Happy Eid Al-Adha!

I constantly forget how many people I know who attended my old school that are Muslim, but then facebook reminds me! I bet the blogosphere in Iran is all abuzz! Too bad I don't speak Farsi.

To fellow Americans out there (but especially abroad! I know how you feel darlings!) Happy Thanksgiving!

Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces

In class we've watched a very strange movie called Halfaouine. I think what struck me the most about the film was the obsession the main character (who is only 13!) has with sex. It excludes all else in his life and yes, he's 13, so he can't be incredibly mature or anything, but it really bothered me when the servant girl he played around with was sent away and all he can do is smile. Another interesting thing in the film was how the men may own the spaces women spend their time, but it was the women in the film who ultimately made the decisions that affected the household. The men may let the girl in, but it's the women who kick her out when her attractiveness becomes a liability. At one point the man of the house tries to kick out his wife's cousin because she wears and does what she wants, but as soon as it's discovered she can contribute to the house, he leaves it alone and she continues to do what she wants.

Now there's a Muslim Barbie!

Story here

Paradise Now!

For once, couldn't there be a happy Sayid??

Honor Kllings

I had a thought today. I was a little horrified to hear about another so-called "honor" killing. But then I was thinking and it occurred to me that most murders in the U.S. are committed by someone who knew the victim. Why is it so much more contraversial that people kill out of misguided religious beliefs when every day someone in the U.S. is killed by someone they love?

The Muslim Diaspora

I miss my old school when we have discussions like this; I knew girls there who wore veils and had arranged marriages, but I never did gain the courage to ask them how they felt about that. Islam is frequently cited to be the fastest growing religion in the world so it's really no wonder that there are Muslims everywhere. NPR had a story about an American girl who has not lived in Pakistan for 20 years, but who is reluctantly agreeing to let her parents find a husband for her there. I was surprised the article said that her veil scared potential husbands way, because they thought she would be too conservative for them. In Pakistan?? In any case, I can understand the girl's point of view. How do you keep the traditions of your culture, but also have the life you want, when you've lived in America for so many years? In some ways this debate is the opposite of the young adults in Iran who celebrate Valentine's Day. I don't know what the answer is.

Appearences

I dyed my hair again; this time it's Burgundy. I think I will dye it one more time- maybe that dark, dark blue that looks black- before returning it to its natural shade. I have time. There is a little more than two months before I travel to Jordan.

S.I.T. asked us to send in pictures of us with our friends where none of us show our arms, legs, shoulders or necklines. I had to get my friends to take new ones with me since we had no such pictures on hand. I think I freaked them out a little. The Jordanian teenager on trial now for allegedly trying to blow up a skyscraper in Dallas has everyone on edge but me. I figure it could've just as easily been an American on trial for the same thing. We forget that Americans have committed terrorist acts against our country too.

In class the other day someone mentioned how it would be hard to have any kind of relationship with a student who has a headscarf obscuring her face. Now I wonder if the people I meet in Jordan will feel it's hard to have one with someone who doesn't. I'm not sure how common it is for people not to wear one there. I've tried looking it up, but the answers I get are conflicted. The Jordanian girl I knew from London hasn't replied to my e-mail. I really, really want to get along with my home stay family, but I'm afraid our relationship will be more akin to a two-way psych experiment than an actual family. I really hope they are liberal; otherwise I think we will be too different.