There a certain magical hour at U.S. embassy in Sana’a that occurs exactly once a week. During this hour, the desks of the Americans are empty and hope and anticipation hover invisibly in the air. The Americans are gathered, like eager children on the first day of school, or like the feral cats perched on […]
Tag: Posts from Yemen
Blog entries from Yemen
It’s Always Sunny in Sana’a
I like to sleep with the shades pulled shut, blocking out even the tiniest slivers of light. Every morning when I get up, I throw them open and yell “Top O’ the Morning to You, World!” with a big ol’ grin on my face. Ha, yeah right. That’s Mr.YemenEm , who is the in other […]
Where the Livin’ is Easy
A Yemeni asked me recently what the U.S. is like. Of all the adjectives that appeared in my head: “fun,” “beautiful,” “amazing,” and some word that would encapsulate the fact that you could pick two random people from the U.S. and they could very well have completely opposite views on politics, religion, and social justice […]
The Transition to Government
Working for the government takes some getting used to, and it’s not just because the microchip they planted in my arm keeps getting infected. Despite living in the most bureaucratic city in the world (Washington DC, not Sana’a) I managed to avoid being too engrossed in the inner workings of the government. I’ve been working […]
A Post in Which I Overuse the Term “Passion”
My biggest fear about moving to Yemen — a fear bigger that what I’d wear, eat, and whether I’d get blown up — was whether I’d be sacrificing a piece of myself. After all, it was Mr. YemenEm’s goal to work in Yemen, and I just came along for the ride. One thing I knew […]
Say ‘Cheese!’
You know how people sometimes ask “If you had to pick, would you rather be deaf or blind?” (Which is a dumb question, because obviously you’d pick deaf. No offense, blind people. Who probably aren’t reading this anyway). Well sometimes I ask “If you had to pick, would you rather never eat cheese again, or […]
The Western Lens
For my job, I recently had to pick out a photo that illustrates how the U.S. is working to improve health in Yemen. While the U.S. really does a lot to improve health here, the photo selection was slim. I asked a Yemeni co-worker where I might find some pics and he led me into […]
To Sleep Perchance to Dream Crazy Things
I had the craziest dream a few nights ago. And I really mean it. Not like when people say “Oh man, I had the craziest dream. I was eating nachos in my middle school but it wasn’t my middle school, it was 7-11 and I was talking to my friend Jen and then her face […]
Locked Up Abroad
Well it appears to have calmed down a great deal here in Sana’a and today actually feels like a normal weekend. Which is somewhat notable because it’s not a weekend here, it’s the weekday. But still, the lockdown in our hotel was lifted for a few hours today. I used my reprieve from the confines […]
In the Morning Light
Mr. YemenEm and I just woke up here in Sana’a. We slept with the windows open because the air conditioning wasn’t working and I wanted to hear what was going on outside (don’t worry – curtains shut!) and it’s the first time that our hotelpartment is nice and cool. Right now our room feels like […]
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