I have had a bad case of writers block recently. I think it has to do with all the events happening in the Middle East. We watch the news every day, amazed. Revolutions all around us! This is not the right time to put up some funny blog post about a recent cultural blunder or quirky difference I've noticed.
The protests that are spreading through the Middle East are at their very basic a call for a smaller gap between the rich powerful figures and the poor, struggling, common man. Unemployment is high. Food prices are going up. The common people are ready for some real solutions.
I couldn't help but think of all these issues as I was grocery shopping this week. {I have lots of time to think as grocery shopping here is usually a six-stop adventure!} I found it very interesting how much food buying costs and habits say about culture values. Interesting even more is how much of what is going on in the Middle East can be discussed over bread.
The protests that are spreading through the Middle East are at their very basic a call for a smaller gap between the rich powerful figures and the poor, struggling, common man. Unemployment is high. Food prices are going up. The common people are ready for some real solutions.
I couldn't help but think of all these issues as I was grocery shopping this week. {I have lots of time to think as grocery shopping here is usually a six-stop adventure!} I found it very interesting how much food buying costs and habits say about culture values. Interesting even more is how much of what is going on in the Middle East can be discussed over bread.
Bread
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| Arabic Bread. Yu-um! |
The Venue
The big bakery downtown.
The Process
The Process
I walk in with my change. The bakery man weighs out the bread, puts it in a bag, and off I go. They work fast, so in and out takes about 30 seconds. {Which is good because I am usually triple parked with a police man giving me evil looks!}
The Cost
I buy bread according to how much I want to spend - usually 35 fils {50 cents in USD} worth for the week for our family of four. This is WAY less than the average local who probably goes through that much for their family in one day, as bread is a main staple.
Bread: Cultural Lessons
Bread here is viewed as a very basic provision that God gives each day. This has many cultural implications.
Bread is shared. It is important to serve bread when having guests over for a meal, especially for the first time, to express your desire to connect with them. Arabs say if you share bread, you are linked for life.
Bread is sacred. It doesn't get thrown on the ground. Ever. Half eaten sandwiches can be seen on top of cars, tucked in niches, set on fences or stashed in between bricks, but never on the ground.
Bread is a blessing. So, it is not thrown away. If a bag of bread goes stale, most households hang the bag on the side of the neighborhood trash bin. Everyday, people come through the neighborhoods to collect the stale bread to feed to their livestock. The blessing is passed on, not tossed away.
In a very simplified way, the current revolutions may not be as much about power as they are about life and living. People can't afford to buy bread because a few are taking the resources, power and freedom from the masses. The unemployment and dire economics caused by corruption and lack of free commerce is choking entire civilizations. What we may see as trivial {it's just a slight increase in the cost of bread, just pennies after all!}, they see as obstacles to receiving the blessings God gives for life and living. Perhaps this is what makes them willing to die for this. A blessing from God should not be tossed away.
Bread is shared. It is important to serve bread when having guests over for a meal, especially for the first time, to express your desire to connect with them. Arabs say if you share bread, you are linked for life.
Bread is sacred. It doesn't get thrown on the ground. Ever. Half eaten sandwiches can be seen on top of cars, tucked in niches, set on fences or stashed in between bricks, but never on the ground.
Bread is a blessing. So, it is not thrown away. If a bag of bread goes stale, most households hang the bag on the side of the neighborhood trash bin. Everyday, people come through the neighborhoods to collect the stale bread to feed to their livestock. The blessing is passed on, not tossed away.
Bread: The Start of Revolutions?
In a very simplified way, the current revolutions may not be as much about power as they are about life and living. People can't afford to buy bread because a few are taking the resources, power and freedom from the masses. The unemployment and dire economics caused by corruption and lack of free commerce is choking entire civilizations. What we may see as trivial {it's just a slight increase in the cost of bread, just pennies after all!}, they see as obstacles to receiving the blessings God gives for life and living. Perhaps this is what makes them willing to die for this. A blessing from God should not be tossed away.
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