People First

1. People here are patient with me. Most people try to understand when I speak English, though they absolutely do not understand when I mispronounce French, which is absolutely every time I try to speak French.

2. People in cafes can stay in cafes for as long as they please, drinking only one tiny cup of coffee if they like. No one is shooing you away. No one is asking you for your seat.

3. People walk across the road, sometimes dangerously, and though I'm sure they do get hit, vehicles slow down (almost unreasonably, in my mind) to avoid hitting pedestrians.

4. People driving vehicles tend to use their horns to alert drivers in the right lane that they are passing them in the left. And while we're on the road, if you find that you need to make a right turn, but find that you are three lanes far away, ne t'inquiète pas: merge on over there, nice and steady-like. People will find a way around you.

5. People walking along the street fearlessly approach each other from opposite directions, neither indicating which way they'll move in order to avoid collision. And you find yourselves miraculously passing each other, barely touching elbows.

6. People who are accepting your payment may try to cheat you. If you catch them at it, smile and reclaim the money instead of yelling and getting heartsore. They were just moving into the space they saw, filling in the cracks.

All this to say, things are... negotiable. People are pliable. People are first. People people people.

Conversation Tips

Example #1
Stacey: What's your middle name?
Carolyn: Grey.
Stacey: I have gray sheets.

1. Nice job! You found something you have in common.

----

Example #2
Carolyn: I feel like a cat who needs to be kept in the bathroom for a while.
Stacey: ...

2. This is tricky. You've just said something that your conversational partner will find alarming because it's unusual. First, assume nothing. Don't assume the person is joking just because the thing sounds unfathomable. A smile and an understanding nod go a long way for those in-between moments.

----

Example #3
Carolyn: *&%$!!!
Stacey: Maybe hold back on the cursing until the call to prayer is over.

3. It's okay to be angry. Before spouting off curse words, look around for reasons why cursing might be a bad idea. The reason they're called curse words is because they're not appropriate for most situations, during the call to prayer and in front of a mosque, for instance, would be a bad time to talk about something potentially frustrating.

----

Example #4
Carolyn: Murder really annoys me. 

4. Remember, when you're annoyed, try to imagine if someone else in the situation might be more annoyed than you are.

----

Example #5
Carolyn: I think we're lost.
Stacey: We're not lost, we're just not there, yet!

5. Good work! See how a positive attitude can redirect your anxious thoughts? Keep going!

Riddle Me This...

How do you teach about the separation of church and state without recommending it? I have a certain affinity for it, as a matter of fact.

It becomes necessary to talk about the interference of the church and state when teaching about the Middle Ages. I was an inch away from going off on my usual rant regarding the separation of church and state when I realized... I am living in a Muslim country.

That is to say, this is not a Muslim country in the same way I'm from a "Christian" country, but in a way that has laws that dictate religious observances.

So I stopped abruptly, mid-lecture, and said we'd pick up there tomorrow. Right now it's 8:38 PM, and I'm planning tomorrow. It occurs to me that I spend each school day creating new riddles for myself to work out in the evening.

God, what will you do with cities?

Leave the dirt.
In it grows
our only hope
to live again.

Pavements crack.
Buildings fall.
Rain and wind
shall do their work.

Have no fear
of all we build;
even evil
will have its day—

invasive weed
soon stripped away—
trees shall grow in its place.

---

I walk through this brown city, and think how lovely it could be if only we would leave it alone to grow some green. If only we would leave the dirt to build up on the sidewalks, filling up crevices: little greens would shoot up, and slowly tear the asphalt apart. In a few years, the city would be unidentifiable, and we would have a real place to live. 

Forgive me. I know I can't have it both ways. It's just, we seem to ruin all we touch; instead of guiding and stewarding the earth, we try to conquer it, as if we hate it instead of loving it. 

All cities do not have to be "a paralysis" a la James Joyce. Moroccan designers, builders, craftspeople, rich people, green-loving humans with souls who haven't known peace: BUILD US A PARK IN CASABLANCA.