“So, what do you think of Yemen?” is a question I’m commonly asked by Yemenis. My usual response is that I haven’t seen enough of the country to form a strong opinion. I live in a hotel, and I work at the embassy, and I see very little in between (not to mention, I pretty […]
Author: The Next Dinner Party
Getting Schooled
One day in high school, it dawned on me that was time to apply for college. I walked down the guidance counselor’s office and waited in line for my assigned counselor, who was tasked with seeing students with last names L-Z, which equaled about 2,500 students at my particularly large suburban high school. I had […]
What’s That? A Diplomat?
Before I met Mr.YemenEm, I don’t think I knew what a diplomat was. I probably grouped diplomat with words like plutocrat, Argonaut, and Gangnam Style that I’d read and meant to look up, but never got around to. After I learned that a diplomat is a person who represents their country abroad, I still didn’t […]
Potty Talk
Last weekend, Mr.YemenEm organized a volleyball tournament at the hotel for Yemeni high school students who recently returned from doing exchange programs in the U.S Every student desperately hoped they’d be placed in a a high rise apartment in New York City, but instead, they were placed in some really random places. (Albeit places that […]
A Weekend in the UAE
There are several “quick” vacation spots from Sana’a that people at the embassy are known to travel to when the isolation of being in Yemen gets too much. Istanbul, thanks to a new somewhat direct route from Turkish Airlines, is an option (and Mr. YemenEm and I took this trip back in October and it […]
What a View
This week I actually got to leave the confines of Sana’a to venture to a neighboring governorate (that’s what the different regions, kind of like states, are called here). Granted, I was in a car and wasn’t exactly rollerskating down the open road feeling the wind flow through my hair. But it was a certain […]
My ‘Great’ Great Aunt
My great aunt Jean was truly my “great” Aunt Jean, was the joke we used to say. Not only was she literally my great aunt, being my grandpa’s sister and all, but she was a great lady. She died last year, but a dream I had recently has caused me to think of her a […]
What to Pack
Packing to live in a country to which you’ve never even traveled is a stressful thing. Especially if you’re a bad packer, like myself. I once packed for a work trip to Vegas in the dead of a DC winter. When I arrived in 90-degree Sin City, I realized I had packed all wool and […]
A Love Story from Yemen
This is the most touching thing you’ll read this Valentine’s Day. No, not this blog. This. Seriously, if you have 10 minutes, read this amazing story about the love between two mentally disabled people. Their story is so beautiful. And here is the most hilarious thing you’ll read this Valentine’s Day. Again, not this blog. […]
Gotta Run
I detest running. It’s probably my least favorite activity. I like it even less than doing dishes or watching football on TV or dancing in public before I’ve had three drinks. I don’t think I’ll ever understand how anyone can enjoy long distance running, because I find it tedious, painful, and self-flagellating. The only instance […]
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