Mo of Arabia.

[Jeff]

What do you know about Yemen?  All I knew before this weekend was that it was an arab country that harbored terrorists and where the Coal was attacked.

Jeremy (my son) has a buddy from High School that lives near Ann Arbor and Dearborn. You may have heard these towns mentioned on the news of late because of the high Arab population. The greatest density in the U.S. Anyway, Jeremy's Friend Kurt came up to stay with us for the weekend and brought his friend Mo, his roommate. As it turned out Mo is from Yemen. He has been here for about 4 years and his full name is Mohammad. When Mo walked into our home I am sure he might have first felt uneasy as he would down state, but was soon at ease and asking about all the wood and saws he saw around him. He told me that his Father is a wood worker living in Yemen. He worked here for 30 years for G.M. traveling back and forth as he could during that time because his all his family was still in Yemen. His wife could not leave her family so this is how they lived till mo's dad retired.

I enjoyed Mo's visit. He was not the "brooding", "keep to yourself" vision that television portrays of most Arab men that come here. He was a young man that was identical in his manner to my son and the other boys. He laughed at the same off colored comic on T.V., talked of girls and going bowling. He was quick to conversation, and even though he does not have the language mastered was very interesting to spend some time with.

He told me before he left, that his dad had learned to work with wood as a hobby while living in the states. He collected wood working tools that simply not available in yemen. Mo told me that when his father returned home he built a large sign made of wood and placed it near the roadway by his home to tell people that he was a wood worker. Mo said that as far as he knows it is was the first sign in front of a home in yemen. He says it just is done there till his Dad desided to make one to tell his neighbors about his wood working skills.

We have a new Arab Friend, a young man from Yemen, who told me that yes, they have trees.

[Tom]

Well, hey Mo!  

[Jeff]

When he comes back I'll tell him.

[Tom]

What!  Ya mean ya didn't sign'im up?  DanG man, sounds like he's got wood in his genes.  

---------------I did spell that right, didn't I? :D

[DanG]

That's neat, Jeff. It's great to have the chance to interact with someone from another place, especially a place so different.

I also have a friend from the Middle East. His name is Saed, and he is Palestinian. His family lives in Jerusalem, and he stays in constant touch with them. He runs a little discount cigarette store, where I buy my smokes and engage in some lively political discussions, once a week, or so. We have a great time comparing our feelings about the issues, being from 2 such vastly different cultures. I have learned a great deal about the true issues over there, and we find ourselves in agreement about most things.
His shop is in a rather "Redneck" area, so I was somewhat concerned about him right after 9/11. I was relieved to learn that many of his "dentally challenged" customers made special stops at his place just to check on him and say, "If anybody give you any sh*t, you just let me know."  Needless to say, he was relieved, too. :D

[OneWithWood]

It is a small world, isn't it?  I wish all the cultures of the world could interact more.  We might all find out we aren't so different after all.

[Bibbyman]

In "my other life",  I've had a chance to travel and work with a lot of people.  One time that comes to mind found me in South Boston, VA working on a project with people from many locations.  We all staid in the same (should say only) motel in town.  I met one guy in the lobby as he was checking in.  He was a native and citizen of main land China and I had worked with him before.  As it was near supper time,  we made arrangements to go out to eat.  He was including the two people that had came with him.  Both were from India and appeared a little apprehensive to be involved with me.

At the restaurant,  me an the Chinese guy was carrying on a good conversation.  (BTW, He had a doctorate degree in philosophy.)  The two guy from India were a bit reserved but little by little they joined in and by the end of the evening,  everyone was feeling free to talk.  Kind of odd - one of the Indians could speak to the other in is "brand" of Indian but the other could not speak the language of the other.  Apparently there are many languages used in India.  The common language spoken was English so I didn't feel too handicapped.

A few mounts later I had a chance to work with one of the India guys at our location.  As he was here for a good long time,  we had a better chance to talk.  He told me about the 'cast' system in the Indian society.  Said that the other Indian at the table was from another cast and that normally in India they would not talk or associate with each other.  Marriages were all arranged within the same cast.  The cast system pretty much dictated education and professions you would be limited to.  (More in the old days.)

It was interesting.  I asked him if he had plans to bring his family over and live in the USA and maybe become a citizen.  He respectfully said no,  he only wanted to work here a year or two to earn enough money to get a nice house and a Honda Accord back home.  He'd be set for life.

[Bro. Noble]

Well,  I've met a guy from Arkansaw and a couple from Ellynoise.  I'll have to admit they were really strange,  but we got along pretty well anyway :D

Too bad we don't take time to learn more about other cultures and them about us.  This world would have to be a better place for it.

Noble

[Bibbyman]

I married a girl from Ellynoise once.  Still trying to figure her out. :

[Tom]

I went to Alleybammy oncet.

[whitepe]

Jeff,
We've got a MO at work too.  His last name is Hussein
no less.  He is a really nice guy.   We also have
a guy who was a Tank Commander in the Iranian army.
None of these guys are into wood.  However
there is another guy at work from Cambodia
his name is Kea Voa Chin (pronounced WOK Chin)
whom I sold some walnut to last fall.
He is in his early 30's and his family escaped
from Cambodia when he was 14 during the Pol Pot regime.
 His parents and all of his 4 or 5 brothers and sisters are all doing very well. and they all (the kids)  have degrees from Ohio State.   Kea Voa says he cannot understand why so many people around the world are so anti U.S.  He says that in his eyes, the U.S. is the greatest country in the world.  :D

Oh yes, I have also met Nobility from the Monarchy of Ozarkia. They are nice people too.   ;D

[whitepe]

Bib,
We have another gal at work from India.
She and her husband from a different part of  India originally did not speak each other's native dialect.    A few months ago she  was moaning about her husband tuning her out.
Once she told him to do something three times, once in English, once in her dialect and the third time in his dialect.
He ignored her in all three languages.  We laughed our
heads off at work when she told that story.   :D :D :D

[L. Wakefield]

It is a small world, isn't it?  I wish all the cultures of the world could interact more.  We might all find out we aren't so different after all.

  Absolutely! That needs to be said, and said again, and again. Cultural relationships are made one interaction at a time. I wish y'all were ambassadors 'over there'. You'd do a good job. We could look for what trees they do have.. lw

[Weekend_Sawyer]

 My brother Chris is in building maintenance, he handles a few buildings.  In one of the buildings they have a lunch caterer. He is Afgani, he and Chris share a similar sense of humor. One day Chris asks him whats for lunch and he replies, "Pork chops, Muslem stile with a nice talliban sauce!"

[Mark M]

When I was in grad-u-ate school about 10 years ago one of my fellow teaching assistants was a young Hindu fella from India. We were both studying chemistry and he had a really good sense of humor so we became friends almost instantly, even though he was about 15 years younger than me. I used to kid him about his family living in teepee's and the like and we got along really well. One day we went down for lunch and I had a couple of hot dogs. My friend had never eaten hot-dogs (or beef for that matter) and didn't know what he was supposed to do so I showed him how they worked. About a week later he was talking to his mom on the phone and she asked if he had been eating beef. He told her about the hot-dogs and said "it's OK mom these are American cows, they aren't related to anyone we know". Last I heard from him he was working on a post-doc at Purdue.

Mark

[Jeff]

If you want to be exposed to some ethnic diversity, go spend a day in the surgical waiting room of harper hospital, wayne state university in downtown Deetroit. It's like the united nations in there.

[CHARLIE]

Jeff, if'n ya wanna see some cultural diversity, come to da Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Da Chet frum da UP kin vouch fer dat. ;D  

[whitepe]

Our MO of Arabia here at CAT got married last month.
His wife is from Pakistan and that is where he got married.
Mo brought in great treats to share with everyone at work.   8)

[Texas Ranger]

Ya reckon this cultural diversity get together stuff would work for the two futhest cultures on earth?

Yankees and southren boys?

[etat]

I doubt it Friar, way them yanks done changed the history books and all! 8)

[Don P]

Dad was stationed in Massatusetts when my mother came to be in the family way. Both Grandmothers tried some strong persuasion to get my mother to do the birthing back home to save the family from embarrasement  :D. These were fine old ladies who would have slept in the car before taking a room at the Sherman Arms motel. Dad wasn't about to miss the event so I was Biloxi bred and Chelsea born...to an Air Force recruit in a Naval horspittal  ;D.
We had a plumber on a job up north that had the stars and bars on the window of his truck. As we got to talking, he told me with pride that his ancestor had been one of the fellows that invented the parrot gun, the north's famed rifled artillery...kinda funny.

Michelle's sister's family spent 10 years in Saudi, the years between the Iraqi wars, working for Aramco. The company puts out a magazine called Aramco World that is free for the asking, kind of PR for their point of view. There are articles on history, world relations, etc, from their viewpoint. Quite watered down but some interesting stuff, a very rich and diverse culture.Our educators should certainly get it in their school libraries, this is a culture our young people cannot afford to ignore.
One thing I recall from the mag was that there is a tree in Yemen that sweats Dragons Blood...it is a resin, much like frankincense and myhrr, that I've also seen in old instrument finish recipes. If you see Mo again...I'm interested  ;D.

[L. Wakefield]

   Dragon's blood is indeed a very fine resin. I learned of it about 2 years ago, and after a trial, I incorporate it in most of the incense I make. My resin grouping includes frankincense, myrrh, dragonsblood, pinon pine, copal, and damar (which may be the samne as white copal) I just learned of opopanax, which is also very nice. There is a reason that these things have been such durable trade goods for the international spice trade. Perfume (which, by the way is purportedly derived from 'par fume'- through or via the smoke) was originally incense based.  lw