I really wanted to make another wr- word there but have refrained. I am amazed at my ability to still be shocked by events around me. As those who know me are aware, I tend to spend some time observing and keep my personal perspective, well....personal. In this case, it frees up others to be all out in the open with theirs.
I took this weekend to enjoy the sun and have fun. Yes, fellow New Yorkers, it's November 17th and I have a bit of a sunburn. We spent Saturday and Sunday afternoon at the pool. The pool is one of the true highlights here. There are days when several other people come to enjoy the deep, warm water. This provides some interesting socialization. Some days, the place is deserted and it feels like having an Olympic sized pool to yourself. Saturdays are usually good for the former, Sundays for the latter. The reason being that many of the families here are Christian (conservatives, are these words always linked?) and attend church followed by a light meal out or shopping. It is only us pagans that shop on Saturday (or Muslims as the case may be.)
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon with a clear blue sky and warm yellow sun. I'm guessing the temperatures were in the 90's but that is another of the Western measurements I've come to do without (I don't know if Celius will ever really mean something to me.) It is enough to look outside and know the day is grand. The pool was nice with several other families. Nabih and Mohamed had a chance for some other adult attention. I am half listening to the conversations around me but they're focused on nail polish and hair highlights. The talk gently drifts to on-line brides and trying to set up one of the faculty this way. There is still the tinge of gossip floating around the words and I think idly to myself that this particular person might prefer a husband more than a wife. Someone voices that exact thought and I hear a sharp intake of breath, like a machete slicing the tall grass we have growing all around the edges here. "How could you say that? Don't say that."
They begin to discuss the California referendums and whether or not gay marriage was passed. Lost still in my sun induced haze, I remain unprepared for what is about to happen. There is a bit of discussion about whether it passed and if it was in fact overturned and then cheering. Cheering. I feel like everywhere I turn there is cruelty in the air, lurking behind a friendly face and open smile.
The conservative right, I remind myself. I find most of the missionary families to be gentle and nice. The staff here are pleasant enough. But I am just distanced enough to forget the core beliefs.
In the high school newspaper there was a tongue in cheek photo of one of the coaches crying because McCain lost. It is hard for me to imagine how we could both be working at the same school. I find it difficult to understand how people with such a closed mind would end up in such a diverse and international place. Then I realize there is fault in my thinking, in assuming everynone is here to embrace the many cultures and try to understand different beliefs. They have come to change something they see as wrong and to dominate a system they believe is flawed.
We were all there at the pool, enjoying a swim, splashing and playing together. There was almost a poetry there, the two opposite extremes coming together. I'm just not sure anyone got that but me. Before my silence was taken as complacency, I decided to leave. Sundays are a much better day for swimming.
