"Haboob" Hits Phoenix

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If you haven't watched these time-lapse videos of this storm making its way across the city of Phoenix, they are definitely worth watching. This storm looks like something supernatural out of a Harry Potter movie. For another view worth watching, check out this great clip of the storm from Scott Wood Photography. Finally, from a slightly different perspective, and the video that I think is the best of all, a clip of what it looked like to drive into the storm.  

I had never heard the word "haboob" used to describe a dust storm in the U.S. before. As an Arabic linguist, I was very familiar with a similar word in Arabic which can be used to refer to grains, cereals, seeds, kernels (among other things like berries, acne, pustules and pimples). Probably the closest approximation of that word in English would be (huboob). I thought that maybe the word "haboob" had something to do with grains of sand or dust flying through the air, but that is not where this word comes from.

It turns out that the term "haboob" is also from a very similar term in Arabic, but it is spelled with a different "H." While "haboob" is a term that I may have heard a couple of times to describe a very specific wind in the Sahara, I don't remember hearing it used to refer to dust storms in general before. It's always fun to find a new Arabic word being used in English. I will have to ask some of my friends who are native speakers of Arabic about the root word, which is "habb" (which has all sorts of meanings dealing with movement, one of which apparently is: "to gust," as in wind).

It's so interesting how even after so many years I can still find words that seem so basic, but which somehow haven't yet been placed into my memory banks. It seems that I often retain only the first word that I learned for a particular concept. After that, I get into the habit of using that word exclusively, and others that come up wind up being looked up in the dictionary many times before becoming a part of my repertoire.

In this case, the Arabic word that I've always used for wind is "rih, pl: riyah / arwah," which, interestingly enough, comes from same root as a common word for "soul" (not to mention the words for "fart," and conveniently enough "smell" and "odor" as well). A fascinating language indeed, and one whose nuances and connections never cease to fill me with wonder at its complexity and its beauty.

Anyway, I witnessed a dust storm very much like this Phoenix storm when I was living in Yuma, Arizona back in the late 80's / early 90's time-frame. I was probably trucking along in our family's '73 Dodge "hippy" van (that had a moonscape on the side, a 17' aluminum canoe top, and a converted interior, complete with sink, refrigerator, and a bed). I loved that van... It was fascinating to watch the valley disappear bit by bit beneath the storm as it moved from east to west. I had a great, elevated vantage point near Arizona Western College from which to watch the storm's advance down-river, across the irrigated farmlands, towards the city. It was a fantastic sight that I will never forget.

Here is a video from The Weather Channel on YouTube of the live coverage that occurred when the Phoenix storm first hit.

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Light Bulb Shops - Cairo and Shreveport.

When I was in Cairo in 2007, I saw a light bulb shop. I thought to myself at the time that I would never see anything like that in the states. I was wrong. There is a light bulb shop in Shreveport.

and so it begins...

the craziness

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1050707.ece

Timbuktu Renaissance

100,000 ancient manuscripts have been kept hidden and protected in and around Timbuktu for centuries. Now, in what is being described as a modern day renaissance, Malians (in cooperation with South African, Libyan, and African American scholars)are doing what they can to preserve these priceless works.

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/witness/2009/01/20091482854652890.html

World's Smelliest Spice - Aramco World Article

First mentioned in an inventory of the gardens of Babylon in the eighth century BC, "Devil's Dung" the world's smelliest spice has a smell described in this Aramco World article as: "a sulfurous blend of manure and overcooked... cabbage, all with the nose-wrinkling pungency of a summer dumpster." When heated in oil however it disintegrates and exudes "a rich, savory scent, reminiscent of sauteed onions."

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200904/devil.s.dung-the.world.s.smelliest.spice.htm

Arabic Teaching

Today I enjoyed tutoring 8 Arabic students. Four of them are taking a beginning Arabic class that meets weekly on Monday afternoons at the Sally J. Griffin Center in Pacific Grove. The others meet in two pairs that meet weekly to learn in-depth Arabic grammar concepts. I try to present my lessons in an easy-to-follow, no-nonsense style that, hopefully, makes learning the language easier and more fun for my students.

Today was a great day in my teaching experience. The beginning language students (those who have never had any training in the language before meeting with me) were speaking in complete sentences for the first time. They were able to ask where their peers were from, to give answers in Arabic and finally to summarize what they had learned about their fellow students. The more experienced students, who are looking for a more complete grasp of and facility with grammatical concepts, were all "getting it" today. I love it when I can see that what I'm trying to do is working, especially in this field where I spent so much of my time feeling frustrated, confused, and hopeless.

Now I'm at a friend's house saying hello to the cat every once in a while when she peeks around the corner of the steps to greet me with a timid "Mrrrow!"

To My Military Friends

Since I've put out the Patriots Act! song on the music site, I think I owe a bit of an explanation to those friends of mine that are in the military.

I have the highest respect for those who are taking part in the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of the finest people that I've ever met were fellow military members. I'm thankful for my time in the service and for the friendships that have endured my transition.

I respect what each of you is doing, in your own significant way, to make the world a safer and a better place for all of us to live in. You may be putting your life on the line daily. I agonize over the sacrifices that you are being called to make.

I do feel (as I have since the day that we invaded Iraq) that there are serious problems with the way that our government has chosen to execute the war on terror. I hope that the situations in Afghanistan and Iraq end well. I would be extremely satisfied to see a stable outcome in 20 years. If that happens, it will be, in part, due to the backbreaking, and gutwrenching work that you are doing right now, and every day. If that doesn't happen, it won't be your fault... it will be despite your best efforts.

I left the military because I was not willing to take the risk, however remote, that I might be asked to play a role (any role) in an interrogation that did not observe what I believe to be basic human rights. I could not countenance our country's slipping backwards towards the tacit approval of interrogation techniques that would have been considered torture in the past. If that decision could be made in secret without our knowledge and without permission, what other decisions have been made that we are still unaware of?

Another reason that I left is because I believe that our Commander in Chief broke the law when he authorized what I see as the illegal wiretapping of American citizens. (illegal mostly because the directive was given in secret, without Congressional consent initially, when the laws already in place gave the intelligence community the resources needed to do its job). I left because one of the organizations that I was associated with during my military career appears to have been one of those initially responsible for allowing and facilitating this illegal action taking away basic privacy rights from all of us. I was not willing to work for an organization that I feel was not following the rule of law, no matter how noble its motives.

I hope that you will understand that my words are not aimed at the military personnel, and are not meant to hurt their cause. I believe that one of the greatest freedoms that we defend, is the freedom to criticize the policies of our government leaders when we feel that they are wrong-minded. I thank you, sincerely, for defending my freedom to do so, as I defended the freedom of others to do the same when I myself was wearing the uniform.

I swore an oath when I entered the Air Force in 1992. Supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic is a noble endeavor, and one that I could perform with a clean conscience. Obeying the orders of the President of the United States and those of the officers appointed over me became a thing that I could no longer swear to do without question, and with complete trust. That is the most important reason why it was time for me to leave.

Now I am allowed to have a voice, and I hope that in using that voice, I will not lose your friendship.

An Important Story from Iraq

Here is an important story in today's edition of The Times of London, about how one American soldier's efforts in Iraq have paid off.

Travis Patriquin was killed in Iraq in December, but his legacy lives on in Ramadi.

This article may influence your view of what is possible throughout Iraq with the right guidance.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article2358061.ece

You can also hear commentary on this article on today's episode of "The World" from PRI at:

http://www.theworld.org/wma.php?id=083107full

First Night in Cairo

The first night that we arrived in Cairo was such a jam-packed experience that I'm not sure that I can do the story justice. You have to imagine police everywhere, hundreds of people packed into the reception area looking towards the customs inspection area, and a lot of speaking in Arabic going on.

The guy who met us at the airport was right there with a big sign that had my name and our school's name written clearly in English, with bold black letters. He was very friendly and immediately helped us all to get our visas. We had been instructed to bring exactly $15.00 (a ten and a five) because getting change would be difficult. Luckily I had two tens because they didn't want to take the first one that I offered them as it was a bit crinkly and less than perfect. We were guided to our luggage pickup location and then handed off to another person who guided us through the throng of eager welcomers to a place outside where we were led by a third person to our bus. The sheer number of people waiting at the airport was unlike anything that I've ever seen in any public space at any time in my life.

The variety of clothing types, the rich and multi-colored fabrics, the chatter in standard Arabic and several different dialects all at once was at once overwhelming and enchanting. There is a unique scent in the air that is not at all unpleasant, just identifiable and special.

The ride in the bus was really extraordinary. We seemed to be going at light speed through a maze of cars, motorcycles and pedestrians. It reminded me of being in a school of small fish that had just been rushed by a group of predators, who themselves were being chased by even larger meat eaters. Motorcycles with Kentucky Fried Chicken and Chili's placards written in Arabic and English, as well as the less recognizable homegrown delivery restaurants, mixed effortlessly with the hordes of black and white taxicabs, private cars driven by jaded-looking older women, and souped up BMW's driven by hip looking twenty-somethings wearing finely tailored suits.

All were driving without stopping or even slowing down at all for the pedestrians who were crossing the tumultuous streets constantly, weaving slowly through the non-stop traffic, seemingly oblivious to the chaos all around them. The drivers didn't pause once, not for the women and children, not for the ambulance wailing close behind. We heard the approaching siren blaring, and eventually a voice over a loud speaker from the ambulance repeating over and over in Arabic: "Move towards the right! Move towards the right! We have injured! Move to the right!" Our taxicab driver explained in dialect that nobody who leaves in an ambulance in Cairo with serious injuries lives to see the hospital, "because, as you can see, the traffic in Cairo is a catastrophe."

We arrived first at the apartment where the women who are with us would be staying. The bus stopped on the side of the street where it joined with another side street. The woman who was responsible for getting us settled into our new homes got out of the bus and motioned for a few of us to start unloading the women's luggage. Visualize this, there were two rows of cars parked along the right side of this street where we stopped. We were stopped basically in what was still a moving lane of traffic, and the only way to get the women's luggage out was to dig it out from under all of the other luggage and pass it out through the back window of the bus, where the bus driver and I would catch it while standing in the street, all the while waving off every car that passed us while the drivers honked madly and swerved unsettlingly into the traffic that was still streaming by at full speed in the other lane.

I now know that a human version of Frogger exists. It starts at about level 140, and you only get one quarter to play. The situation on the roads is absolutely insane. Sometimes I actually want to catch a cab (of which there are always 15 in view either pulling up next to you trying to get your attention, or driving by) just to get across the street.

On that note, I saw an Arabic cartoon version of "The Mummy" today. When the mummy turns himself into a whirlwind and is coming after the archaelogists' sidekick to capture him, the sidekick says to himself "Oh my god, I'd rather ride in a taxi than get caught in that evil wind!" That just about sums it up.

Our initial introduction to our apartments left us in awe of what is possible here with what we would consider to be a relatively small amount of money. They are posh and expansive, with fancy furniture and antique looking hard wood cabinetry along every wall. We have 3 large apartments for our 8 students, and each apartment has 3 large bedrooms, a living room, a "receiving room" a large dining room, a full-size kitchen, a master outside porch overlooking our neighborhood, as well as a private porch attached to each bedroom. Wow! We were blown away.

By the time we got to our rooms we had been traveling for over 25 hours, counting all of our flights and layovers, so we were ready to sink into our large, comfortable beds for a short night's sleep, ready to begin class first thing Sunday morning at 8:30am. (The work week here goes from Sunday = Thursday.)

I awoke at 4:40am that first Sunday morning to the beautiful sound of two muezzins singing out the call to prayer from two different locations, one very close, and one off in the distance. It seemed that they were purposely harmonizing with each other from miles apart. The sound was purely magical. That first call was followed by calls from gradually more distant locations, until about 10 minutes later, the last gorgeous notes rose gently into the air, replaced by the lively and energetic sounds of the waking birds. More bird sounds than I've heard in any city at one time, more birds than I heard on those first misty, deep green Virginia mornings that enchanted my teenage self two decades ago.
So passed the first night, and the last week has been seven days filled with more firsts than seconds. There are stories to tell, and memories to last a lifetime.

Interesting Blog

So I found this blog because the author has created a site that transforms SATTS into Arabic Script. He was an Arabic linguist in the Army, spent time in Iraq, and is out now. He has a page that lists several reasons for avoiding the military which, sadly, probably resonates easily with those who would actually consider leaving the military, and probably leaves many who would never consider leaving wondering what the heck he's talking about. He also has a page where he typed in letters from children that he received while he was in Iraq.

Here is the main page:
http://207.228.243.90/

The page with letters from children:
http://207.228.243.90/mypage.php?main=kidz%2ephp

Picnics! (and harlots)

Today I taught a listening class today all about picnics. We discussed the differences between a picnic in the mountains and a picnic at the ocean using good pictures that I had downloaded from the internet. The students listened to sentences and filled in missing words, then they listened to a passage and tried to take notes and recreate the original article in their own words. It was a fun class.

Now I'll meet with the other instructors to discuss the classes we taught, and then I have to go for my Air Force run on the exercise trail along the ocean. It's a gorgeous day here today. I'm looking forward to getting outside.

I learned something interesting when I was trying to find out if the Arabic word that I discovered yesterday that translates "unchaste woman" could also literally mean harlot, whore, or prostitute (I think you'll agree that in English an unchaste woman isn't necessarily any one of the others - although a spurned lover might call her these things). I learned that the word "harlot", as it was originally used, could describe a man with no fixed occupation. Hmmm... from an Air Force language instructor to a harlot... I can't wait to add that line to my resume'!

"Hoo-kah Are You-kah...?"

Here is a picture (taken with the cell phone) of an illustration that I drew and used in class on Thursday when our assignment was to teach a short segment on a "cultural item". I chose the hookah, but I didn't have one handy, as mine was shattered a few months ago when a student unwittingly dropped the canvas bag that it was in onto a concrete slab (gasp!) (I didn't have the heart to tell him). So... I put my amazing artistic skills to work, and Voila! A Hookah!

Teaching the Teachers

I'm currently enrolled in a month long course aimed at training instructors how to do their jobs more effectively. Today I taught an Arabic class while being observed by one of my colleagues from the course. The class I was teaching concentrated buying and selling cars in the Middle East. I had each student read one unique car-sales advertisement on their own, and then I asked them all to confer with each other to fill in a sheet that asked for particular details about each car. Then we talked about which car was the best, and which was the best bargain. All of this was done in Arabic. These students are only a few weeks into the course, so their ability is pretty impressive. Next, I observed my fellow trainee, who is a French teacher, while she was teaching her French class.

It was a fun exercise in trying to plan ahead and incorporate some of the methods that we've been learning in this instructor training course. It is interesting to be in a classroom where everybody knows the language but you. It gave me some real insight into what it would be like to come to the U.S. without knowing any English. I was able to pick up on quite a bit of the French anyway, and I was pleased with that.

This afternoon all of the teachers in this training course will meet to discuss how our lessons went, what went well and what didn't. We'll share our observations of the teachers we were assigned to observe, and we'll discuss possible solutions to problems or difficulties that we discovered. The training is worthwhile and useful. I only wish that I had been given the opportunity to take this training a couple of years ago.

Arabic Phrase

ALMGRWS IOAF MN JR ALHBL

The one bitten by the snake is scared by a rope that is being tugged.

Adventurers of the Year!

I finally downloaded iTunes 7 - It's about time! (How about that for excitement?)

The teachers on my teaching old teams are all getting assigned to their new classes and so now are shuffling around, playing musical offices. Today was full of desk moving and broken-chair stacking. I've finally figured out that I'm going to have to get rid of some of these Arabic books someday... I don't think I'll ever get around to reading 98% of them. (They're all grammar books and books for students with boring language exercises in them... I want to read Arabic poetry and classic stories and ancient texts!)

Tomorrow iPods will be distributed to my students, who will be busy downloading their courseware onto those blessed little devices (which replace the 150 cassettes that we used to be issued back in the "old days"). This means I'll be filling out hand receipts for them all day and getting to learn their social security numbers before I know what they look like.

Meanwhile I am still spending all of my free time in the evenings working on Algebra until my test on Thursday.

Speaking of ways to spend your free time... this engaged couple has got it figured out! Colin Angus and Julie Wafaei are the first people to circumnavigate the globe completely by self-propulsion. They have been named "Adventurers of the Year" by National Geographic's Adventure Magazine. For more on their amazing story, check out this link at NPR's website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6543408

Wow! I get hot and bothered just thinking about it!