Ticket Counters

I'm sure many you have had the unfortunate experience of being pulled over and ticketed for some traffic violation. I believe part of what makes that entire process effective in addition to whatever fine, paperwork and court time you have to endure, is the discomfort of seeing people drive by rubbernecking and ogling at your unenviable situation.

Yemenis are spared that fate. Traffic officers here do not pull over offenders. Instead, from their traffic perch, they record the offender's license plate and the offense and submit it to the central office at the end of the day. Drivers periodically go by the traffic office to receive a print out of their offenses and pay their fines.

I see a couple issues with this system. First, it misses the emotional impact of being pulled over (which may wear off the more time s you're pulled over but initially has some traction). It also seems vulnerable to arbitrary tickets and lazy law enforcement. Not to point any fingers but I'm learning that if you're looking for the police, the shade is a good place to start your search.

Aden Speedway

Fasting during Ramadan ends with the Magrib call to prayer. At the beginning of the month that call was around 6:30 and it has slowly moved earlier as the month as progressed. Life in Aden slows down noticeably as that time approaches. People, tired from a day of work and fasting, make their way home early leaving the streets empty and quiet. Too quiet.

Empty and quiet except for the few employees and bus drivers that worked later and are itching to get home. The mixture of an open road and an empty stomach produces some wicked fast driving. I had the trill of traveling to a friend's home around that time a few days ago and needless to say, it was the fastest trip to his house I had made.

I arrived safely but now may be an appropriate moment to mention the absence of a seat belt culture in Yemen. I am laughed at when I instinctively reach for the seat belt and usually there is not one to be found as it has been stuffed underneath the seat. This prevailing attitude predictably and sadly correlates with shocking numbers of fatal car accidents in Yemen. Roads in disrepair, high speeds, and not wearing a seat belt claim too many Yemeni lives.

I wonder if the interest or infrastructure exists to conduct a shock advertisement campaign to motivate drivers and passengers into wearing their seat belts. I don't think 'click it' and 'ticket' rhyme in Arabic so that slogan won't work unfortunately. What about ticketing drivers that don't wear their belts? It's likely that won't work with Yemen's strange ticket system. More on that later.

Unhitched

A western friend of mind here in Aden told me about her experience attending a wedding in Yemen. Here are the highlights. I relate this to you second hand as I will never ever ever be allowed to see the female side of a Yemeni wedding so please, if anyone has any corrections or comments, I welcome them.

My friend told me about the private gathering for women that occurs while everyone waits for the bride and groom to arrive. I presume men have their own separate gathering but I'm not sure. At the women's gathering, since there are no men around, all the women take off their vails and abayyas and apparently it is quite normal for them to wear shockingly inappropriate dresses. These dresses even shocked my friend who grew up in the West where we are comparatively loose with our sexuality, dress and appearance in public. I have seen these dresses in shop stores and I have asked myself, 'who on earth buys those here?' and 'where do they wear them?' because public life in Aden is conservative and reserved. Now I know. Loud music is played and women dance or sit and try to talk over the tunes.

Then, when word comes that the bride and groom are coming, all the women put their vails and abayyas back on, hiding again what their dresses tried in vain to hide. The couple arrives, makes the rounds, and the party pauses until the groom leaves signaling again for the vails and abayyas to come off.

I am so curious how this celebration developed. Specifically, why the revealing dresses? Is it rebellion? It can't be for comfort.

It's a Party!

I got a hair cut today. My hair was pretty long. It was time. I was a little nervous going into it as it was my first time getting a haircut in the Arab world. I was also timid because the teenagers here have the CRAZIEST hair styles you have ever seen. I asked the barber about that and he couldn't understand their styles either. As for my hair, I asked the barber to take it slow and not to make any bold moves. I think things turned out okay.

While I was getting my haircut, a friend of the barber's came into the little shop. We started chatting and he asked me if I spoke any other languages. I said Spanish and he started speaking Spanish. My brain was not ready for that. My Spanish is buried under years of other courses and languages. After overcoming than the shock of trying to excavate my Spanish, I wondered how did this man come to speak Spanish?

He learned in Cuba. Aden, following the end of the British rule here in 1966 (?), became part of the Communist bloc and many Yemenis had the chance to study in other communist countries such Russia, East Germany and Cuba. I am often first asked if I am Russian. The student exchange and study opportunity aspect of Communism is definitely overlooked. It's like Club Med but on a country scale. Well, not really but we can imagine it like that. When Communism didn't pan out in Russia, the Yemenis were sent home trained, unfortunately, in useless field such as railroad maintenance (Yemen doesn't have any rail lines.)

Too bad you can't ask for your money back.

From Kuwait with Love

Ramadan is here. People were out until early hours (around when the power went out) and the streets were quiet and buses hard to find this morning. Things will be even quieter at the time ofthe Magrib prayer that ends the fast for the day as everyone is home break-fasting.

A sign of the season here, and I'm sure other Arab cities, is the return of workers from Gulf states and their inappropriately large cars on the streets of Aden. It is typical for workers returning home for the holiday season to make the long haul from Emirates or Kuwait home to Yemen. In case your geography is so-so, here's a map:

Kuwait is nestled between Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia and Aden is in the far southwestern tip of the Peninsula. Long way. Something tells me too that there's not a friendly string of Motel 8s to make the drive easier.

Many Arab states rely on remittances from native sons and daughters that move to the rich gulf states for work to keep societies with high employment rates afloat. Yemen impressively and surprisingly survived such blows when Saudi Arabia expelled large numbers of Yemeni workers in the Kingdom, the most recent expulsion coming this past December. Those are double shocks - not only did they lose the remittances but they had to absorb those workers into the domestic work force. The regime might not have done so smoothly but they're still around.

Lending a Hand

I saw a Muslim funeral procession through my neighborhood today. According to Islamic traditions, if you see a funeral pass, you should join the procession for at least a couple steps and if you're able, you should take a turn carrying the casket. The tradition goes that you do that for others so when your funeral comes, others do it for you. I like that idea.

Ramadan starts this coming Tuesday or Wednesday depending on the moon. Ramadan is a time of fasting, reflection and prayer for Muslims worldwide. They abstain from food, water, and intercourse from sunrise to sun down. The entire Qur'an is read in mosques during the month and the end of the month is marked by a large celebration. I was in Egypt during Ramadan two years ago but apparently the rhythm of life in Yemen during Ramadan is much different. People sleep later and after breaking their fasts, stay out until the wee morning hours. It should be fun.

Matt's cooking corner: So, I thought I knew the word for lentils. I was wrong because the other night I tried to make lentils but things went horribly horribly wrong. The result was crunchy and bland. Oh, did I mention that I was cooking peas, not lentils? This guy got duped. I must have run into the world's most savvy pea salesman and he got me. I have since done my homework and I am happy to report having successfully fixed a lentil meal.