(Outros papéis sociais: o de tia)
Paul Dixon, 29 anos, o meu sobrinho mais velho, comandante militar no Iraque(Na opinião da tia, tem vocação para historiador - já sabem como são as tias: têm opiniões sobre tudo - por influência do pai estudou numa selecta academia militar da Carolina do Sul)
Uma crónica do Iraque
"Hey all
Just a quick hello from the desert. Except I'm not really in the desert, per se. More like an urban landfill. Hmm..sounds appealing, huh? So not much to report really. I stayed inside the wire yesterday and I pulled security for another team today. That was fun, but uneventful. I pretty much just stayed up in the gun of the humvee and watched as little kids tried to get us to give them something, anything. The first thing that they always ask for is a football (ok, they actually want a soccerball, but like we all know they call it a football). After that they will ask for chocolate (which we never carry because, hello, it's over a hundred degrees and the stuff melts). Then they'll ask for money. Nope, sorry, I am not giving ANYONE other than my wife money...except for bill collectors...and even then it's at my discretion. If they can't get those things they'll ask for beanie babies or pens. They really don't care what you give them as long as you give them something. The problem is, if you give 1 kid something, a dozen more will come up asking for stuff. We've litterally had HUNDREDS of kids swarm us asking for stuff. So we've learned not to give anything out until we are readdy to roll away. Then we have the gunners throw stuff to the side so we don't run anyone over. Also, I don't remember if I've mentioned this before, but there are no traffic laws over here. It is nothing to see cars going the wrong way down highways and main roads. Or coming up the wrong way of an on/off ramp. Of course, we rule the roads. We get people out of our way in a hurry so we can keep moving. Another thing with this is that these people DO NOT pay attention. We can be blasting our police sirens and they won't notice until we are on their bumper. They don't look to their right and left when crossing the intersection. The mentality is "An shllah" which translates to something to the effect of "god willing". This mentality permeates the Arab culture. If something happens, good or bad, it's because Allah willed it so.
So if they get T-boned by a Mack truck, it isn't because they weren't paying attention to the roads, it's because Allah wanted it to happen. This is also how they deal with time and deadlines. We (Americans) live by timelines. Reports are due at a certain time, we show up for work at a certain time, a lot of things are regimented according to time. Not so with these guys. It's ALWAYS "An shallah". So if you set up a meeting at 1000 one day, they will ALWAYS say "An shallah" and more likely then not show up an hour late, if at all. Makes it kinda frustrating for us sometimes. Of course, us Southerners are better able to deal with this, but them Damn Yankees throw a fit when this happens, especailly those from New York City. Well, that's just a little insight of some of the cultural stuff over here.
I hope each and every one of ya'll is doing well. Make sure ya'll are enjoying those temperate summer days over there. Yeah, 90 degrees is REALLY hot....jackasses...sorry, I might be a little bitter. It's supposed to get above 110 and keep climbing to 121 next week. Anyway, ya'll take care and be good! Love, Paul"
Reflectindo sobre as "issues" interculturais em pleno teatro de guerra, anh?! Fleumático qb (influência paterna?) com uns "fireworks" latinos, cá dos nossos lados. Cliquem ali na foto e vejam lá se não há uns traços de nariz-boca próximos cá da tia. I HATE this war. Nothing personal, obviously... I just can't stand watching our baby in the middle of HELL.
"Hey all
Just a quick hello from the desert. Except I'm not really in the desert, per se. More like an urban landfill. Hmm..sounds appealing, huh? So not much to report really. I stayed inside the wire yesterday and I pulled security for another team today. That was fun, but uneventful. I pretty much just stayed up in the gun of the humvee and watched as little kids tried to get us to give them something, anything. The first thing that they always ask for is a football (ok, they actually want a soccerball, but like we all know they call it a football). After that they will ask for chocolate (which we never carry because, hello, it's over a hundred degrees and the stuff melts). Then they'll ask for money. Nope, sorry, I am not giving ANYONE other than my wife money...except for bill collectors...and even then it's at my discretion. If they can't get those things they'll ask for beanie babies or pens. They really don't care what you give them as long as you give them something. The problem is, if you give 1 kid something, a dozen more will come up asking for stuff. We've litterally had HUNDREDS of kids swarm us asking for stuff. So we've learned not to give anything out until we are readdy to roll away. Then we have the gunners throw stuff to the side so we don't run anyone over. Also, I don't remember if I've mentioned this before, but there are no traffic laws over here. It is nothing to see cars going the wrong way down highways and main roads. Or coming up the wrong way of an on/off ramp. Of course, we rule the roads. We get people out of our way in a hurry so we can keep moving. Another thing with this is that these people DO NOT pay attention. We can be blasting our police sirens and they won't notice until we are on their bumper. They don't look to their right and left when crossing the intersection. The mentality is "An shllah" which translates to something to the effect of "god willing". This mentality permeates the Arab culture. If something happens, good or bad, it's because Allah willed it so.
So if they get T-boned by a Mack truck, it isn't because they weren't paying attention to the roads, it's because Allah wanted it to happen. This is also how they deal with time and deadlines. We (Americans) live by timelines. Reports are due at a certain time, we show up for work at a certain time, a lot of things are regimented according to time. Not so with these guys. It's ALWAYS "An shallah". So if you set up a meeting at 1000 one day, they will ALWAYS say "An shallah" and more likely then not show up an hour late, if at all. Makes it kinda frustrating for us sometimes. Of course, us Southerners are better able to deal with this, but them Damn Yankees throw a fit when this happens, especailly those from New York City. Well, that's just a little insight of some of the cultural stuff over here.
I hope each and every one of ya'll is doing well. Make sure ya'll are enjoying those temperate summer days over there. Yeah, 90 degrees is REALLY hot....jackasses...sorry, I might be a little bitter. It's supposed to get above 110 and keep climbing to 121 next week. Anyway, ya'll take care and be good! Love, Paul"
Reflectindo sobre as "issues" interculturais em pleno teatro de guerra, anh?! Fleumático qb (influência paterna?) com uns "fireworks" latinos, cá dos nossos lados. Cliquem ali na foto e vejam lá se não há uns traços de nariz-boca próximos cá da tia. I HATE this war. Nothing personal, obviously... I just can't stand watching our baby in the middle of HELL.
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