IN THE EYES OF BATTOTA

UK, Oxford, Oct 20th 2008

Hello friends … Mrs. Battotah is back on the move. I am in the UK, Oxford attending a conference of Islam and Feminism. I will keep you posted on the conference.

I want to apologize for not replying to the lovely emails and comments left on my blog, and my email inbox  wishing me a Happy Eid and safe return home from Japan. But between the jet lag and culture shock I was left with very little to say.

A  few days ago I received some very sad news … a very dear friend and role model, who some of you may know, Dr. Saddeka Arebi has passed away may Allah bless her. Actually she passed away in 2007 and I only just found out. She was a Prof at The University of Berkley’s in Anthropology. I am now reading her book titled “Women and Words in Saudi Arabia: The Politics of Literary Discourse” …

The news has left me numb inside and a bit dazed. It’s so hard to make sense of it. It’s funny … although we all know that we will be leaving this world someday it seems so far and unreal…

Mrs. Battoata

Wednesday, 17th September, 2008

Tokyo, Japan

Fasting in Japan:
First of all thanks for your comment Sulafa I LOVE receiving comments on my blog. I get SOOooOOO excited, and realize that someone is reading it So keep those comments coming. And feel free if you have any questions you would like me to explore, or better yet, if you have heard about cool places to visit, let me know about it.

Let me begin by saying fasting in Japan is not the easiest deal … and it is giving me a HARD TIME. Actually it is challenging for several reasons:
1. During the day it is sunny and hot. So after walking around for a while you feel so dried out. At that point I feel like something cold and icy, like a mango or berry slush … yam yam
2. The food in Japan is to die for. Any one who has been to Japan can tell you that. And food is everywhere … restaurant after restaurant. But what makes it even worse is that there food is always displayed in the window of the shops. So you can’t escape that feeling because literally everywhere you go there is food … you smell it from a mile away you see it and you can only assume how delicious it is. And besides, what’s the fun in site seeing with out being able to snack, right??some of my favorite foods I have experienced here are:   ginormous crispy shrimp, fish and vegetable tempura with a delicious sweet salty sauce on top of plain white rice, countless types of sushi everywhere, noodle shops, pastries and the best ever soft chocolate ice-cream … and i can go on and on. But I will stop here. Or I am bound to break my fast

Two accomplishments:
1. I got a BIKE  ….. Finally. Since Boston I wanted to get a bike and finally I got a nice orange bike as gift from a friend we met who is returning to Germany so he left his bike with us. Its funny how sometimes things we want so bad eventually come to us in the most unexpected ways. But riding here is crazy. There are NO RULES. Just bye the bike and hop on. No helmets needed, not lights, no bells, no bike lane … nothing. You just ride on the side walk with the pedestrians whenever convenient and in the streets when convenient.

2. Yesterday was my first lesson, 2 hrs long, of Japanese Calligraphy, which is called Shodoo. It is such a beautiful art. They teach you how to position yourself when sitting and all. It take alto of concentration and practice. And as soon as you loose your focus it reflect in your brush strokes. My teacher said that your stokes mirrors your inner state. But by the end of the session I felt as though I had been in a meditation session … so calm and peaceful … I was overwhelmed by a sense of serenity. Then it was Iftar time so I forgot about the serenity and all and ran downstairs for my sushi session and I enjoyed that even more
Sharia

AKA. Mrs Batoota

9th Sept, 2008                                                                                                                   Tokyo, Japan

Random observations:

Payment served on a platter: One of the most interesting things I have yet found is the mannerisms of the Japanese people. You will notice that any where you go, whether a small local restaurant, a franchise, a lavish five star restaurant, a department store or a supermarket when you come to pay there is always a small platter in front of the cashier in which you place the money to pay for items. The cashier will then with two hands take the money from the platter type up your receipt and hand you the change with both hands while slightly bowing and saying (arigato guzaimas) thank you.

Toothbrush: You would not believe how clean the metro stations are in Japan if you have not seen it for yourself. Specially when comparing it to metro’s in the UK or the US. One day I was thinking “my god!! to keep the metro station this clean you would have to clean it with a toothbrush!!” low and behold a few days later while waiting for the metro I see the cleaning women down on all four, scrubbing a tile with a TOOTHBRUSH!! I am not even exaggerating. She would scrub scrub scrub then wipe … scrub scrub scrub then wipe …until the yellow tile was bright yellow looking like they had just placed new tiles on the floor.

Free Water: I loved the idea that any local or franchise restaurant you walk into they will always serve you a cup of ice cold water for free. It’s just one of those small things you appreciate when everything is so expensive and life is so demanding. You think at least I can still quench my thirst with a cup of ice cold water for free.

Sharia

AKA. Mrs Batoota

P.S. If you ever run into a cockroach in Japan, WARNING!!! they are the freaking biggest roaches I have ever seen. So if you can avoid coming in the hot humid seasons of Aug and Sept you don’t have to worry about them

23rd August, 2008                                                                                              Tokyo, Japan

Random observations:

1. Earthquake: Yesterday I experienced my first earthquake of 5.1 on the Richter scale. I was sitting at home when all of a sudden the floor under my feet started shaking. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was an earthquake, but by that time it was over. Saleh and I looked up at each other, and said “earthquake”. Although it was for no longer then 4 sec. it gave me the shivers. Apparently there are earthquake quite often here, but they are so mild we don’t feel them. And besides people are quite used to them. So when Saleh and I rushed outside everyone was walking about as if nothing had just happen.
2. Dinning: dinning is a very important element of ant culture. And there are specific mannerism that one should be aware of as to not offend ones hosts. So 2 important information I learned about dinning in Japan. I especially like the first one:

• Slurping: It is OK to slurp while eating your noodles. As a matter of fact it is said that if you want to know if a noodle restaurant is good stand out side and if you hear slurping it means that it is very good. I am still practicing on my slurping it’s quite messy. My noodles tend to flick and splash on my nose and face :p this could be fun as long as your noodles aren’t hot
• Positioning your chop sticks: It is offending to place both chopsticks in your bowl doing so could be seen as mocking their religious rituals. Therefore when you are done with your meal you should place both chop sticks either on top or besides your bowl. I am still getting used to this. I am used to leaving my fork and knife in my bowl.

Love and peace

Sharia

AKA Mrs. Batootah

Thursday, August 21st , 2008                                                                                                   Tokyo, Japan

Some Random Observation:
1.    Game Boy: When entering or exiting subways I feel like I am in some kind of a Super Mario Game. So as soon as the metro stops at the station this electronic melody begins to play. And you see hundreds of people all walking so mechanically. I have to look to Saleh and say something just to make sure we did not enter some type of game and did not know it.
2.    “Lost in Translation”: Although I have tried several times watching it, I could never make it through the first 20 min. I watched it the other day, and oh my god, all of a sudden it seems so relevant. This movies is a must if you’re coming to Japan. You have to notice the details, the transparent umbrellas every one carries, the white lace in every taxi, the foreigness one is overwhelmed by, aregatto guzamus (Thank you very much).
3.    Never come to Japan in August. Talk about hot and humid. Just imagine walking around the streets of Jeddah in July and August. Although the last few days the weather has been pleasant.
4.    Statue of Liberty: FYI there is a statue of liberty in Tokyo!! No comment.
5.    It’s very natural to feel home sick for the first few days. Your surrounded by the following Kanji and Katakana characters every where 充実した学習教材と長年蓄積された指導ノウハウ、そして本格的な設備を使った実習。カプランは医療・看護資格の英語試験で高い合格実績を誇り、多くの生徒が臨床留学やアメリカでの医療活動を実現しています。
There are hardly any English signs. Even the products in the supermarket are written in Kanji and Katakana and there is no use of Latin alphabets. SO you can’t even try to guess what is written. While shopping I am basically guessing and hoping to find pictures on the back of the products to guide as to what are the contents of the container.

Love and peace,

Sharia

AKA Mrs. Batootah

Tuesday, August 18th, 2008                                                                                                     Tokyo, Japan

Some Random Observation:
1.    I feel like Gullavis travel: So that makes me Gullavis and the Japanese people the tiny people. Everything is so small. And I feel so big. Yesterday when standing in the metro to exit i banged my head on the bars above the seating areas. Och … it hurt so badly. Now when I stand I am always very careful and put my hand over my head.

Even worse are the tiny closet size bathrooms in the houses. I can barely sit down on the bathroom seat and close the door. It is almost claustrophobic. This is one thing I don’t know if I could get use to. Talk about no legroom.

2.    Ladies only cabinet: what I am finding most interesting is the Japanese way of holding on to their traditions, while embracing the development of technology and modernity. It was very interesting to find  “ladies only” cabins in the metro. So, during rush hours, you know, when peoples body are rubbing against each others, there are cabins only for ladies. I thought this was cool.

3.    Its ironic how valued personal space is in a place where there is very little space. The Japanese seem to be expert in creating a very personalized sense of space within small areas.

4.    Public Bathrooms: First thing you have to notice are the bathroom seats, which is fixed with a whole range of buttons. The 2 I found coolest were:

• Flushing sound: so if you are one of those people who cant use the bathroom if you know someone else can hear all your business you would love thins invention. Just push the Flushing Sound button and it will simply make the sound of flushing so you can comfortably do your thing while no one hears you. Even better you can even regulate the volume of the flushing sound to high or low.

• Scent: Well this is a button you push on your bathroom seat which lets out deodorant like smell to cover up your output ☺

Love and Peace

Sharia

AKA Mrs. Batoota

Yesterday America and I jointly celebrated our birthdays at the Charles River in Boston, MA. Fire works lit the Boston skies in the evening. It was so magical and overwhelmingly beautiful. Approximately half a million people gathered under the lit skies in awe as the synched orchestra filled the atmosphere. It was indeed a magical birthday.
I wished that my beloved family and friends back home were with me. But thank you for your lovely messages and calls. I loved each and every one of them.

Hi,
I am feeling MUCH better today. I remembered today that I didn’t come all the way to the U.S. to get an A or a B … although that would be nice ☺ I came here to learn, to grow, to experience, and to play Frisbee.

Well following are some interesting facts I have learned today, by the way, the best place to gain local information and common norms or opinions are from taxi drivers:

1.    It is illegal to walk around drinking alcoholic beverages in public (on the streets), hence you see people who want to drink in public put there booze in a paper bag.
2.    There are areas in the U.S (counties) known as wet counties or dry counties: the later is where the local government forbids alcoholic beverages. You cannot buy it or have it served!! So the taxi drive was telling us that on the way to a dry county there was a bar called CAMEL and the slogan was “The Last Stop Before Desert!!”
3.    Life is bigger the As and Bs ☺ ☺ ☺

To verify this information type dry county in wikipedia

One Cup of Oil Please!!

By Sharia Walker
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The main topic that seems to be catching headlines in every major daily newspaper around the world including New York Times, Washington Post, The Independent, Arab news, etc. is the staggering increase in oil prices and its collateral damages.  Everyone is keeping a close eye on what the next jump in price will be.

Until recently, I have never realized how directly related the price of oil is to the price of food. The price of basic necessities like bread, rice and wheat has more then doubled in some countries, which has sparked instability in many regions. People from Europe to Asia have gone to the streets in protest of the high prices of fuel and food. Governments are concerned that this may lead to the acceleration, not only of economic, but also social and political unrest around the world.

This year alone the price of oil has soared by about 40 percent. In January 2007 the price of oil was $50 per barrel, and then in August consumers paid $75 per barrel. Currently prices have skyrocketed up to approximately $135 per barrel since May 2008. Long-term price forecasted by Wall Street banks estimate the spike in oil prices to about $150 and $200.

Everyone is looking to point the finger of accusation for the crises. The most obvious suspect to blame would be Saudi Arabia. After all it is the swing producer in OPEC and the member with the most reserve capacity.

President Bush is doing the world a favor and pressuring the Saudis to increase oil production. Apparently, some analysts relate the problem to fundamentally an issue of supply and demand.

However, President Bush and his staff seem to have overlooked some much more complex factors before visiting the Saudis. Other such factors could be Western speculations as well as the weakened U.S dollar. CFTC experts confirm that market forces are chiefly responsible for the increase in oil prices which we are witnessing.

Furthermore, factors such as, political unrest in the Middle East as well as growing demands in prospering economies like India and China, could be blamed for the swelling of oil prices.

But what seems most puzzling was reports by Wall Street Journal explaining that traders of crude oil complain that their market is in distress due to too much of an oil supply, rather than too little.

In response to the pressures the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this month has increased oil production by 300,000 bpd. Furthermore, just yesterday King Abdullah has indicated his commitment to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to pump an extra 200,000 bpd next month to place a brake on the increase of price.

I will not pretend to be an expert in economics but common sense tells me that if it were a matter of supply and demand such an increase in oil production would have lead to the reduction in prices. But as one reporter from Arab News stated, “these are neither normal circumstances nor normal times. Market forces are not working as usual.”

Chandren Nair, from the Global Institute for Tomorrow, informed Al-Jazeera that “increasing oil supply was not a solution to the current problems. Increasing supply is a knee-jerk reaction you’d expect from politicians.”

This should be a wake up call for both producers as well as consumers of oil. The Kingdom’s kind gesture, in producing more oil, is not enough. This is a global problem, which is in-need of a global solution. And why should the public, especially in developing nations, have to pay such a high price for an unjustifiable phenomenon?

In just a few days, 22nd of June, Saudi will be acting multilaterally as it hosts a meeting in Jeddah for both oil producers and consumers. They are hoping to reach long-term solutions to stabilizing the price of oil.

It would be in the spirit of optimism to say that Saudi should seize this opportunity to act as a lead state in addressing this problem. It should delegate tasks, to attending personals, and pressure governments to finding ways to stabilize the price of fuel and food for their people by subsidizing these resources. It would also be in the spirit of optimism to have faith in that the topics in this meeting will be about how to produce cleaner energy, including solar power and hydropower, as long-term solutions.

Unfortunately, I believe that this meeting will be one of securing interests for all states attending. As a pessimism I believe that everyone is attending to safeguard what is theirs and get more if possible. My faith is not in this meeting or any other meetings of elite politicians and diplomats, who are most probably directly or indirectly partially responsible for the crises. But rather, my confidence is in the mass public. As people continue to demonstrate, and go on strike they will be the ones who will eventually either bring the prices down by force or pay the price for the one-cup of valuable oil.