After my first day at the university a few weeks ago, I jumped into a cab with a friend at dusk, stressed and tired from the long day. My mind was reeling with the new situation and setting, preoccupied with the computer problems I was having. But as I settled into the back seat, the …
The souls of our shoes: A reflection on Egypt
On Thursday night, as Mubarak defiantly refused to step down from the presidency, the demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square held their shoes high above their heads, making visible their soles and directing them symbolically toward Mubarak. In the Arab world, this action—showing someone the sole of your shoe— is a sign of upmost disrespect. Raising …
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NYT: American students study in the Middle East
Here's an awesome NYT article about the increase in American students studying abroad in the Middle East. I'm hoping to study abroad in Jordan during the second semester of my junior year. Yeah, I do think it would be awesome to live in a country that shares my name and pay with Jordanian dinar (like …
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Arab poet Taha Muhammad Ali
I just stumbled on this video on YouTube of a poetry reading given by Taha Muhammad Ali, a renowned Palestinian poet. His poem, "Revenge", is beautiful in Arabic and English, and its message is one that we must often be reminded of--that hate should not breed hate. I think I'll be picking up his book, So …
JORDAN DENARI DUFFNER 