HW 42: Final Podcast

Gabcast! A Blog of One's Own #58

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 33: Iraqi Podcasts

I recently watched a podcast called "Challenges at a Girls School in Baghdad" from the Alive in Baghdad series. This podcast was published on May 21, 2007. You can view this podcast at http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2007/05/21/challenges-at-a-girls-school-in-baghdad/. This podcast is about the trouble they are having at a school in Iraq because of the war going on there. They talk to a director of the school, a teacher, and some students at the school. There is one girl that stuck out to me in this podcast. She is an Iraqi girl that is wearing a white headscarf. She talks about hearing explosions near her home and having to have her whole street and she could not get to school. She says she has lost the day's lesson because she couldn't be there. She also talks about how her family is nervous about sending her to school because it is far from her home and she needs to continue to go to school to keep up with her studies and do well. She also says that her family wants her to quit school but she insists on going. She says she could switch to a school closer to home but she is familiar with the school she is at and the teachers that are there. The opening shot is of a schoolyard. There are trees and other buildings behind it. It is bustling full of girls chatting and being together. As they go inside the building looks very old and worn down. There are some decorations and a poster on the wall. The walls are white or grey. The teachers have a blackboard and chalk to teach with. They share their desks with one other girl. There are some girls that wear head scarves in the school and some that don't. A viewer of this podcast might learn what people have to go through on an everyday basis and that women do go to school and they are not confined to the household. This is not what you see on the news. You don't see children getting an education or anything. The buildings do look similar as in broken because of the war. What is most memorable thing about this podcast is that it opened my eyes to see how many girls are in school and want to be there.

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