Bus wreckage at Kahale

Bus remains at Kahale
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.

Kahale is a town along the Damascas highway, which is the road I have to use to get to Beirut. Kahale is a very bad curve. So sometimes buses crash along the side. This was ummm, interesting. . . because they didn't clean it up for about a month. They left all the wreckage with the bloody seats and everything for about a month. To serve as a warning to the drivers to slow down and not drive like lunatics.

The school in Gaza. . .what could have been. . .

Here are some excerpts from e-mails from a teacher who works at our sister school in Cairo. We met at the job fair in Boston where I got hired to teach in Gaza.
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Two of the other teachers are escapeee's from our sister school in Gaza. They are full of stories of rockets being fired and the little freedom they had living there. Three weeks ago the school was attacked by militants...stories of masked gunmen, caring machine guns, running in the halls looking to capture teachers...students screeming in terror...finally took four teachers...two they held for kidnapping negotiations. Two support staff shot!!! Needless to say they are very traumatized...and to think you and I were open to a Gaza assignment when they offered me Cairo...as the palapa turns!!!

As for the gaza thing...the only teachers that were kidnapped were released in a couple of days..unhurt but very tramatized...About 12 of them came to Cairo (on esol ticket) and hung out for about 10 days...then administration had a big meeting with them and about nine of them returned to the school yesterday. I guess they were offered a bonus to return. Most of them want to get their stuff and finish the year/contract...money trip home etc...
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What's a palapa?

Taiwan. . . finally.

Denise and I (in Hong Kong)
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.

I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged. In late August, I finally went to Taiwan!!! Denise was my best friend in elementary school. I still remember the day in second grade when the new Chinese girl arrived to our class. She lived down the street. We were in Girl Scouts together. I was always at her house-- eating the food, listening to the language, and fighting with her cousin. In eighth grade, she spent the year there. So we wrote each other letters. That was the time in the 80's when my dad was doing a lot of business in Taiwan. So I've always wanted to go, my whole life. And I finally went.

I absolutely loved it. Denise has a ton of cousins and aunts and uncles and her grandma. They were all super-nice and adopted me. They said I should move there. . . .I'm considering it.

I also started picking up some Chinese and figuring out some of the basic characters. Denise thinks Chinese is easier than Arabic and that if I stayed there I'd be able to pick it up.

Then there's this fantasy I have of becoming a ninja. This isn't new for most of you. Well, I was thinking about that, too. If I moved there, could I do some serious training . . .but then I realized it would all be in Chinese, and that would be slightly complicated.

The pictures of Taiwan are at www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum35.html. And I have a separate album just for food at www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum38.html. For some reason, I take a lot of pictures of food.

At a Buddhist Temple

At a Buddhist Temple
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.

A white girl in Asia

"Blackie" Toothpate
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.

September 1, 2005 was the first day that did not see another white person. In fact, I didn't see another non-Chinese person. I knew it would happen. Previous days I would be disappointed because that one random white person would show up. But this day I went to the gym, to a supermarket, and out with Denise's family, and I didn't see another white person.

People here don't stare. They kind of don't even look twice. At the gym, we went to this famous guy's dance class, and when he saw me, he made a big deal about the "white person" and then started talking to me in English and asking me questions. He was being funny and showing off.

A couple times I thought I saw white people, but then I'd look again and realize they were Chinese. When you're over here, you see the great range of Asian people. Like in the U.S., or Lebanon, or anywhere else, you have stylish people and nerdy people and sporty people and teenage-punk people and ugly people and pretty people and skinny people and yes, even fat people. In fact, they are of all sizes and shapes and styles. Yes, I am just stating the obvious. But really, having grown up outside of Asia, my whole perspective on Asians has been perverted. I, like many of you (who also didn't grow up in Asia), have many fixed stereotypes/images/what-have-you of Asian people. Like they're all quite and dorky and good with technology and probably play music and tennis and they all kind of look the same. When I started confusing Asian people for white people because maybe they had some sort of style or something non-typically Asian (what some might consider just normal American features), I realized how perverted my thinking is.

And also, the guys are hot! Seriously. Being one of those typical non-Asian people, I never really considered Asian guys too attractive. But in Taiwan, there are so many hot guys. And I was also surprised by how tall people were. Maybe because I've been living outside the U.S. (where everyone has been fed too well and is too tall. . .and fat), I thought that the Taiwanese were actually the same height as other people, and not all short. (This surprised me.)

So it all made me realize how warped people's personalities become when they are racial minorities in a place where people hate their race. MLK, Jr. describes this in his speeches. So does James Baldwin and a lot of other African-American writers, but it's a very similar thing with Asians, which isn't as voiced or acknowledged.

Here in Asia, it seemed about half the advertisements and magazine covers were Asian women; the other half were white.

What is socially acceptable in Taiwan concerning blackness and dark skin was kind of shocking to my American sensibilities. They sell blackie toothpaste because it seems that black people have whiter teeth. See "the blackie" with the fro on the toothpaste bottle. (For a more sophisticated discussion of Darlie Toothpaste, go to www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/002689.html. And then there's "More White, More Beautiful". There are a range of beauty products to lighten one's skin, by all the standard international companies, L'Oreal, Nivea, etc. . . .They even make whitening deodorant??? You can see the pictures at www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum40.html. And then I saw a disturbing advertisement to help world hunger with the stereotypical poor African women, breastfeeding her starving baby. It was pretty graphic.

Here in Lebanon, my favorite candy is a big chocolate-covered marshmallow, known as Ras al-Abd, "the Head of the Slave." Even in this day and age, people use the word "Abd" in Arabic to refer to black people. There is actually a newer term, which I use, called Tarboush, the red, fez, Ottoman-style hat. But when I use that word, the local shop owners don't know what I'm talking about.

Dubai

Bourj al Arab
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.

Dubai is a monstosity. I hated it. Now most Lebanese people are surprised when I say this. They're like, "It's nice. . ." But really they all hate it, too. But they have to say it's nice because they all have some relative over there or maybe they, themselves, will have to go there to make money. But it's horrible and ugly and no one would chose to live there. They just go because that's where the money is, so it's nice.

I hopped on the bus tour and got to see a million malls and five star hotels. I got to see Bourj Dubai in its construction phase. Currently, Taipei 101 (which I had just seen) is the tallest building in the world at 500 m. In two years, it will be Bourj Dubai at 950 m, and they're making it so they can extend it, if need be.

They have a mall with an indoor ski slope. They're building a hotel--underwater. And the real estate is just going like hot cakes to people from all over the world who are investing like crazy. The whole place is under construction. People are coming all the time.

I saw the headquarters of CNN, Showtime, ESPN, and all the media centers. Prime Minister Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has done an amazing job of attracting businesses and foreign investment through smart regulations and laws.

But it was hot as hell. I could see the sand just floating, just sitting in the air. No one goes outside. It gets to about 40 degrees in the summer. (I have no idea what that is in Fahrenheit.) And they have really nice malls.

It was pretty disgusting and scary, and I couldn't figure out why anyone would go there for their vacation. If you have to go there for work, that's one thing--but on holiday??? Why? . . .They say because the shopping is good.

I didn't take out my camera very much. It was my first time in the Gulf, and it was almost exactly as I had pictured it. Just like Houston but hotter, and the people were those sterotypical Arab clothes. The pictures are at www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum34.html.

Hong Kong

Soo Jung and I
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.

This is from Chris's e-mail on what to do in Hong Kong. We didn't do 7, 8, and 9.

1) Take star ferry to Kowloon. Actually best at night
2) Hike up to victoria peak (and take the tram back down)
3) Seafood on either lamma or lantau island
4) Take double-decker bus to Stanley market. Sit at the first seat on the upper deck
5) Dimsum at City Hall. Location is near the Star Ferry in Cental near the ocean.
6) Get drunk at lam kuai fung. Really doesn't matter where.
7) Take tram to happy valley to go horseracing.
8) If you can, take a junk trip with some other friends. Go swimming in the filthy water
9) Go to karoake at least one night at any of the trendy places.
10) Get at least one foot massage. In fact get lots
11) For good chasiu food and the duck you asked about, go to the place whose name I forgot. It is on wellington street on the first right when you are walking up the hill to go to lamkuaifung form Queen's road central. I know I will remember the name. AHHHH. Yongkei!!!! That's it.

You can see the photos at www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum36.html. And you can see random street scenes and signs at www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum37.html.

Bangkok

Me and the Reclining Buddha
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.

Bangkok was absolutley beautiful. My flight landed at about 10 in the morning, and my next flight was past midnight. So I had the whole day to run around the city. Not only did I stuff my face with real Thai food (which actually happened to be a lot like the Taiwanese food I had been eating for the past week), but I went to some amazing palaces and temples, did a little canal tour, and went to a Thai kickboxing match. I was standing in the cheapest section with all the Thai men yelling their bets. It started around 6, and lasts way into the night. I really, however, wasn't impressed by the fighting skills. I figured they put the amateurs on first, and I didn't get to stick around long enough to see the good stuff. I recorded a little video. You can see it and the pictures at www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum39.html.

After the kickboxing match, I went to a night market, and did some serious shopping. I had to buy extra bags to check on the plane. Of course, that wasn't hard to find. Everyone told me the shopping in Bangkok is no joke. I only wish I had taken out more money. I bought an amazing blouse/skirt fancy outfit, with a matching turqoise purse, a bunch of bags, candles, incense, and jewelry. It was all beautiful and cheap. . . And of course, I stuffed my face with fried tofu, cooked and jellied fruits, and some sesame things they were selling on the street. Somehow I didn't find the mango sticky rice that everyone told me to get.

The place is very tourist friendly. There are beaches, which of course I didn't get to. And it's cheap (well, after you've bought the ticket). I highly recommend it.

Palestine--Almost There and Back

I decided to go to Palestine. I e-mailed a bunch of people and told them to pray for me--that I wouldn't have visa problems. But more importantly, to feel like I wasn't going alone--that my friends would be with me in their prayers as I finally made my spiritual pilgrimage. As most of you know . . . why am I here in the Middle East? Why do I study Arabic? Because I've always wanted to be in the place where Jesus lived and walked.

I told everyone not to tell my mom. So I didn't tell my family. I knew she would freak out. I decided she could hear about it all when I got back. But it bothered me. I don't lie to my mom. I did once when I was little. I remember the whole incident. And I honestly don't think I ever did it again.

And then it would require lying at the border. I was going to work with a Palestinian refugee camp, but of course I would have to NOT say that to the Israeli soldiers. Instead, I would just be a clueless American, Christian pilgrim.

So what made me think I could actually go, considering I don't have a second passport? Well, I called the U.S. embassy in Amman from Beirut. I explained to the woman that I don't have a second passport and that I have Lebanese residence and a job here. She told me to check in to the embassy and that they would give me the piece of paper for the Israelis to stamp. She said this was normal procedure and happens all the time and there shouldn't be a problem. So with that conversation, I felt I had the green light.

I prayed about it, and felt fine. And seven hours later, I was in Amman. By the time I got to the U.S. embassy to check in and get the piece of paper, the office was closed. It was 1 in the afternoon. I'd have to come back at 9 the next morning. I was pissed. I didn't know anyone in Amman, and I'd have to stay in a budget hotel by myself.

So as I was bumbing around Amman, I met a Jordanian/Palestinian girl (more than half of the Jordanians are Palestinians.) She showed me around and had me spend the night at her house. She was so excited that I was interested in Islam, of course, trying to convert me the whole time. She took me to a clothes shop where they gave me a long black cloack and a headscarf. (See the picture below.) I walked around the rest of the day looking like a Jordanian. . . .How did this happen!?!?

And then she gave me a bunch of reading materials about how to pray, and about God.

Her neighbor asked if I would be going to Gaza because her daughter is there. She hasn't seen her in 5 years. I thought Jordanians could go to Israel because they are officially at peace. (Unlike Lebanon, Syria, and other Arab countries--which is why I CAN'T have an Israeli stamp in my passport.) But Jordanian-Palestinians have to get a visa, and Israel isn't giving them out. So many Palestinians can't visit their relatives.

And then it just hit me. I'll say it was the Holy Spirit. Many of my friends e-mailed me back saying that they would pray that the Holy Spirit would guide me, and that's what happened. I just said, "No. Khalas. I can't do this."

I thought I could straddle the fence and pretend that I'm just a Christian pilgrim. But I'm not. Not that I want to pick sides. But doesn't God? Doesn't he always pick the side of the oppressed? I'm not Arab. But somehow I'm identifying more and more.

Israel isn't for me. At least not now. I can't pretend to be a clueless, American Christian pilgrim. I had all this Muslim, Arabic stuff in my bag. I had left all that stuff at home because I figured the Israeli soldiers would search me during the hours-long interrogation when I tell them I don't want them to stamp my passport. But I inevitably picked up the stuff along the way.

It was like being on Mt. Nebo all over again. I was an hour from the bridge. And I couldn't go. I have a blue passport. Of course, I'm not a Palestinian living in Jordan or Lebanon. I'm not my Lebanese Christian friends who want to make the pilgrimage. But yet, I felt like I couldn't go. I was so close, but I couldn't enter.

I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing.

New Thoughts on Coverage

Dressed as a Jordanian
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.

When I walked around Amman covered, it was a totally different experience than when I was walking around in my regular clothes. I wasn't even wearing my regular, Lebanese clothes. I was wearing loose pants and a long-sleeved, light cotton blouse. And yet, I did feel so much more free walking around when I had the headscarf and cloak covering me. The men didn't all stop to look. In a way, I felt almost invisible, which was a cool feeling. None of this, "I would like to kiss you" crap being yelled at me.

If I lived in Jordan, I would definately dress like this. Eventhough I think it would be considered weird, since I'm not Muslim.