Ooh--reading! (and a religion rant)

So I read a book last night. It was one of those you pick up because "why not". Unexpectedly, I really liked it . . . and not just because the name "Cat Stevens" appears on page twenty.

That's not as bizarre a coincidence as it sounds like it should be. The book is called Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah, and it's about a sixteen-year-old Muslim (Palestinian) girl named Amal growing up in Melbourne, Australia. One day she decides she is going to start wearing a hijab, a head-scarf, to school.

It tasted slightly autobiographical - the author's biography is basically the same as the characters, albeit she's Egyptian rather than Palestinian - but it's an interesting story about anti-Muslim prejudice in a post-9/11 world, basically (the book takes place in 2002). Evidently things were as difficult for Muslims in Australia as in the United States . . . I don't know if they still are. But the protagonist is basically a normal eleventh grade girl (there's a lot of the obligatory TV, shopping, and boys talk that you find in most young adult novels) who happens to a) pray five times a day, b) not date, and c) wear a head scarf in public.

Having read about half of the Qur'an, I pretty much knew already that most Muslim beliefs are more or less the same as Baha'i. The head-scarf thing (which is largely a social convention and not obligatory . . . hence, the character doesn't choose to wear one till 11th grade) is obviously something we don't share, but religious beliefs (Amal's parents have a bumper sticker that reads "Islam means peace", and at one point she has a conversation with a friend wherein she explains that Muslims do believe in Christ) and some social practices (fasting and prayer, even if they pray twice more per day than we do) are very similar.

And there's a quote from Baha'u'llah (I don't have a citation because it's just one of those things that I've heard a zillion times) that says that eventually there will be "nothing left of Islam but the name". That's sort of what you see in the terrorism stuff and in the somewhat oppressive governmental institutions. That does not, however, invalidate the religious teachings. That doesn't mean that individual people can't follow those teachings. It does, however, speak to what Yusuf (Cat Stevens) called on the Colbert Report "a blip" in the message. Enough Muslims (at least, those who are doing their terrorism thing) don't read the Qur'an and get "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself" that most Westerners have no idea how fundamental peace is to Islam. They don't think about the fact that at the same time, plenty of Christians don't get "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

That's part of why I liked this book. Because, belonging as I do to a minority religion that shares a lot with Islam (we've got "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself"), I appreciate that people easily judge an entire faith on the behaviors of its most vocal constituants. I know that Islam isn't terrorists and Taliban, but frightening numbers of Americans (and evidently Australians) do not. I can still remember Mum using that sort of thing as a threat to make me behave well when I was little: "We're the only Baha'is any of these people know, Brynne. If you don't say please and thank you, they're going to think Baha'is don't teach their children to be polite." It made an impression.

Stereotyping is just frustrating and media representation just makes it worse. It's kind of like how 99% of scientists say global warming is legitimate, but the news gives the 1% and the 99% equal coverage. Actually, it's worse, because very few reports on Islam seem to be positive. As for Baha'is . . . well, we get basically no publicity at all (though with what's happening in Iran right now, and because Rainn Wilson is a Baha'i, that's changing). It's all just troubling.

However, the fact that the book I just read is at a place like Pendleton Public Library is encouraging.

low blood pressure

My fingers get infected a lot.

Right now the one on which I rest my pen or pencil (or crochet hook), the middle finger on my left hand, is swollen, red, and painful. I've been poking it all day.

I just squeezed it and my vision went black and I sort of swayed. It was a very peculiar feeling. I don't think I want a repeat experience, but I'm curious what makes that happen. Wives tales (or, at least, my mum's tales) tell me low blood pressure, so I guess that's what I'm going with.

Anyway, infected fingers kind of suck.

the family

First off, since I didn't address it last night:

YES. It's LOVELY to be home.

It's funny how things are exactly the same as they used to be (was I ever away?) and yet, because it's temporary, so very different. The fact that at this very moment I ought to be reading Marx or writing an essay on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "Discourse on the Origin of Inequality", for example. Heh. I do have eight more days for such things.

Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving, however, and it feels like it. We haven't started cooking yet (it's only Sunday, for goodness' sake) but the the weather is right and Daddy is home (watching the Daily Show just now) and everyone is cheerful. Layli and Carew are both still asleep because they, unlike me, stay up late all the time. Silly people.

But some folks are up. Like Daddy:

Taran is doing what he always seems to. Note the LEGO Star Wars pajamas . . .


Even the CAT is awake.

Gareth is on the phone with one of his friends, as usual.

Aaaaaand

I'm writing. So's Mum.

Well, actually I'm blogging, because everyone knows that it's the very best way to get anything done . . . .

Neverland

Layli and I just finished watching Finding Neverland.

I saw the movie when it came out like five years ago, in the theatre. It made me cry. I've watched it a couple times wince then and...I dunno, it's just great. Very, very sad . . . but great.

I'm posting about it not to rhapsodize about Johnny Depp (with a cast of Depp, Kate Winslet, and Freddie Highmore, it's NOT POSSIBLE for it to be a bad movie) but to mention that it's actually a perfect movie for me to watch right now because it's late Victorian (1903) and therefore only a couple decades after the rough time period in which THE HELIAND TRAIN exists.

THT isn't our world; it's a sort of alternate magical Europe-esque place. The costumes, however, would be similar and it's sort of like Mum watching the Lord of the Rings for "research" for her books. Not exactly analogous, but close enough to be helpful.

Speaking of THE HELIAND TRAIN - Mum read it today and gave me a whole long email of suggestions, so I'm working on that right now. Feeling pretty excited about the whole thing. It's long for a middle grade book . . . but that's okay. I'm not particularly concerned with length just now; more with making sure the flow and plot are well balanced and the story goes the way it's supposed to. I'm going to make some significant changes to bits in the middle, I think. I'll just try not to stay up too late . . . .



P.S. Terrible as it is . . . Michael Jackson has totally spoiled the term "Neverland" for me. You suck, MJ.

breakness

Mum should be arriving in about ten minutes, so what more is there to do than blog? I've packed everything that needs packing.

I think.

No doubt I'm forgetting something, but I figure that as long as I have my schoolbooks and my wallet, I'm cool. It's weird to be packing for a TEN-DAY TRIP. That's, like , a genuine vacation - warranting a suitcase AND a backpack. Normally I just jam everything into one container and hope for the best, because I hate taking a lot of stuff with me. But, hey . . . .

Exciting stuff.

The hall light outside our bedroom was flickering all last night and the night before, and they've got what sounds like an ARMY of guys fixing it. Amusing. And, because I have no attention span, another funny anecdote is the fact that only about 2/3 of my one o' clock class showed up, and while we sat in the hall waiting for the professor to come unlock the door we decided that instead of doing the work we should just watch an Indiana Jones movie. Most of us were all for "Raiders of the Lost Ark" because that's in the proper part of the world, but some people wanted "Temple of Doom". I don't know why. That's the one with the annoying girl.

We ended up doing a normal class, of course. But everyone is SO ready for Thanksgiving break.

...And I think that will be all. Off to finish packing up!

more yays

LIFE IS GOOD.

Right now, anyway.

The Spanish test this morning went acceptably; the professor sprang an incredibly difficult section on us (enough that at least two girls were crying) but I think it went okay. We had to retell/summarize a story we'd read, in Spanish. My only problem is vocab - it's not that bad (good enough that I wrote my two-page journal entry in Spanish this morning, for practice) but definitely I had to bend over backwards to get around some words I didn't know.

After the test was a meeting with one of my professors about a paper - I always am afraid that it means I did poorly, but this guy meets with all his students for most papers. I think I did pretty well - I'll hopefully get a grade on it tomorrow, but the only things he really had to say were stylistic choice and that I need to provide more citations. He always wants more citations, so I'm pretty okay with it - I did really well on the midterm so I think that even though I whine about the class all the time, it's going to be just fine.

So, as far as school-related stuff goes, the day was excellent.

Also I've done enough homework that basically the only thing I have to read over break is part of the Communist Manifesto. I'll also start at least one essay. But ten days with very little work? Glorious. Family time.

Oh! And because our RA, Thu, is going to Vienna next semester, we're getting a new one. Her name is Hannah and we met her today. She's very nice, but it'll be weird to not have Thu around . . . she's Vietnamese and she had me edit all her scholarship essays for study abroad. She's awesome. Basically I'll miss everyone, actually. Somewhere on my computer I have a picture of everyone in my section . . . .

Oh, goodness. Back row is Ayana, Rose, Kiran, Ashley, Thu, and some upperclassmen I mostly don't really know (I see Linnea there in the pink on the end). Middle is Amy, Hayley, Colleen, Courtney, Sarah, Emily, Cari, and more upperclassmen. Then in the front we've got Lucia, Diana, Cassandra, me, Erin, Joyce, Carrie, and Hina, and the front-front is Adele.

I doubt anyone but me cares.

Also this is us in October right before some of us went to get ice cream with a section from another dorm. Back is Ashley, Kiran, Thu, Sarah, and Margaret; front is Cassandra, me, Joyce, and Hina. Note that I am about twelve shades paler than anyone else.

Although there are some people in the section I don't know as well (such as those whose names I still don't even know!) I like them all. Everyone's just really nice.

Bestest day

1) Impossible Teacher Lady was in a good mood this morning and I got a "very good" from her.

2) I got the readings for Friday mostly done between classes.

3) Encounters was great. I love the people in that class.

4) I'm sorry that Mr Impossible Professor is sick, but I'm SO NOT SORRY THAT HIS CLASS WAS CANCELED TODAY! In fact, I am the opposite of sorry. I am DELIGHTED.

5) I now have time to get all the crap on my schedule cleared up. All the papers on my desk are going OUT.

6) An A (okay, A-) on my Spanish homework for yesterday.

7) ONLY FOUR CLASSES LEFT TILL I GO HOME!