good news

We got word from the agency working on my visa that the gov't of Sudan recently issued visas for several Americans that began the application process before me. How does this affect me? It shows that there are people receiving visas to enter the country... Americans even. This means that it's not impossible for me to get in, it's just a matter of waiting. Good news indeed!

missing head lice

I was having a conversation with some friends yesterday and the somehow the topic turned to lice. I began to recount stories about some of the many heads I've seen that were absolutely teeming with the little devils. I remembered the "dias de los piojos" (days of the lice), when we would form an assembly line of head washing in order to treat as many kids as possible in one day. I would show up in my swimsuit and flipflops, with my head recently shaved to avoid any unwanted inhabitants of my own, and shampoo, rinse, and comb out the dead and the eggs for hours. I told them about heads with thousands of lice, among other crawling creatures, in which 5 washings still wouldn't completely eliminate the infestation and about shaving boys' tangled messes of dirty, living hair in the same anti-louse technique that I employ myself. I explained the joy I've experienced that few can understand when a deloused, freshly sheared 6-year-old boy comes the next day to school with a huge smile on his face and more bounce in his step because for the first time in months, he slept the entire night without waking up once to scratch his itchy head. But also the experience of despair in knowing that in most cases, the heads of these children would be re-infested within a few weeks of sleeping on the same sheets with their 4 siblings that we weren't able to treat and that their parents would do nothing about it.

This conversation reminded me that I miss head lice. I miss seeing a need as easily treatable as this and being able to meet it, to at least offer a few days of better rest for a tired, hungry, dirty, neglected child. I realized more than ever that I miss poverty and miss playing my part to help alleviate it. There is nothing I can do to make the gov't of Sudan give me a visa, so I wait impatiently to get back to work, back to the life I am called to live. Having spent over 3 months surrounded by relative luxury, I've been forgetting what it's like, poverty. I don't want to forget. I'm thankful that this innocent conversation served as a reminder, brought me back to the reality of endless bouts with headlice that is life for so many.

pictures from Dar El Awlad (boys home)

Pizza party with group from England












Spiderman












It's hot in Beirut












Water fight












The boys were waiting to attack me with water, but I used my camera as a shield (I didn't tell them it's waterproof)

sitting, waiting, wishing

The title of this post is taken from a Jack Johnson tune, but I feel it applies appropriately to my current situation. Of course, the song is speaking of sitting and waiting and wishing for a girl, but I wait for something far more illusive, an entry visa for Sudan. My plan was to leave Lebanon for Sudan on Monday, the 21st of July, but the date is approaching and there are no positive signs that a visa will be granted any time soon. Add to this the current political/legal developments regarding the gov't of Sudan (check out CNN for details) and the outlook is even more bleak.

So, I'm here in Beirut for now, formulating the various possibilities for a plan B if it appears that this wait could end up to be a long one. In the meantime, I am continuing my arabic studies, and hanging out with the boys and staff at the orphanage, as well as a group of fine English folks that are putting on a summer program here for 2 weeks. The visa could come in 2 days, or 2 months, or not at all, but I hold out hope and pray that the eventual outcome is closer to that first option.

Bedouin wedding

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a Bedouin wedding. It was an eventful, 3-day affair with deafeningly loud music, dancing, good food, firing of guns in celebration, and more music and dancing. There were 2 nights of parties, followed by a Sunday afternoon party/lunch, which consisted of countless platters of rice, sheep, bread (used in lieu of knives, forks, and spoons), and yogurt. Everything was quite tasty, except for the yogurt, a sour, lumpy, lukewarm "treat" that I struggled mightily to get down with a smile on my face.

Their culture rarely allows for interaction amongst the opposite gender outside of family, so the young and unmarried in attendance were in fine form, taking advantage of the opportunity to see and be seen, showing off their dance moves with endless energy. The dancing style, called dapke, is similar to Texas line dancing, but with an Arab twist and a higher degree of difficulty. I spent much of my time attempting to avoid having to dance, but my attempts were rarely successful. Everyone was very adamant that I have a good time, which, of course, could only come from lots of dancing, so no matter where I hid, someone found me and forced me back to center stage. For much of the wedding, I was the only non-arab in attendance, and I'm a disgraceful dancer, especially when it comes to the "dapke" that was on display, so there was much pleasure gained by those in attendance while watching me in my futile attempts to move like a good Lebanese (see picture below). Thankfully, there was also much argili (see earlier post) to be enjoyed, always a positive aspect of time with the Bedouin.


Again, I came away again impressed with the Bedouin culture, with the hospitality shown to me, the general camaraderie amongst friends, and the appreciation and affection of family. This was obviously an important day for the hundreds in attendance and everyone was happy to share it with me.






Thrones of the bride and groom










The Bride in her day 1 dress. She had a dress for each of the 3 days of the wedding.









Let the Dapke begin









The groom arrives (about 2 hours after the bride)








One of my futile attempts









Everyone gathered around to watch the white guy dance









Lunch

Jonathan's Book Club

I might not have Oprah's ability to make any book a best-seller by putting it on my list, but I plan on occasionally offering suggestions.

I just finished reading Light Force, by Brother Andrew. The book focuses on his work in the Middle East and discusses in length what it’s like for Arab Christians caught in the middle of the mess. I found the book to be an eye-opening view of the conflict, much different than anything heard on CNN, and equally different from thoughts I've heard in many Christian circles.

Read it! You won't be disappointed.

Letter People

Remember the days of the "Letter People"? You know, the happy characters that helped us all learn our alphabet in Kindergarten. Well, I wish there were Arabic Letter People, with coloring sheets that I could post around my bedroom. That would make language learning more exciting. Upon returning from our trip to Syria, I’ve spent the last week and a half attempting to focus on my studies of Arabic, with a set goal of studying for at least 4 hours every day, as my simple, moderately A-D-D-ish mind can’t handle any more than that. Now, after 2 weeks of studying, I can officially say that I can read, albeit quite slow and methodically, in Arabic. Of course, I don’t have any idea of the meaning of the words coming out of my mouth, but I can at least recognize the characters and sound them out. At this point, I sound like a kindergartner attempting to master the sounds of the aforementioned "Letter People.” I long for the day that I'll move up to the lofty "first grade" level...I'm afraid it won't happen any time soon.

So, with the basis of the alphabet now established, I can begin to work on actually speaking. I’ll start with the basic greetings, important vocabulary, and present-tense conjugation of the verbs. Realistically, this is probably as far as I’ll get with Arabic here in Lebanon, as I have under 3 weeks left, assuming, Inshallah (If God wills it), I get a visa to Sudan. I’ll continue my studies in Khartoum, which is better anyway, as the Lebanese Arabic I’m currently learning is quite different from Sudanese.

I apologize that I don't have anything more exciting to report about, but this is one of those seldom occurring boring times in my life. I need to enjoy it while it last, because things will start picking up soon.