Baghdad Diaries

I am in the group that is reading the book the Baghdad Diaries this week for class. I have not finished the entire book, but from what I have read already I am so impressed with al-Radi. She has to be one of the strongest people I have ever heard of. I know that there must be so many others stories like the ones she tells in her book, and it makes me realize just how much the people in Iraq and specifically Baghdad go through on a daily basis. It is hard for me to understand and picture what living in the middle of a war zone would be like, and I know that the pictures that are shown on the news and in the media is nothing compared to what actually goes on. Parts of the book actually put me to tears because I know that if it were me going through the events in this book that I don't think I would be strong enough to get through it. I know that survival is one of the strongest feelings a person can have and I know that I would do what I could to survive but I don't know how someone can stay sane and even happy at times in times and situations like that. I can't imagine what it must feel like to lay in your bed at night and hear bombs going off all around you and constantly wondering if your house was next. I think she does go about dealing with these issues in the right way however.
Even though it probably one of the hardest things to do I think that in order to get through situations like this that you must find the smallest joys and hold onto those. Things such as going to her friends houses and having her dog around are the things she has to focus on in order to keep herself sane. I know that I do the same thing when it seems like I have too much to do and a lot of stress with things in life, I have to take a step back and do something to either take my mind off the bad things and focus on what is good in my life. I think al-Radi has to do the same thing in a much worse situation. This book is definitely eye opening for me and gives me more of an idea to what people go through on a day to day basis. Although there are not a lot of big events in the book I still really enjoy it. I finally am getting a better understand of what life day-to-day is like and not only hearing about the big events of the war, but instead what goes on everyday. There are some things I never realized too, such as having to eat the food when they get it because there is no way to keep and preserve what they have.
I will say that I am a conservative republican and I supported what the war was doing. It is hard to see though how we can justify killing and causing innocent people to live this way. I know that we had to do something because if we didn't there could be much worse things happening in the world along with those who live in Iraq. I am starting to realize thought that there may have been a different way to go about the war and that maybe there was a way that we could have saved more civilian lives. I know there is really nothing we can do about it now, but maybe for future issues there may be a different way to go about things. I do feel bad that there are innocent people who have to live this way and that they deal with things on a daily basis that I hope I never have to live through in my life, but I do think that some of what happened with the war was necessary. I hope this doesn't spark too much political debate but I think that from reading this book and seeing some of the movies we have watched in class that my opinion about what is going on with the war are changing. As my knowledge grows about this part of the world, I think that I will be able to keep formulating a more well rounded opinion and better educated opinion and also be able to back up what I argue.

After watching the "Reel Bad Arabs" and having our discussion in class it made me realize that I need to inform myself on what is going on instead of just watching movies and taking what I hear off the news as the truth and how people in that culture live. I know that I mention this a lot, but honestly I never truly realized how sheltered my ideas about those in the Middle East were and how much I actually didn't know. It wasn't because I disagree with more of their culture or that I have something against them, I think it was the simple fact that I was unaware of their culture and what they went through so I never truly cared to come face to face with some of the horrible things that went on.

It was definitely ironic when the "Reel Bad Arabs" had the section about Aladdin. It is definitely true that this is one of the few options we have in America to decide how we are going to view those in the Middle East. The other is that all of them are terrorists, which along with everything being mystical and a fairy tale, we don't have many other opinions or facts to give us any indication as to how these people live or the things they go through in their lives, or even the similarities they have to people in the West. The reason that seeing a film that showed how people view Aladdin is ironic is because my 4 year old kids at day care that I take care of everyday had just watched the movie last week. Several of them asked me where this was, and why they were dressed this way, and if all people could live in a castle. I believe this ties in perfectly with what the video was trying to say. This is probably one of the first times these kids have been exposed to that group of people and the first impression they get is that this is magical and that's it. I honestly had a hard time explaining to them all of the questions they asked because honestly, I didn't know many of the answers myself. At the time I really didn't think anything of it, until I got into this class. Now I realize there really is no excuse as to why I shouldn't know the answers to those questions or why I shouldn't try to understand their culture better. It's true that many of them live in America and I should be willing to understand their culture to better understand them as people, and not strictly by what I see on TV.

During this week I found it very difficult actually to pick out the book that I wanted to read. I went over some of the options and looked up what they were about online and tried to figure out books that would teach me a lot about the customs and cultures that I didn't know already. I had a list of about 5 that I thought would be interesting but I ended up picking "The Panther in the Basement" by, Amos Oz and "Sand Devil" by, Michael Oren. Both of these books looked as though they would be interesting, merely by the title themselves. I am excited to start the reading and see what they are all about. See everyone in class today!!

The first day of class....

I have to admit that when I first walked into class I was a little intimidated because for awhile I wasn't quite sure what the class was going to be all about. Once we got further into it I realized that this class, although a lot of work, is going to be very interesting and give me great perspectives on literature and cultures that I do not know a whole lot about. I am hoping that by hearing other people's reports as well that I will better understand how people live in other parts of the world and be able to teach others about that as well. I also have to admit that I only really learn about the Middle East by what I see on TV, which I am sure is not the best way to understand what is really going on in the world or how people truly live. It will be good to read literature that is from authors from different countries who have actually lived in that culture. Hopefully, I will be able to take out some of the judgement I have about this area of the world through this class. I am definitely excited to start this class and wish it was more than one day a week!!