After almost 2 months here in Yemen, it's time to say adios! Sayonara baby! Not just goodbye Yemen, goodbye Arabs! The past 6 months in Arab countries has been mostly great... minus some overly aggressive men... but I'm ready to enter Sub-Saharan Africa. Off to Ethiopia tomorrow!! Ready for some great food, legal alcohol & Rastafarian beats... can't wait!!

Knew the Egyptian Arabic I'd learned would be somewhat different from Yemeni Arabic... but it's really different!

Quickly discovered the Egyptian "Ok" means "No" in Yemen. Wonder how many people I offended with that one...

But just found out that instead of saying "One", I've been saying "Lonely". So I've been ordering "a lonely tea" & the like. But at least they understood what I meant~

Even more hilarious, what I thought was "I'm hot"... was actually me saying "I'm horny"!!! Wow! Coulda gotten in big trouble with that one!!

Tons of people say they hate Americans. But after telling them I AM American, everyone (except one Irishman who later tried picking me up) qualifies it by saying they hate the American government. Interestingly, most non-Westerners eventually go on to contradict themselves by saying their dream is to live in America.

It's a weird love/hate relationship.

Even in business, many companies brand themselves "American" this or that. Except businesses here in Yemen. The one exception, "The American Language Institute" simply goes by its initials.

In fact, Yemen is the first country where I'm a little scared admitting I'm American. My first day I was actually told to say I'm Canadian. (Which I already do when money is involved... too many people think Americans are very rich.)

Going thru the countryside last week had to pass thru security checkpoints every hour. And at each checkpoint, had to hand the guard a pass stating my nationality & tell them where we're headed. (The pass no longer states where the foreigner is going because corrupt police would tip off terrorists!) At about half the checkpoints the guards would look at the paper & say "American, really?" And you could tell they were thinking, "She doesn't seem that bad... but she's American, so really, please just leave my country." In fact, one guard wouldn't let us thru, telling us to go back. He just didn't like me. Funny, we speeded off & prayed they wouldn't follow -- they didn't.

And then there was the bombing of the US Embassy last week. There's fairly good reason to believe that the main purpose was to hurt the Yemeni government with anti-American infliction an added benefit.

But still, Yemen is the first place I've been where the hatred is palpable. And ya' know what... it's a slight refreshing change.

Met one "tour guide" showing around some other tourists in a small city... then while taking care of visa issues at a government office... saw the same guy in his office! And yes, he admitted he worked there!

Supposedly, every hotel has 2 undercover agents. One that everyone suspects & a 2nd super-secret agent. (Following the bombing, our not too secret secret agent has actually organized a lookout post at the highest point in the hotel to watch for terrorists.)

And a French guy went to get a pass to travel to a city known for antiques & he was denied this pass because they "knew" he had talked to people about Yemeni antiques. They didn't tell him this but our not too secret secret agent went with him & told us later.

And recently... discovered I'm being followed. No, I'm not paranoid. Seriously! Every time I hail a cab, I get one of two different drivers. This city has 1,000 cabs yet I only get the same two!

(Muslim men are allowed to have up to 4 wives provided they can afford all of them & treat them equally.)

In case you didn't hear, al-Qaida bombed the US Embassy on Wednesday. Two car bombs, RPGs & a dozen dead. Sad.

But I'm ok. The embassy is only 2 miles from my hotel but thank god I was out of town the past week.

Al-Qaida's promised more attacks & everyone here is saying this is just the start.

Even still, I'm gonna stick around awhile longer. At the end of the month is Eid, the Muslim equivalent of Christmas & I wanna stay for the party.

But if it gets worse, I can buy a ticket out of town & leave 3 days later for the same price as booking weeks in advance. So everyone, please keep your fingers crossed that I won't need to use that option.

So far, nothing I've experienced in Yemen is good for the people. Don't get me wrong, I like it here... but as for the health situation... it's sad.

chewing qat

That's fine every once in awhile. But most do it everyday... including myself. But I'm loving it 'cause I'm finally losing my Laos & Cambodian beer belly. Yeah, there's no exercise in the ritual but there's no food either. It's no wonder the men, who start chewing before puberty, are scrawny little twigs.

And chewing has devastated the economy. Most offices operate only 4hrs/day to accommodate for chewing time. And qat is expensive! Many of the men spend more than half their income on the leaves. I met one family who couldn't afford to take their sick baby to the doctor but the father chewed pricey qat everyday. (There's different qat qualities - the more expensive stuff makes you really high.)

Then there's the environmental impact. Qat farms use a signifigant percentage of the country's water supply... & most of Yemen is a desert. The capital is expected to run of water out in just 10yrs.

And back to health situation...

Ramadan, the Muslim equivalent of Christmas started 3 days ago. It's a whole month where the people are not allowed to do anything during daylight hours... they can't eat, drink (NOT even water!), smoke, have sex, curse or anything fun, just pray & think of god. Ok, it's kind of a nice idea, but really now, no food or drink... that's not healthy.

But at night, it gets interesting.

Just before sunset the entire population, which is now really testy from lack of food & drink, makes a mad dash home to -get ready to- eat. They sit there in front of a huge feast with spoons in hand above the food waiting for the loud speakers from the mosques to declare that they can now eat.

It's kinda sweet, when the speakers do announce chowtime, if anyone is out on the now deserted streets, strangers insist they eat with them.

Then there's a whole ritual for eating. First you must eat a date (yummy!) then 1 or 2 more dishes, drink & smoke if you want, then run off to the local mosque to pray. They then run back home to have the rest of the huge spread.

But it gets weirder... since they're not allowed to do things during the day... they stay awake (with the help of qat) all night long. And just before sunrise, they chow down again & finally sleep on a very full stomach. Seems like cheating if you ask me. And seriously... this can't be healthy! No water or food for many hours then gorging yourself twice before bed. Well I know it's not good for me. I've been open about drinking during the day & tried fasting 2 days but decided I'll go ahead & sneak a little fruit midday.