Just finished up my first qat chew....now I feel like I'm in Yemen. For those who don't know, qat is one of the biggest crops and also one of the biggest problems in Yemen. Instead of growing food products, they grow qat, which is a plant that is used as a drug. While it isn't technically addictive, the habit of it is addictive to *most* Yemeni men. Basically, from 1pm to late at night (and some men sleep with the hunk of chewed qat in their mouths) they chew qat. It is a green, leafy plant and you break off the top, small, soft leaves and stick them in the side of your mouth and chew them up into a big hunk and let it sit there for HOURS. You don't even start to feel anything until 2 or 3 hours. And I'm not talking about feeling anything much, but usually it is just an elevated feeling of being very awake and not-hungry. But it was a lot of fun sitting in the mafraj just being able to talk to people. For me, the hardest part about going to America is that no one seems to understand my experiences in the Middle East or give a shit, but I was in a room full of people that have had experiences even cooler than mine as well as my Yemeni professors who have a lot of interesting things to say.
But buying the qat was an experience in itself. Basically anywhere you go in Sana'a, you can see men sitting on the side of the road, with a huge lump in their cheek, selling qat, but you can also go to special markets just for qat. After a huuuuge and delicious lunch of Salta (Yemen's national dish wish is a type of stew/chili thing made from a tomato base with ground lamb, potato, and tons of spices and heat) we went to the nearest qat souk. It was pretty big and had tons of sellers (all of them also chewing) and they were gawking at us because we were a big group of foreigners in the middle of this qat souk...I drew a lot of attention, as normal, because of how tall I am (Yemenis are tiny) and also because of how pale I am. As soon as we took out our cameras to take pictures, they all were yelling at us to take their pictures and I had to go around at least 10 different groups and then show them all the photos.
Also, as we were doing this, they had their camera phones out and were taking pictures of us!

There is definitely no risk of me becoming a habitual qat chewer, but if you come to Yemen, its a necessary experience...it is disgusting and unattractive, but hey, its the national pastime!
OK. Now I really want to address the security situation here. Before I came and also while I've been here, I've been getting messages about why I would want to come to Yemen, and "aren't you scared? there are terrorists in Yemen!"....This is what I want to say: If you are stupid and do stupid things and do not respect Yemeni culture and you decide to travel to somewhere like Ma'rib because you want to be cool and go to a war zone, then yes, something MAY happen to you. I have no shame in telling people that I am American when they ask where I am from, and I have yet to meet with any antagonism. In Sana'a, I feel safe and respected. I'm not going to go to Saada, Ma'rib or anywhere where Al Qaeda is active or the war against the Houthis is active...I like adventure, but I would never do anything to put myself at risk, just like if I were in Syria or Jordan or Palestine. Also, I don't cover my hair here....before I came, I assumed that I would wear the hijab, but being here, I have realized that I get stared at just as much with or without the hijab, and as a foreigner and a non-Muslim, I don't need to cover and am not being disrespectful by not doing so. Most of the Western women here choose not to cover. Of course I dress conservatively and I often wear my awesome abbaya, simply for the fact that it is easy and really comfortable. So, you can probably guess that with red hair, I stand out as much as humanly possible, but I don't feel like a walking target.

Enough about that...

Being in Yemen has really made me reconsider my post-graduation plans. Being in Jordan definitely convinced me that I want/need to live in the Middle East for a couple years before I go to grad school. A. I don't know what I would go to grad school for and B. I want to become fluent in standard Arabic and a dialect. I know I want to return to Jordan for at least a part of those few years, but after being here, I really, really want to come back here next summer for a couple months, assuming the security situation does not worsen. Being here only 5 weeks is not enough to travel to all of the amazing places in this country or even to really get to know Sana'a and the people here. And I love the Yemeni dialect and want to get a better grasp on it. More and more, I'm feeling a little out of place in the US. Arab culture is so warm and welcoming everywhere I have traveled and Yemen is no exception. Granted, it is harder as a woman, because there are boundaries that men cannot cross and out of respect, they tend to keep their distance and don't start conversations as much, but I've had great conversations once I've started them. I still want to get to know more Yemeni women...my plan is to just hang out in a busy abbaya shop for a while and start small talk with the women. I need to go back to the big souk in the old city and buy a jambiyya. I hope it stops raining long enough for me to go without getting drenched. Note: if you come to Yemen in the summer, bring rain boots, a raincoat, and an umbrella! These are essential!

OK, Khalas for now--it's late and I have homework.