I arrived in southern California two days ago and it’s really good to be home. I’m trying to rest a little and take care of things before I head out to Boston for school in less than a week. This summer has been very enriching. I first visited Turkey and Syria and then I stayed in Lebanon for 2 months studying intermediate Arabic then I went to Jordan and Egypt. There is no single place that was my favorite. Each was its own experience but I did feel more at home in Lebanon than anywhere else but that’s mainly because I was there for longer and actually lived there and made some good friends at AUB. Egypt was the last leg of a long summer journey and it was a great way to end this adventure. I spent most of my time in Cairo and a day in Alexandria. I’m in the process of buying a new laptop and when I do, I will upload all my pictures onto it, edit them, and submit them as a photo essay and post the link to it here so stay tuned.
Anyway, now I’m back and I’m trying to figure out how all of what I experienced this summer has changed me. I come home convinced more now than ever that the regimes in the region are a joke; that the Middle East has been divided into small countries or really just large neighborhoods or turfs and that each is run by a local mafia kingpin or president or king… same thing. I also come home more fervent in my support for the Palestinian Revolution. The Zionist criminal enterprise is not fooling anyone in the region and its longstanding gradual ethnic cleansing operation is blatant.
In the middle of all this, I have a new found appreciation of life in America (not its foreign policy and support and sustainment of said criminal regimes). I felt this way when I came back from Iran after 3 months 2 years ago. In the countries I visited this summer plus Iran, the smallest thing can be a task. Even waiting in line to buy a metro ticket is a struggle. Well, at least it is to someone who is not accustomed to living in the region. I mean, there is virtually no concept of a line in some parts I visited, you really just have to bunch up at the counter and fight your way through. It’s not that big a deal, but it is because it’s symbolic of so much else that makes basic aspects of life in the region difficult. I know I am generalizing, but we all do, in all honesty, so I hope you can go beyond being overly technical and see my point.
Additionally, I have a new found appreciation of Iran, believe it or not. While the ancient ruins in Baalbek, Lebanon were Roman, the pyramids in Egypt Pharaonic, and Petra in Jordan Nabataean, Iranian ruins are Iranian, more or less… a civilization. Please oh please do not mistake this as Iranian nationalism or else I may just throw up on myself a little. Nothing makes more sick to my stomach than nationalism. For instance, I just came across a group on facebook titled “The Persian Empire” and I am awe struck by how silly the group’s description is:
“All those who are truly Persian may join, for this is the Persian Empire. The Empire of the Greatest King of time, Cyrus the Great, and the Empire that extended from middle of Asia to East of Europe. We remain the reason for the existence of today’s science and knowledge for we were the founders of Alchemy, Astrology, and Mathematics. Hail all persians.
“-We Persians stand for Peace, but only with those who deserve our sympathy.
“-We will not let our enemies rest one night, until the night WE put them to sleep. Eternal sleep.
“-We mean no war or harm to anyone, but those who mean it for us.
“-We do not tolerate ANYone talking shit about us, our history, our Great King, Cyrus the Great, and our Empire in general.
“-We do not tolerate movies, or the media that creates a public opinion against us.
“-We do not hate anyone, but those who hate us.
“-We are the founders of current science, for we founded the sciences of Alchemy, Astrology, Mathematics.
“-We brought about the first religions, from which the current religions began. Mithraism, Zoroastrianism.
“-We are Proud of being the Greatest of all Empires in History, yet we acknowledge the Greatness of the chinese Empire and other empires of far east, and west.
“-We fight for our own peace, freedom, glory, and power. and those who stand against us, shall be our slaves.
“Hail all persians and their allies.”
Wow. Enjoy.
Pouya, I love this entry, it’s a very honest one, I like to read you. A LOT. Specially when you are just trying to express of how you r figuring out how this experience has changed you. I know that feeling of coming back “home” and appreciating the smallest things very well, but in my case is backwards: When I go back home, Peru, I appreciate the small things and not so small things I have here in America like , as you mentioned, having a line at the bank, going to the post office and not having to spend 5 hours thereto just send a letter,etc.. Yet, for some reason, I like it better when small things take time, it’s similar to meditation, it humbles me knowing that I don;t have the power and I just have to be submissive to follow the rules of that country. I also like mess, China was a crazy mess, I love it, I feel alive! Things are way too organized in the States, and way too dead. I hope to experience the Middle East sometime soon but not for a 3 month period but for a year or two, I have never spent less than a year somewhere ( unless is a two week vacation) but I have also never experienced more than two years anywhere besides Peru.
Write some more! I want to know more of how you…”come home convinced more now than ever that the regimes in the region are a joke; that the Middle East has been divided into small countries or really just large neighborhoods or turfs and that each is run by a local mafia kingpin or president or king… same thing”
Besos guapo!
Respone to Sandra Nunez-Saif.
I have lived in 8 countries, and by that I mean moving household and cars, buying a home in each country, putting a child in local schools, learning the language and their laws and constitutions, and mixing with the local people by having them at my home and being entertained at their homes. The 8 countries comprise Iran (where I was born), France and England (where I spent my 20s doing college education), the US (where I became a citizen), as well as Canada, Belgium, Germany and Singapore where I was assigned/relocated by my employers. Beyond those 8 countries, I also spent many months in Greece, India, Egypt, UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Czech Republic, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.
I remember waiting in lines for hours at the French “Préfectureâ€, where you have to go through days of bureaucratic BS to simply get/renew your residence permit. And if you think that is real BS, try getting an exit visa from Saudi Arabia, or pass Nigeria’s Lagos airport customs in less than 4 hours – that is if you don’t know how to pay bribes to the custom’s officer.
I assume you, Sandra, have sentimental feelings towards your motherland, Peru. You probably feel poetic about standing in lines in Lima for hours, and think that it is akin to meditation. But the reality is that we set standards as we grow up – and substandard things become intolerable as we grow older. If our standard of service is American or German, then any BS service in 3rd world countries is what it is – BS, no matter how the locals tolerate it, or the nostalgic visitors interpret it.
Having been brought up in the US, Pouya has probably developed a certain set of standards against civilian corruption and unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. Sandra, on the other hand, seem to find it enthralling to be subjected to abuse when she goes back to her birth land of Peru. I suppose to each his/her own.
Interesting life Joe!
Damn you took it serious, you r very right, to each his/her own! The way I see the worldlife is not the same as yours or anyone’s, which is why life is beautiful: Diversity!
Have a good day Joe!
P,
I just don’t understand your appeal, I visit your blog every once in a while to see what you have been writing about and I am always impressed by the number of readers you have who actually comment. You have good intentions I know and you really do try to engage in as much as you can, but your ability to assess and analyze the world in which we are a part of is quite amateur. You have been writing and researching for so long and for gods sake, you are at Harvard aren’t you ? All your commentary is so elementary and perhaps that is what your audience wants. But I encourage you to, more than anything else, work on your writing and ability to formulate clear thoughts and ideas into a richer text. I mean this as a sincere criticism, not a condescending rant. I think its time to take your political “activism” and worldly adventures to a higher intellectual level.
Good Luck, a friend