America any longer than necessary - it's miserable. Useful, wealthy, and miserable.

My baggage STILL hasn't arrived yet. I try not to be too irritated.

I bought a really good face wash and face scrub a couple of weeks ago in a supermarket in Sana'a. The city is Lagos without the overcrowding (cleaner, safer, ...) I like the food at school. The classes...learned so much in such a short time. Today, we talked about our schools (Caltech, University of Illinois, and some school in Germany) in class...I got to use a new word - malal - a lot. Malal jidan means "very boring."

If you're anything like me, I recommend Sana'a. You'll feel at home.

I expect to like Iraq / Israel even better. It's funny that it took coming to Yemen (supposedly anti-Jewish, Muslim, evil, wooooo) to make me interested in living in Israel.