I had a nightmare a few nights ago about Kurdistan. It was a bad one. When I was in Kurdistan, I felt harassed, pushed aside, scapegoated, threatened, and the subject of outright malice. The men were creeps; they often tried to touch me, to corner me, to make gross comments about my body, and at … Continue reading Nightmares
Category: Iraqi Kurdistan
I spent all of today in a bikini. On a boat. On the Aegean. I am so ridiculously happy. It's hard to describe how relaxed I feel. It's like I've been a square peg trying to fit into a round hole, but finally I've found that square hole - AND I DON'T CARE ABOUT IT. … Continue reading BIKINInininininini
[this is a post I wrote about 2 weeks ago, having just landed in Istanbul after the school year finished. I forgot to actually post it.] ..it's been weird. I'm in Istanbul, reeling slightly from the abrupt end to my year in Iraq. I'm currently drinking tea in a my hostel, which is a 5-minute … Continue reading Farewell, Kurdistan…
I took the most WONDERFUL trip this weekend. Impulsive, unexpected, rewarding. I woke up on Friday morning determined to get out of Suli. It had been 2 weeks since I'd gone anywhere, and the longer I go without travelling, the more I get stuck in a complacent rut. So I went to the bus terminal, … Continue reading Halabja
As I woke up on Tuesday and read my facebook feed, I found myself for the 3rd time this year in tears over American events which had happened while I was sleeping. The first tears (joyful): Obama was re-elected. The second tears (shocked): Newtown. And now this. I know people who were running the Boston … Continue reading Boston: The American Work Ethic
This Jew spent Easter Sunday in Duhok (a Kurdish city near the Turkey-Iraq border), where Newroz decorations were still up. She spent Friday at Lake Dukan at a seyran (Kurdish all-day picnic) with 30 Kurds from work. A week ago she finished up her 2-week travels in Athens, having gone to Greece (Delphi, Nafplio, Mycenae, … Continue reading Wander-exhausted
I found a pretty good map of the Kurdistan region! It's a bit exaggerated, I believe. I think it's where Kurds have traditionally lived, but not the borders which are actually observed now - for instance, in Iraq, Kirkuk is in Iraqi territory. But it does a pretty good job of showing cities which have … Continue reading Kurdistan (Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria)
I'm worried that living here is making me hate men. Young, old, short, tall, rich, poor, any color - I am not discriminating in my revulsion toward men. You can't understand what the men are like here. They just stare at you like you're some sweet they'd like to eat. They stare at you like … Continue reading I Live in Menistan
Well, I've been back in Suli for a week, and everything looks different since Israel. My life seems...a lot bigger since I've returned. I can see a larger picture of what I'm doing here, and I have a better idea of how I what I want to pursue. Because here, in this city, in this school, … Continue reading The Return
And yesterday I was in Jordan (Petra), and the day before that I was in Suli. Vacations are the best. I might have forgotten to mention that my winter break started on Friday and that I was travelling to Israel. But I'm here, and enjoying myself IMMENSELY, and realizing all the things I've missed while … Continue reading I’m in Eilat
In Mutual Weirdness 