20100116-1430
Just finished lunch, fish and rice with chicken and veggies. Shane and Cloff talked about nonprofitness and what they would expect from a [Nonprofit Management] major. Good stuff to hear, but [Christian Peacemaker Teams] and [The Simple Way] are not your average nonprofits. It may be good to consider incorporating the whole “social business” model into my research with Dan next semester.
Also had an unexpectedly long conversation with the group about my vocation. At the mayor’s office, I asked about the idea of talking to the military. This prompted a lengthy discourse, similar to what Sami had expressed, about the occupation bringing...
Pedro = Hussein Ahmed ______, trained by Navy SEALS in Rutba.
US Navy left three months ago (November? October?)
Likr the SWAT guy at the entrance to Rutba, Pedro has picked up the American swagger perfectly. He could easily have been the Marine his shirt implied he was.
...terrorism. He didn’t answer the question, but I supposed I didn’t ask it directly. I was still unsure how specific I could be about my past. So today after the mayor’s meeting, we were actually talking about the charity work we’re all getting excited about. At what I thought was a breaking point, I asked Sami how he was reading the situation, and if he felt mentioning to the police and SWAT guys about our common training. Folks still seem to feel I am expecting to confess somehow, so that’s a little frustrating. I feel like I have been typecast as a sullen, brooding anti-hero or something.
Considering my own personal emotional ambiguity, and sharing that with folks, I should not be surprised.
Anyway, Sami had a good word about Tom Fox, explaining that while we had a relative certainty about those here at the hospital, a lot of people are not as trustworthy. Not in a bad way, but with poor education and all, the anger is much less easily overcome. Besides, while the police may be interested, these are not the average Iraqi. The rest of the group chimed in, making me uncomfortable for having brought it up. I was very happy that Sami suggested...
...that questions I had be worded in the third person. For example; “I work with many military members who...” or “what would you say to a soldier, if you could have a face to face?” Because I am, in fact, a student and will be studying the military, I could couch my questions in those terms. That makes me feel like I could be much more productive and not endanger the group. It was a good conversation, but I really need to learn to avoid redirecting the ‘mission.’ Sometimes I also feel bad for sticking out, like last night.
We hadn’t eaten all day...
...(we had a Power Bar in the car and shared some candy at the border). By evening, my stomach started up, which seemed pretty miraculous anyway. Usually I can’t go more than a few hours. Still waiting on test results, but could be hypoglycemia. Anyway, we were sitting waiting to be served dinner and I was getting irritable and my stomach really got going. If I ate right before being served, it would be really impolite. Greg had some Power Bars luckily, so I headed upstairs and inhaled it.
Sometimes I suck.
