Cultural Experience

So this past weekend I went with my brother and his roommates to the Marrakesh Cafe on Hilsborough Street. For those of you who don't know, the Marrakesh is a hookah bar. Hookahs are Arabian devices for smoking tobacco with out actually burning the leaves. And the leaves are generally flavored (we had melon and tropical fruit). Now I can honestly say that if it weren't for my brother, I would probably have never stepped foot in the cafe. But I'm glad that I did. You see, my trip overseas last summer (and the training beforehand) really help me to see the good things in foreign cultures. And, with the help of my brother's roommate Chris (who did a tour in Afghanistan) I realized that the Muslim/Arab people really have a zest for life. They live life in a way that shows that they mean it. Chris said that everyday was a celebration for these people. And, thanks to the Marrakesh Cafe, I got to see a piece of that.

I walked into what used to be a Starbucks and saw people sitting around the edge of this cafe (at tables and on the floor) smoking hookahs. I could be wrong, but I get the idea that smoking a hookah for some cultures is like having tea or coffee for others. It's something that people do when they get together. But one thing I noticed is that there were all kinds of people in the cafe. The majority were of Arab descent, but I saw "emo kids," rednecks, blacks, and even those crazy kids with popped collars, all gathered around one thing. I just thought it was cool to see such diversity. The other thing that stuck out to me (and helped me notice the cultural zest for life) was the dancing that occurred (belly and otherwise). I'm not normally a fan of overtly sexual dancing, but I was able to appreciate the belly dancer's dancing as a celebration. What really brought things into perspective for me was when several Arabian guys got up and did what I'm assuming was a traditional dance in the middle of the cafe. I like watching people celebrate life, because as far as I'm concerned, life is worth celebrating (see Philippians 1:21). Not to mention smoking a hookah can be relaxing is better for you than smoking processed cigarettes or cigars (still not as healthy as not smoking at all, but you get the idea).

Clearing out the Tumbleweed

So it's been a long time since my last post. Three months to be exact. So I suppose I'll give a little rundown of what's been happening since that last post.

My last spring semester ended in a 4.0. (To note the difference between Computer Science and Education classes, I have yet to make below an A- since I started working on the Education degree.) I spent a few days at a friend's river house to wind down before the summer of work and classes began. We had a great time and even got a couple of 4-wheel drive vehicles stuck in clay so badly that a tracked vehicle dubbed the "crawler" had to come down and pull them out. Pictures of the trip can be found here.

After that was training for my Swim Instructor job and general relaxing before classes got rolling. I've been in two weddings since the summer began (and invited to at least two more, sorry Mike & Beth, sorry Chris & Lauren), and both were fun. I actually got to be the best man in my friend Nick's wedding and it was cool to be able to hang out with him again. And the bachelor party for my cousin Tony's wedding consisted of hanging out at the river, playing XBOX and riding in boats, jet-skis and on wakeboards and tubes.

My two classes ended around the end of June and I made an A+ in both of them, which pretty much guarantees that I'll graduate magna cum laude in December. I've got my placement for student teaching in the Fall: I'm at Enloe, which is a diverse magnet school. I kind of hope that my cooperating teacher teaches the "normal" students and not the "magnet" students, but I'll be happy with whatever they give me.

Since classes ended, I've been working a lot more. I work 12 hour days on Monday and Wednesday and 8 hour days on Tuesday and Thursday. I usually have Fridays off, but because of rain cancellations, I worked last Friday and will work again this Friday. But the pay is good and I really enjoy helping kids learn how to swim.

The second weekend in July, I flew up to Connecticut (A 1.5 hr flight is much better than a 13.5 hr drive.) to spend some time with Crystal. We went to Dinosaur State Park to look at dinosaur footprints, saw Pirates 2, went duck-pin bowling and ate things like steak and bison burgers. It was a good trip, but not nearly long enough. I'm keeping an eye on flight prices, but it doesn't look like I'll get to see her until she gets back for school.

By the way, I've read 17 books since the summer began.

***non-nerds, stop reading here***

I've also had the time to join a Warhammer 40k and for the first time since I started playing 40k (around 6 years ago) I'm participating in a Games-Workshop global campaign. You can see pictures of two of my battles here. My record stands at 2-2-0, which I'm not ashamed of at all. It's fun to have a chance to play against people other than my brother, Fisher, or Hugh. The campaign continues into August, so I should have plenty of opportunities to play.

Well that's all I have to say really. Maybe I'll post again before the summer's out.