OK, I haven't quite kept my promise of blogging more. When I first got to Algeria back in August, everything was so new and so foreign, I had blog ideas spilling out of my brain and couldn't wait to share the craziness that was going on. Now that I've returned to Algeria again, it's not new anymore, and the craziness just seems kinda normal (never thought I'd say that!). I've had trouble getting back into the routine of blogging, and I lose concept of how long it's been. Without work to get up for, and important dates to remember, everything just blends together. Like today... today is St. Patrick's Day. For some reason I thought it was 4 days ago, and got Sean to celebrate with me! I wondered why there was no mention of it on facebook, until this weekend when I saw pictures and posts start showing up, and got e-mails about St. Patty's day specials and thought "Why am I getting these e-mails for one day only specials too late?" Duh dummy, today is St. Patrick's Day! Oh well, I guess that just means we get to celebrate it again!
But now that I'm coming home again in a few weeks, and my blogging will then come to an end, I feel the need to catch up and share some stuff/experiences that haven't gotten shared. So to start, our trip to Miliana!
About a month ago, Sean and I took a trip to a city in Algeria called Miliana. A coach Sean worked with when he first got here last year had invited him several times to come visit him in this city, so it was about time to accept the invite. I didn't know what to expect (as usual), but I'm always excited when I get to tag along to stuff. I was told we would be going there for lunch and watch a bball game.
It took about an hour and a half to get there. As soon as we arrived (me, Sean, and his friend Ibrahim who drove us there), we met up with 3 other men: the Algerian Military basketball head coach, his assistant, and the ex-Mayor of the city. Once again, I'm the only woman in this group. It's less weird than it used to be, but still weird. But at the same time I felt lucky to be hanging out with this pretty important crew. They were sooo excited to have us there! And I know this because the ex-Mayor wanted to join the group when he heard we were coming, and we got presents throughout the day :-)
Unfortunately only Ibrahim spoke english, and while he did a lot of translating, there was a whole lot of talking going on that I had NO CLUE what it was about. This trip, in my mind, was really the day of "What the hell is going on???" And I don't mean that in a bad way, just a truthful, observational, I've never not known what was going on so many times in one day in my life.
So we arrived, and the first thing we did was visit a museum of Milianian (sp?) history. Apparently Miliana was a significant place of Algerian resistance of French occupation in the 1800's, and the people of the town are very proud of this. I took some pictures to share, but as I'm no history buff and I was at the mercy of translators, please excuse the vagueness of what these pictures are really of! :-)
After lunch we went to a basketball game and got there during the 3rd quarter. One thing that I've learned about watching Algerian basketball is that refs are very different. Usually most aggression on the court is between teams, but here, it's almost like the refs are a third team in the mix. 15 minutes into our time there, there was clearly a conflict between a ref and a player. It was mostly yelling for a minute or two. Then they go at it. In each others faces, the player pulls the cord of the refs whistle around his neck. The ref puts both hands around the players throat to an attempt to choke him. The player punches the ref in the nose, and the ref goes down. "What the hell is going on???" The gym explodes with noise, teams clear the benches, and the people in the stands rush towards the court. The gym was packed, and maybe 10 people were left sitting in the stands. Ten minutes after that, the game has been called off, but we're still sitting there, and the fans are singing like crazy. Again, "What the hell is going on???" Why are the fans still singing? Why are we still sitting here? What is everyone waiting for? Isn't the game over? The fans were literally more excited after the altercation and game ending than when the game was going on. I looked over and one fan was using an aerosol can and lighter to make a blow torch! So we sat there until the gym cleared. While we were waiting, a group of 15 year old girls came up and sat next to me. Only one spoke english well. "Hi," she said with the biggest grin on her face, and starred at me. I won't go in to word for word of our conversation, but it was the most like Beyonce I ever felt. They thought my American self was the coolest. "You have facebook??" I gave them my name, but still haven't accepted those friend requests yet. It was flattering though, and exciting someone was talking to me.
We finally left the game, and did a little sightseeing, walking around the city. There were some amazing views!
This blog got pretty long. If you made it to the end, thanks! I do want to say one last time, while it was a "what's going on?" kind of day, I'm thankful for it, as I am thankful for everything that happens to me here. As crazy as things may get, I love everyday! Experiences of my life!!
But now that I'm coming home again in a few weeks, and my blogging will then come to an end, I feel the need to catch up and share some stuff/experiences that haven't gotten shared. So to start, our trip to Miliana!
About a month ago, Sean and I took a trip to a city in Algeria called Miliana. A coach Sean worked with when he first got here last year had invited him several times to come visit him in this city, so it was about time to accept the invite. I didn't know what to expect (as usual), but I'm always excited when I get to tag along to stuff. I was told we would be going there for lunch and watch a bball game.
It took about an hour and a half to get there. As soon as we arrived (me, Sean, and his friend Ibrahim who drove us there), we met up with 3 other men: the Algerian Military basketball head coach, his assistant, and the ex-Mayor of the city. Once again, I'm the only woman in this group. It's less weird than it used to be, but still weird. But at the same time I felt lucky to be hanging out with this pretty important crew. They were sooo excited to have us there! And I know this because the ex-Mayor wanted to join the group when he heard we were coming, and we got presents throughout the day :-)
Unfortunately only Ibrahim spoke english, and while he did a lot of translating, there was a whole lot of talking going on that I had NO CLUE what it was about. This trip, in my mind, was really the day of "What the hell is going on???" And I don't mean that in a bad way, just a truthful, observational, I've never not known what was going on so many times in one day in my life.
So we arrived, and the first thing we did was visit a museum of Milianian (sp?) history. Apparently Miliana was a significant place of Algerian resistance of French occupation in the 1800's, and the people of the town are very proud of this. I took some pictures to share, but as I'm no history buff and I was at the mercy of translators, please excuse the vagueness of what these pictures are really of! :-)
This guy was clearly important- there were pictures of him everywhere. I think his name was Abd al-Qadir. He was a military leader of the resistance; one of the most famous men in Algerian history. This picture of him was awesome, so intense.
Painting of the guy above saving the Christians in Damascus (after the Algerians lost to the French, he was exiled to Damascus).
Battle painting, including the flag of the resistance.
Sean and I in a tent. Really I was told nothing about this tent, other than "Get in, we will take your picture." Cute pic though.
Ibrahim in a funny hat. I had to include this picture of Ibrahim. Ibrahim has helped Sean so much, and is one of the kindest people I've met in my life. We appreciate him tremendously.
By the time we finished the museum, it had been almost 4 hours since we left our apartment that morning, and I was starving, and really had to pee. I naively/wishfully thought we would eat at a local restaurant where I could order "poulet" or "poisson" without offending local cuisine, and use the public bathroom. So we're walking, to somewhere, and one of the men says "We're having pizza for lunch. Like when we visit the US, they serve us couscous." And again, being naive and wishful, I thought "That's awesome!" And I didn't think it was too unrealistic, I actually thought it was thoughtful of them to serve something "American." Sarcasm was completely lost on me, and I was soooooooo wrong.
We get to the man's house, I realize there's no pizza, but at least I can use his bathroom! I awkwardly ask Sean to ask him where it is. He directs me to the toilet. But it's not fair to call it a toilet. It was a porcelain bucket. No toilet seat, no water tank, no way to flush. And no toilet paper. (As Sean and I discussed later, thank GOD we didn't have to poop!)
As I left the bathroom, lunch had been served. I sat down, and Sean whispers, "There is some lamb in it, but it's good soup." I am lucky to have a wonderful husband that helps me get through my picky eating in formal situations like this. So I ate around the lamb, 2 tiny pieces, not so bad... I think I'm surviving. Then the next course comes. Lamb, lamb, lamb. No way I expected 2 courses of lamb in a row! This was one of those "What the hell is going on??" times. Ground lamb meatballs, and some other fairly rare-looking cut of lamb, in broth with chickpeas. I'm sure this sounds really tasty to some, and most of the men at the table were in heaven. And I felt horrible that our host thought he was serving us an amazing meal. I wish I wasn't so picky, but I am what I am and it is what it is. I tried eating the chickpeas and broth, and the lamb taste was so strong that I knew there was no way I would be able to keep down any lamb bites I might take. When no one was looking, Sean scooped as much as he could out of my bowl and into his. What a great man! I ate a whole lot of bread that meal. Our host repeatedly said to me, "You must come back and my mother will teach you how to make this meal." Ha, yea right. I barely cook things I like.
After lunch we went to a basketball game and got there during the 3rd quarter. One thing that I've learned about watching Algerian basketball is that refs are very different. Usually most aggression on the court is between teams, but here, it's almost like the refs are a third team in the mix. 15 minutes into our time there, there was clearly a conflict between a ref and a player. It was mostly yelling for a minute or two. Then they go at it. In each others faces, the player pulls the cord of the refs whistle around his neck. The ref puts both hands around the players throat to an attempt to choke him. The player punches the ref in the nose, and the ref goes down. "What the hell is going on???" The gym explodes with noise, teams clear the benches, and the people in the stands rush towards the court. The gym was packed, and maybe 10 people were left sitting in the stands. Ten minutes after that, the game has been called off, but we're still sitting there, and the fans are singing like crazy. Again, "What the hell is going on???" Why are the fans still singing? Why are we still sitting here? What is everyone waiting for? Isn't the game over? The fans were literally more excited after the altercation and game ending than when the game was going on. I looked over and one fan was using an aerosol can and lighter to make a blow torch! So we sat there until the gym cleared. While we were waiting, a group of 15 year old girls came up and sat next to me. Only one spoke english well. "Hi," she said with the biggest grin on her face, and starred at me. I won't go in to word for word of our conversation, but it was the most like Beyonce I ever felt. They thought my American self was the coolest. "You have facebook??" I gave them my name, but still haven't accepted those friend requests yet. It was flattering though, and exciting someone was talking to me.
We finally left the game, and did a little sightseeing, walking around the city. There were some amazing views!
And a final picture. One thing that cracks me up, everytime I see it...
Algerians love some 2 PAC. Thug Life baby. They don't understand any of what 2 PAC is saying, nor do they understand what "thug life" means. But they LOVE it! I've seen it spray painted several places in different parts of the country.
This blog got pretty long. If you made it to the end, thanks! I do want to say one last time, while it was a "what's going on?" kind of day, I'm thankful for it, as I am thankful for everything that happens to me here. As crazy as things may get, I love everyday! Experiences of my life!!
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