My Favorite Cross-Culture Movies

Because I love crossing cultures and I make fun of myself for all the messes I find myself in doing so...it is nice to laugh at someone else from time to time.

Here are my top 5 movies that will give you the giggles about crossing cultures:

5. New In Town (2009)

A high-powered consultant in love with her upscale Miami lifestyle is sent to a middle of nowhere town in Minnesota to oversee the restructuring of a blue collar manufacturing plant. After enduring a frosty reception from the locals, icy roads and freezing weather, she warms up to the small town's charm, and eventually finds herself being accepted by the community.

4. Dances with Wolves (1990)

Lt. John Dunbar is dubbed a hero after he accidentally leads Union troops to a victory during the Civil War. He requests a position on the western frontier, but finds it deserted. He soon finds out he is not alone, but meets a wolf he dubs "Two-socks" and a curious Indian tribe. Dunbar quickly makes friends with the tribe, and discovers a white woman who was raised by the Indians. He gradually earns the respect of these native people, and sheds his white-man's ways.

3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Toula Portokalos is 30, Greek, and works in her family's restaurant, Dancing Zorba's, in Chicago. All her father Gus wants is for her to get married to a nice Greek boy. But Toula is looking for more in life. She meets Ian Miller, a high school English teacher, they date secretly for a while before her family finds out. Her father is livid over her dating a non-Greek. He has to learn to accept Ian; Ian has to learn to accept Toula's huge family, and Toula has to learn to accept herself.

2. Outsourced (2006)

When the call center he manages in Seattle is outsourced to India, Todd travels there to train his replacement. Housed in a new building that looks like an above-ground bunker, the call center is staffed by willing novices whom Todd trains to sound American. One star on the staff is Asha, who teaches Todd that he should learn about India, and proceeds to do just that.

1. West Bank Story (2005)

A musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falafel stands on the West Bank. David, an Israeli soldier, falls in love with Fatima, a beautiful Palestinian cashier, despite the animosity between their families' dueling restaurants. Can the couple's love withstand a 58-year-old conflict and their families' desire to control the future of the chick pea in the Middle East?

Check them out.

Nobel Peace Prize Candidate?

I was recently downtown in a tourist shop looking for some gifts. Since this area of the world is full of olive groves, there is a vast assortment of items carved from olive wood. I glanced up on the shelf and saw this display:

Yup, there's:

David with his junk hanging out
Mary {a very man-looking virgin} with Jesus

Salahadin with dagger in tow (or perhaps Lawrence of Arabia, since that film was shot near here)
Some crusader guy with cross in tow
and...
Batman

I think this shop owner should get points for promoting peace in the Middle East. He just goes to show us that there truly is something for everyone!

And really, if there were any problems, Batman would take care of it.

Bread: The Start of Revolutions?

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.

Bread

Arabic Bread. Yu-um!

The Venue

The big bakery downtown.

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.

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.

What's Going on In Egypt?

Mubarak made quite a speech last night! Made the issues as clear as the mud from the Dead Sea.

This has nothing to do with Egypt. Just my cute kids playing in the Dead Sea mud.

We have received a rush of emails and phone calls regarding our safety and general well being. Thanks for being concerned! For the record {as of today} we are just fine. Our small country just keeps on ticking. No major uproar.

Yes, there have been protests. They here have been peaceful {there were photos of the police handing water bottles to the protesters} and the King has been responding. Most commentators have said that people are not asking for government reform, just calling for continued evolution in the direction the country is already heading.

By the way. I am not a political commentator. To be honest, I don't always know/understand even half of what is going on politically in this region. I just know that the city I live in has been quiet. There is food on the grocery shelves. And the American Embassy has not emailed or called with any messages of impending doom.

BUT! There are a lot of fabulous Bloggers in this region that do know what is going on. I enjoy reading their opinions because they are not the media and don't try to sensationalize the story. I have been quite disheartened to watch CNN and BBC.  They often report 'Live Feed' when I know it is not. It was long after sunset where I live and broad daylight in Cairo on the Live Feed. Not possible. One day, the Live Feed from our very rainy capital city showed protesters on a bright sunny day. Not true. Frustrating.

So, I turn to these great Bloggers of the region to get a  'street level' view of what is really going on right now in the Middle East. Enjoy!

Black Iris

Very popular {in English} Jordanian blogger.

This post was his response to Tunisia.

And this one posted after King appointed new Prime Minister in Jordan.
And this recent post answering the question: Is Jordan the Next Egypt?

MommaBean
American married to Jordanian.

This rant cracked me up. 

Kinzi
An American who has lived here for ages. I love the passion with which she addresses social justice issues in this region. And she did recently have a bit to say about recent political events. Short and sweet.

Hope this helps clear up the mud a bit.

Attention! Read This! Good News from the Middle East!

This week has been an interesting one to live through.
First Tunisia.
Now Egypt.
And tonight the King sacked the government in our little neck of the woods. This is actually quite a normal thing. It has happened many times before and it was his response to the protesters calling for reform. He responded! A step ahead of Egypt!

Most apartment buildings have building guards who are Egyptians. Our sweet little building guard keeps knocking on our door to find out if his country still exists. If it still has a President. He asked my husband what America was saying about it. And he also wanted to know how many White Houses there were in America. And how many States have them.
I took him down a pizza for dinner.

Well, with all the gunky news swirling around...you want to take a few minutes to see what good is happening in the Middle East?

Head on over to YouTube.
The Queen has her own channel.

A recent clip you could watch is her Today Show interview. {It's 6 minutes.}

And, the Queen has a sense of humor! Check her out making fun of herself. I'd have to do that if I were the Queen. {It's 2 minutes.}

And here she answers some tough questions on Arab women. {It's 2 1/2 minutes.}

Things may just be heading in the right direction...

Middle East Conflict...and Burritos

So we were eating burritos the other night. My 9 year old boy left the dinner table to go to the bathroom. When he came back, he asked:

Mom, I really don't understand why there are so many problems in the Middle East. Can you explain it to me one more time?

So, I did what any normal mother would do.

I dumped out the crumbs in the bottom of the corn chips bag.

I made a map of the Middle East out of chip bits.

And I started explaining.

These people think this is their land.

These people think this is their land.

These people don't have a land.

This major religious thing happened here for this religion.

This major religious thing happened here for this religion.

And this major religious thing happened here for this religion.

So, these people want this land.

And, these people want this land.

And, these people want this land.

And it's all the same land.

Then the boy said:

Oh, I think I get in now.

Then he ate Gaza and the West Bank.

I ate Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.

And the sister ate Israel.

With some salsa on top.

The Middle East Peace process just got even more complicated!

Quick Tip for the Day: Riots

I've been a little slim on posting this week as I've enjoyed the last week of winter break with my kids. We made a quick trip up to the capital. While we were there a notice came out from the embassy to 'avoid public places' on Friday as there would likely be riots across the country because of recent hikes in food staple prices.
We were planning on driving home on Friday - a 3 1/2 hour drive right down the center of the country. Kind of hard to 'avoid public places' when we're doing that.
We had to make a plan.

There was one town we were most concerned about. It is about two hours south of the city. This town is notorious for its raucous riots. Some friends of ours drove by the same town last week and the highway was barricaded with burning tires. They had to take a creative off-road adventure through the desert for a bit to get home. I didn't know if our Prius was up for that!
So, this was our plan...
We left at 10am. By noon, we were passing through the riotous city right during the call the prayer. The streets were empty and the highway was clear. I'll read tomorrow in the paper what went on after that.

So, here is the quick tip of the day: If you have to plan your trips according to when all the naughty boys are busy to avoid being caught in a riot...you may need to re-define 'normal' when you describe your life as such.

Hope You Have Good Directions

We have some great friends in town who are also Americans. We met them years ago when we were all at the same school to learn Arabic. They are funny people. In fact, they are the same people I wrote about regarding the Mango Tree. They recently took their family on a road trip and were inspired to write a post for Apricots Today...so without further adieu, I present to you my funny friend from the East Coast:

So the season of Parliament campaigns - the fireworks, vinyl banners, tribal clashes, and massive images of candidates - is over. Still, the aftermath can be seen. For some reason, every few years when the elections take place, over zealous tribes in the south of the county (in a sincere effort to promote a family member toward victory and power) plaster street signs with face shot stickers of the candidates. Now one might think, a sticker here or there, no big deal. I myself, having grown up in the amazing state of New Jersey developed an early appreciation of graffiti and bill posts as I walked the streets of Manhattan and Queens. In those formative years, apparently I began believing a lie: What was once thought in my mind to be an innate understanding that the acceptable protocol for the posting of bills was on the sides of, on the backs of, or in close proximity too signs or walls carrying vital information to the average citizen was obvious...has been dis-proven. It is not innate - in any sense.
 

On a recent family outing to the tourist haven known as Wadi Rum - this was again an issue. A veteran of the road to Rum, I was not phased - but with great compassion I felt the pain of the average tourist in their rental car attempting to navigate to their destination. Sign after sign was covered with the faces of the area’s parliament candidates. Signs like: Wadi Rum This Way, Dangerous Curve Ahead, Speed Bump in 100m, Railroad Tracks Ahead, and of course - STOP. They were all covered up by such propaganda. 

On a happier note - the Southern Port City that I continue to somehow manage to declare as my home - known for its gruff, tough residents with their deep thick Arabic and stone faces proudly had a solid dozen candidates post self images in many forms throughout our city for the election. Two men were eventually elected - and with great surprise - the two victors had one thing in common - they were the only two wearing smiles in their glamor shots.


Good times.

What does that teach us?
Smile.
Even if you don't know where your going.
You may get a lot of people to follow you!

The Next 24

We plan on staying home for the next 24 hours.

Schools are closed.

Businesses are closed.

Tomorrow is election day which brings a buzz of excitement around the country.

Here are the issues I am voting for:

1. SAFER DRIVING CONDITIONS

I will be SO happy when the elections are over so all the banners that are hanging in every intersection in town can come down! Driving is bad enough around here. It makes it even 'better' when you can't see around the round-about.

2. STRICTER ZONING LAWS

Instead of the annoying commercials we endure in the States during elections, each candidate here sets up a tent in any available empty lot that constituents can visit in the weeks leading up to the elections. It seems as the commercials in the States try to out do themselves, each tent tries to out do itself here. I drive by this one every morning and a little chuckle escapes my mouth each time. Yes, that is the King, the Crown Prince, and the candidate running for parliament. Larger than life (and palm trees for that matter)! 

3. HIGHER STANDARDS FOR NOISE POLLUTION

And I will be happy when the elections are over so the noise level in our neighborhood goes down. Each night the candidates speak/holler from their tents as constituents pass through to hear their views on all the issues. The national anthem plays in my mind even while I'm sleeping. That can not be healthy!

The Jordan Times recently ran a great article about the unique political situation here. Monarchy. Democracy. Tribalism. We are a three in one deal! And it will be interesting to see how it all plays out...from my window.