For some reason, as night approached, I felt wide awake and fully rested. I went to bed at the regular time, and I could not sleep. The night was cool, there was little traffic noise to interrupt sleep, and the day was full. I had caffeine late in the day, and I received an email that was a mild inconvenience, but I think I was really caught up on my sleep. I had a full day of activities, taking notes for the sessions on Faith and Evolution, reading most of John O'Malley's books on the three Councils, sketching an Iraqi scene, and replying to emails. I read headline of people not being able to sleep in Europe because it was brutally hot and I lay in comfortable sleeping weather. I had no worries to keep me awake, and there I was at 3:00 a.m. with eyes wide open knowing that it would affect me the entire next day, especially for my 9:00 a.m. meeting.
I had a full day planned after Mass. I had a meeting with a Jordanian friend, and then went to look at the progress of renovations in four apartments. I needed sleep in order to feel fully engaged but that time had passed. I was able to watch some apartments in preparation stages for long-term rentals and Bed and Breakfast short-term rentals.
What was fascinating was watching the Property Owner dealing with the workers. It is almost as if one has to stand over the worker to make sure the work is done correctly. Lots of short-cuts are taken and low quality work is done unless you are diligent and you make certain that the work is done to one's high standards. If you are kind and polite, the workers will take advantage of you. As many times as you tell someone what you are looking for, they do not seem to anticipate it the next time. The statements have to be repeated as if you are telling someone for the first time. Incremental learning does not seem to take hold among some workers.
The next apartments we visited, a kindly engineer was on site. He has middle-aged and gentle. Workers will take advantage of him because he is kind, so the owner stops by almost daily to make sure the small details are addressed. It is important for someone to be on-site to look after the progress. Now, it becomes more complicated if the owner is a woman because most men will not respect a woman's authority. She is often dismissed, treated with ridicule, and viewed as an object, mostly an object of derision. I see this in action many times in the Kingdom. I saw it first when we were preparing for a theatrical play years ago. The producer/writer/director of the play needed a man to join her when speaking with the theatre management because they would not treat her with any modicum of respect. It takes enormous reserves of courage and strength to operate in a world where men entertain such worldviews. It is a fascinating study. We in the U.S. cannot harshly judge a culture such as this because in many ways the West is just more subtle.
I did a baptism at St. Joseph's church of an infant belonging to an expatriate mother and her Lebanese father. The ceremony was fun. The little girl loved the idea of playing in the water that would be blessed for her baptism. She was mostly soaked even before we began the ceremony. She high-fived me, loved holding the candles, relished the attention, and was quite joyful as many children often are. We took some nice photos afterwards and then the family went to dinner. I was invited to dinner but I did not know where it would be served so I declined.
I took an Egyptian Jesuit out for a walk down Rainbow Street, which is the equivalent of Newbury Street in Boston, and we had dinner at a place called Wild Jordan that looked out at the Roman Citadel and the Temple of Heracles. The street on the busy end has a lot of shi-sha bars, a famous falafel kitchen, some religious bookstores because of the nearby high school, and some shawarma cafes. The other end of the street is filled with art galleries, expensive pottery and jewelry stores, and high-end restaurants. It is tree lined and a festive, but quiet place.
Wild Jordan http://wildjordancenter.com/ is an environmentally and ecologically conscious center that provides tours to the conservation areas in the country. The cafe and restaurant are both quite good. I had a Green Detox drink made of kiwi, apple, celery, honey, spinach, and lime juice. Mmm. Quite tasty, and I had a Grilled Haloumi Cheese and Watermelon salad. Refreshing.
When we finished the meal, we went back to church where we parked, and I introduced the Egyptian Jesuit to some Egyptian friends, and they talked for a while. The church operates a restaurant that has club status so only Christians can eat there as members. Coming out of the outdoor restaurant was the family with the baby I had just baptized. Ah, it was a fun rendezvous. We laughed. I didn't realize they were eating right there. I would have joined them.
The most moving part of the night though was the graduation of the Iraqi refugees from their educational year. Many of them received high marks and they donned their graduation caps and gowns. They were so happy, fresh, and young looking. From the lives of suffering, they are making something worthwhile in their start to life. Many will go onto European, Australian, or Canadian colleges. It broke my heart to see such happiness come out of their difficult entrance to life. And they were so happy.
The Egyptian Jesuit and I went into the outdoor gathering space to see the pastor and to say hi to some of the people who were relatives. The live music began to play and the Dabke dance broke out. I saw this dance performed several times over the years, most recently in Detroit, Michigan when I attended the Baghdad College Reunion. The Dabke dance is where people line up in a large circle and they hold hands and they move slightly to the right. They shake their shoulders, a quick lift of the leg, a twist of the neck, and they barely advance in motion, but it is something that they love. It looks quite simple but the shoulder rolls are quite complicated. I will post a video of it.
Mostly, I like to see happy people. We have much suffering in our lives, but suffering does not have to define it. I like happy people. Life is much more enjoyable and pleasant, and it does not negate the seriousness of our suffering and sorrow, but we have to joy of the Gospel to keep us rooted in hope.
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