HW 42: Final Podcast

Gabcast! A Blog of One's Own #58

HW 37: Podcast Number 2

Gabcast! A Blog of One's Own #31

HW 36: Podcast Number 1

Gabcast! A Blog of One's Own #9

HW 34: Tea Time in Baghdad

Reading about the custom of tea in Iraq from Baghdad Burning this week was really interesting. I learned that in Baghdad you don't use teabags when you drink tea. "If you serve "teabag tea" to an Iraqi, you risk scorn and disdain—a teabag is an insult to tea connoisseurs. It speaks of a complete lack of appreciation for the valuable beverage." (Riverbend 108) This shows me that they don't mess around with teatime there. They use actual tea leaves boiled in water for their tea. Riverbend speaks very highly of their tea. She talks about the glass cups they drink the tea out of called "istikans" that are shaped like the number 8. She also says that the color of the tea needs to be the perfect deep red-brown color. Another thing she points out is the amount of sugar each person gets. "2 spoons for dad and I, 3 for E. and one for mom." (Riverbend, 109) they talk about lots of things such as hijackings, demonstrations, gas, or empty water pumps. This tea Riverbend and her family talk about the Turkish troops. This is not normal for us to see talking about at the dinner table, but to them it is everyday conversation.

Lindsay

HW 32: School Supply Time!

The next section that I read from Baghdad Burning by Riverbend was really neat. She talked about many different topics but my favorite was when she talked about shopping for school supplies. She went with her cousin and E. to pick out some school supplies for her cousins two daughters. Her daughters were 7 and 10. "So we packed into the car and headed off for a shopping area in the middle of Baghdad." (Riverbend, 94) They don't have malls like we do here in the United States, they have smaller shops on the sides of streets. Riverbend had a little bit of trouble choosing notebooks for the younger of the two girls. She had to choose between Winnie the Pooh and the Lion King. She eventually chose Winnie the Pooh. Choosing school supplies in Baghdad is just like buying you supplies here. They have notebooks with characters on them that you want when you were their age. She got back to give the notebook to the younger of the girls and she was mortified that she had Winnie the Pooh and she wanted Barbie. We can see the similarities from Baghdad to the US and it is really neat how they compare.

Lindsay

HW 31: Baghdad Burning Terms

One term that I saw in Baghdad Burning was depleted uranium. I really didn't know what that was when I came up to it and how it got people sick so I went to investigate more. Looking at the Wikipedia for depleted uranium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium#Armor_plate I see that depleted uranium is the uranium after the removal of a certain isotope. They use this depleted uranium in aircrafts, radiation shields in medical radiation therapy machines and containers for them, while the military uses it for defensive armor plates and tanks. It is controversial to use in ammunition because it is very harmful for the environment. It has been known to be highly toxic to mammals, but is not known to cause cancer. It also can increase birth defects in children that are born from people who have been exposed to depleted uranium. This has been used in Iraq before, in 1991. Riverbend thinks it might have been used in this war too. Riverbend tells us "I remember seeing babies born with a single eye, 3 legs, or no face—as a result of DU [depleted uranium] poisoning." (Riverbend, 47) So I see that this is in the book because this happened in Baghdad during the war.

Lindsay

HW 28: An Open Letter to Riverbend

Riverbend:

I really now see myself as a misinformed American. For the first few days in your book I realized all the misconceptions that the news shows us about your country. Here in the United States Iraq is portrayed to us as dirty, has dusty roads, people live in shacks on these dirt roads, people in cultural clothing, and men and women have different things they are allowed to do. Reading your book you tell people that you have computers, jeans, sophisticated bridges and highways, and fast cars. You also said that you had a good job working with computers. I didn’t think that women in Iraq had jobs like that if at all. These things are shown to the US extremely different. I realize many people from the United States act like this. You said “And keep one thing in mind—tanks and guns can break my bones but emails can be deleted,” after seeing the e-mails from others criticizing you. I think you are so brave to be putting your view out on the web and in a book, and some people just can’t handle the truth of other views of the war. It’s ridiculous and I greatly appreciate what you have done by opening my eyes and other peoples by writing what you do and showing another view about the war and Baghdad itself.

Sincerely,
Lindsay

HW 27: What's Going on In Baghdad Burning

Riverbend. Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq. New York: The Feminist Press, 2005.

The authors name is Riverbend. We only know her as Riverbend because she is a woman from Iraq that is writing in secret so she won’t get caught by her country. Iraq’s laws are different then the US’s and women aren’t allowed to do many things we do. She is in Baghdad and writes when she can because the war going on keeps making the electricity go out. This book will show me the behind the scenes effects of the war in Iraq. I will also learn a lot about the culture and what the war is doing to the country as a whole. This book seems very informational. It may be hard to process all the different things she says sometimes. Also a lot of the names of people are Arabic and I have a hard time pronouncing them. I am happy to be reading Baghdad Burning and I am up for the challenge.

Lindsay

HW 25: Memories... All Alone in the Moonlight

Yes, we are starting to read a new book, Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq by Riverbend. Reading the foreword and introduction it brought back a few memories of that fateful time of the war. I never believed I would actually have to live through a time when there was a war but I have. These two parts of the book explained two views from Ahdaf Soueif and James Ridgeway about the war. Soueif talks about the book and some of what Riverbend will be talking about while Ridgeway talks about what it looked like from the American view of the Iraq war. Ridgeway also goes into more about the American history with wars, which is a little dry to me. I had no idea the specific day they officially invaded Iraq. The thing I remember most is being in 7th grade in math class with Mr. E on September 11. I remember they would not turn on the television or tell us anything specific about what was going on. I am not a person that is hugely into war but I think this will be a good read and I am very excited to get started.

Lindsay