"Oh Susannah, Don't you cry for me.
For, I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee!"
I just felt like listing all of the people I know personally in Amman who came her via the long road from Alabama.
1. Umm Farouq at the Southern Muslimah (Homewood)
2. Michon (Guin)
3. Mama Bean (Montgomery)
4. Mama Bean's mama who is actually just visiting but I will count her anyway (Adamsville)
5. Leeanne (Montgomery)
6. Karimah (Gardendale)
7. Reham (Homewood)
8. Kinzi's mom is an Alabama native and they still have family living in Montgomery.
9. Me (Calera)
How 'bout some fried chicken and mashed taters girls?
10. Oh, I guess we can count our (slightly) new Prime Minister of Jordan, Nader Al-Dhahabi who actually received his MA from Auburn University (Class of '89). War Damn Eagle!!!!!!!! I dont actually know him, but we will count him anyway.
It is really, really weird but it seems like for every 10 people who ask where I am from, at least one of them knows someone in Alabama.
1. Guy at the maid's office - brother in Huntsville
2. Taxi Driver - did some kind of military training in Huntsville when he was in the Jordanian Army.
3. Daughter's friend's grandmother's daughter - in Hamawood (translated to Homewood!)
4. Um Farouq's old downstairs neighbors - used to attend Friday prayer in Homewood masjid and heard my husband give khutba years ago! How weird!
Even weirder, Um Farouq and I were driving through Shmesani last week and spotted a red Volvo parked on the street with a "58" county Alabama tag. If I remember correctly, that would be my home county of Shelby County, Alabama. Hmmmmm, who are you mysterious red Volvo driver? I am dying to know!
The list goes on and on and on! Cool, huh?
Friday, April 25, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
It's Just Not Fair!
This morning I had a parent-teacher conference at my son’s school. He is finishing up the 8th grade and it has been a challenging year for both him and for me. Recently, his grades have been on the downslide and I have had some reports from his teachers regarding his attitude and lack of interest in school.
Wanting to get to the root of the problem, instead of just going ballistic on him, I sought the help and guidance of the school counselor and ask her to trail him for a week to find out what was going on. After following him around for the past week, today she was ready to present her report to both me and my son.
According to her perception of the problem, it seems that the main issue my son is facing is that he is hanging out with a bunch of boys from the “other side of the tracks”. The other side of the tracks being tracks which include houses with security guards posted outside and driveways longer than our street.
These boys don’t care about their education. They aren’t respectful of their teachers or their parents. They just don’t care. Why? You would think that the sons of such apparently successful (at least materialistically successful) families would feel immense pressure to succeed.
I am sure that the counselor saw the baffled look I was giving her when she continued with her explanation. Looking directly at my son she explained , “These boys will inherit major corporations from their fathers and will sit at the head of the table regardless of their grades. They will have accountants, secretaries, and assistants who will do all of their thinking for them and they will just be hollow shells who appear to be leaders. They can fail and will always have someone to write them a check to make it all better. You, on the other hand, my dear boy, are going to have to work hard and earn your way in the world so you best start now. You have a lot to give to the world, now get to work!”
Lesson: Life is not always fair. It is not about being fair, it is about working hard and having pride in your accomplishments. It is about the feeling you have when you accomplish something because you deserve it – not because it was given to you.
What a tough, but true lesson for a 14 year old boy. I sure hope he was listening!
Postscript: I suppose he was listening. He is laying at the bottom of my bed finishing up a short story that is due in the morning and has also finished up his math homework.
Score: Spoiled bad boys 0 / Awesomely blunt counselor 1
Wanting to get to the root of the problem, instead of just going ballistic on him, I sought the help and guidance of the school counselor and ask her to trail him for a week to find out what was going on. After following him around for the past week, today she was ready to present her report to both me and my son.
According to her perception of the problem, it seems that the main issue my son is facing is that he is hanging out with a bunch of boys from the “other side of the tracks”. The other side of the tracks being tracks which include houses with security guards posted outside and driveways longer than our street.
These boys don’t care about their education. They aren’t respectful of their teachers or their parents. They just don’t care. Why? You would think that the sons of such apparently successful (at least materialistically successful) families would feel immense pressure to succeed.
I am sure that the counselor saw the baffled look I was giving her when she continued with her explanation. Looking directly at my son she explained , “These boys will inherit major corporations from their fathers and will sit at the head of the table regardless of their grades. They will have accountants, secretaries, and assistants who will do all of their thinking for them and they will just be hollow shells who appear to be leaders. They can fail and will always have someone to write them a check to make it all better. You, on the other hand, my dear boy, are going to have to work hard and earn your way in the world so you best start now. You have a lot to give to the world, now get to work!”
Lesson: Life is not always fair. It is not about being fair, it is about working hard and having pride in your accomplishments. It is about the feeling you have when you accomplish something because you deserve it – not because it was given to you.
What a tough, but true lesson for a 14 year old boy. I sure hope he was listening!
Postscript: I suppose he was listening. He is laying at the bottom of my bed finishing up a short story that is due in the morning and has also finished up his math homework.
Score: Spoiled bad boys 0 / Awesomely blunt counselor 1
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Grandaddy
I read today in my hometown newspaper, The Shelby County Reporter, that my grandfather has finally decided to retire after more than 40 years of service as a selfless public servant and city mayor. Once I read the paper this morning I called my sister, who happens to work in the same office as grandaddy and ask her why she hadn't told me earlier. Granted, I do live on the other side of the world so I usually find everything out last. However, this time I was the first to know! I guess being ahead 8 hours does come in handy sometimes. For example, I get to read the news while they all sleep. Evidently, grandaddy thought it would be easier to let everyone know via mass media that he was retiring as opposed to actually having to talk about it.
I know this must have been an excruciating decision for him. Calera has grown from a one red-light town to a bustling city under his leadership and he has every right to be proud of all of his accomplishments over the past 40 years. I can imagine that he feels like he is putting his child up for adoption, I just hope the adoptive parents do as great a job as he has.
I love you Grandaddy. Now pack up and go take Granny to the beach!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
You Know You're an Ex-Pat Kid When.......
I found this list on Kinzi's blog and it literally had me crying tears of laughter! Not sure if non ex-pats will get it but I am pretty sure my readers living outside their home countries, especially in the ME, will be ROFL!
1. You can’t answer the question, “Where are you from?” (And when you do, you get into an elaborate conversation that gets everyone confused and/or makes you sound very spoiled.)
2. You flew before you could walk.
3. You have a passport, but no driver’s license. (please know American expats, your kids can’t get a drivers license without their ORIGINAL Social Security card. Don’t leave Jordan without it!).
4. You think California is cold. (well, Lake Tahoe does get pretty cold)
5. You watch National Geographic specials and recognize someone.
6. You run into someone you know at every airport.
7. Conversations with friends take place at 6:00 in the morning or 10:00 at night.
8. Your life story uses the phrase “Then we went to…” five times.
9. You can speak with authority about the quality of various international airlines.
10. You feel self conscious around all white people.
11. You get offended when someone turns down an offer for food.
13. You treasure chocolate chips and root beer as highly-valued commodities.
14. You have ever had to wait for prayer call to be over to finish shopping.
15. You are fascinated by any wildlife bigger than a gecko.
16. You know the true meaning of “football.” (and in your mind can hear the shout, “GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”)
17. You know that it truly is a small world.
18. You can tell if the Arabic spoken in a film is that of a native speaker or and Italian or Mexican actor
19. You get all the jokes in ‘Aladdin’.
20. Rain is still one of the most wonderful sounds in the world.
21. You haggle with the checkout clerk at Target for a lower price.
22. Your wardrobe can only handle two seasons: hot and warm.
23. Your school memories include duck-and-cover drills. (Not really mom! At least not in Jordan ;) )
24. You are used to being stared at.
25. You think VISA is a document stamped in your passport, and not a plastic card you carry in your wallet.
1. You can’t answer the question, “Where are you from?” (And when you do, you get into an elaborate conversation that gets everyone confused and/or makes you sound very spoiled.)
2. You flew before you could walk.
3. You have a passport, but no driver’s license. (please know American expats, your kids can’t get a drivers license without their ORIGINAL Social Security card. Don’t leave Jordan without it!).
4. You think California is cold. (well, Lake Tahoe does get pretty cold)
5. You watch National Geographic specials and recognize someone.
6. You run into someone you know at every airport.
7. Conversations with friends take place at 6:00 in the morning or 10:00 at night.
8. Your life story uses the phrase “Then we went to…” five times.
9. You can speak with authority about the quality of various international airlines.
10. You feel self conscious around all white people.
11. You get offended when someone turns down an offer for food.
13. You treasure chocolate chips and root beer as highly-valued commodities.
14. You have ever had to wait for prayer call to be over to finish shopping.
15. You are fascinated by any wildlife bigger than a gecko.
16. You know the true meaning of “football.” (and in your mind can hear the shout, “GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”)
17. You know that it truly is a small world.
18. You can tell if the Arabic spoken in a film is that of a native speaker or and Italian or Mexican actor
19. You get all the jokes in ‘Aladdin’.
20. Rain is still one of the most wonderful sounds in the world.
21. You haggle with the checkout clerk at Target for a lower price.
22. Your wardrobe can only handle two seasons: hot and warm.
23. Your school memories include duck-and-cover drills. (Not really mom! At least not in Jordan ;) )
24. You are used to being stared at.
25. You think VISA is a document stamped in your passport, and not a plastic card you carry in your wallet.
A Gift Better than Gold
My dear husband recently came home for a super short and condensed mini-visit from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and brought his ever-loving and slightly gluttonous wife a gift more precious than gold. For my readers in the US, you are probably scratching your heads and wondering what could be better than a gift that cost almost $1000 an ounce. For my fellow American expats who have been away from home for a while, you will understand the answer!
Nothing like a light and fluffy glazed Krispy Kreme donut to make my heart grow fonder. Thanks honey.
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