I was talking to a mullah, and I noticed he was carrying a set of beads. Obviously he was praying. Anyhow - I asked him what they were, since I was interested in how they have prayer beads. The thing he had in his hand was called a 'Tasbih'. It's a series of beads numbering 99... for the number of names of Allah. Anyhow - if they don't know all the titles, they just say 'Allah', 'Allah', etc. - one time for each bead. In wanting to take the moment to share, I asked him if I could show him 'my' prayer beads. He said yes, so I showed him the rosary I had in my pocket (the one that a couple of my students had given me a few years back as a gift from a St. Anne de Beaupre in Quebec). I explained to him what it was and who we were asking intercession from: Our Lady - who they know as 'Miriam'. At first the mullah kicked up a small fuss about how we should only pray directly to God. (Which I found kind of strange that he would react that way - given how much honour they give the Islamic Prophet). But here's what impressed me - I heard someone from the group speak up and explain to him that what we're doing when we pray to Our Lady is to honour God... and this guy wasn't even Catholic - he was Muslim! They guy may not believe our Faith, but he seemed to understand and explain it quite well - so much that the mullah seemed satisfied with the answer begun by me and further explained by the guy.
Some time later, one Local National gave me a Tasbih as a gift. He said it was special since it was one that was obtained in Mecca from one who did the Hajj (one of the requirements of the 5 pillars of faith to do if they could afford). In exchange, I gave him a nice Rosary as a gift.
So the weather was supposed to have cooled off by now, but - it seems to have gotten hotter here! One officer was joking with the weather tech during a briefing, asking if he could order up some rain. He tech jokingly said he would look into it.
The news of the economy looks pretty serious out there. I hope and pray everyone is okay.
As you know - all I ever get to watching is BBC, or some other Brit channel. The Brits have something called 'BFBS' - or: British Forces Broadcast System. It's basically a smorgasborg of different programming. However - since it's pegged to a UK time zone, we get the morning shows in the afternoon, etc.. For a break from media monitoring, we watch 'The Q'... something like MTV... excpet they only feature Brit artists. Hence, Oasis, Coldplay, Kate Nash, Iglu and Harty, Scouting for Girls, and the Ting Tings get played like 5 times an hour... and sometimes the same song. It's like being stuck in an elevator at Marks and Spencer! (though they're a respectable company, so perhaps not) But - I found out the Canadian Forces have their own version. I only ever saw it when waiting for a haircut. It usually plays the CBC Newsworld, Hockey Night in Canada, Corner Gas, etc..
I found out to my dismay that Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving! (I lost track of time!) Some jokingly say that every day is a Tuesday (too far from a weekend to feel refreshed, and not close enough to the weekend to have anything to look forward to. We work 7 days a week here, and every day feels the same... like a Tuesday). Hahaha! Leave it to the troops to philosophize that one up!
When I get back I have to show you a short video of some Afghans dancing. One traditional dance is really neat, but I didn't get a recording of that. Instead - the video that I do have has a bunch of guys jumping around and partying like it's 1375 (That's what it is in their calendar... I think).
I almost got to buy a 'dishdasha' (Afghan traditional mens clothing)... which I found out is not really what it's called. It's properly called a 'Khali'. (I don't know if the spelling is correct) Anyhow - I didn't, but perhaps I will, just to show you. Plus - they do look comfortable, as I had already mentioned.
Well everyone - have a great, Happy Thanksgiving! Sounds cheesy, but what I will be thankful for on that day is for all of you who are praying for me and all of us. Seriously - the prayers can be felt! I hope I can translate that into cheerfulness for Our Lord and others out here. Have a good one! Cheers! ;)
1 comment:
Hi Sir, hope the craving for peaches hasn't gotten to ya, I wish u cud send that weather our way cuz its starting to get cold ^^;; And the british stuff sounds kinda interesting, I think you're going to come back more British than anything... Thats pretty strange a Philippino Brit, never heard of that before, but I'm Jamaican Chinese so i think it balances itself out. If not, then well,,,,, We got ur card, its pretty cool, I'd tell you what i thought about it more in depth if my memory wasn't shot, too much school and lack of sleep. Anyway we managed to book off the auditorium for thanksgiving so its going to be cool and we got another recruit, its a shy little asian guy in grade 5 but hope for the best.
Also it sounds as if you're getting into the exact opposite of summer mode, in summer every day is a Saturday lol. Anyway i should be studying but procrastination is deadly, I have accounting, bio tests and an art assignment to do so.... should be fun =D Also i got a -6/10 on an accounting quiz no the dash isnt a typo i really did get a negative mark, but not to worry, Mr. Leskur tells us that some people bomb the first one anyhow it didnt count and ive been doing pretty well, and if it makes you feel better i got 94% on my first math test =D anyway, goodnight, or goodmorning depending on when you read this
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