So class is officially done, and the Eid break just started. Well sort of...technically I'm actually still at work. I'll be here another 2 hours, anyway.
This holiday is the celebration of sacrifice. Basically, they get some barnyard animal and slaughter it together as a family, and then donate the meat to the poor. It's a lot gory, but the intention of the holiday is to help those who have less. Seems like a good idea, right?
Well, imagine our overall good will that we have for Thanksgiving. People are together as families, and we are grateful for what we have. Then the very next day we turn into crazy people, sometimes physically assaulting each other over the best deal for gifts, all in the name of the continuation of the season of peace, and good will towards all men.
We, as Westerners, do not have the corner on this particular bit of bad behavior.
Islam demands that families buy an animal. I don't know any farmers, so I imagine this industry is making a killing right now (ha I'm puny.). These animals are not cheap. If you buy a goat, then you're looking at $300 JD. If you want a cow, then it's more like $500 JD. Considering the average person makes $300 JD a week, this is a hefty chunk of change. And, like everyone else in the worlds, they procrastinate, so some people either just bought the beast with money they don't really have, or are still frantically trying to make some so they can buy their critter.
So what does this mean for me?
People are mean and unhappy, much like those who have not finished their Christmas shopping.
People also are guilty of bad behavior. This means cab drivers for me.
I have had people attempt to rip me off more in the last week than in the previous 7. The law is...if you ride in a taxi, the meter has to run. You can't have a broken meter, or just refuse to turn it on. Of course, they don't really enforce many laws here when it comes to this kind of thing, so it takes FOREVER to find a cab that doesn't want to rip me off. It usually takes me 2 JD to get me to my house from UJ. Last night, I was quoted 3-5, and where every dime counts for me, I was getting really frustrated. It took me half an hour to find someone. Today, when I left earlier to go to work, it was the same crap. It was really, really frustrating.
And why is it like this? Well, so they can buy something to make a charitable donation. They want to RIP ME OFF, which is, as the locals say haram (evil), so they can give to charity.
And no one here seems to have a problem with it. My last cab here, after we finally pointed out that he needed to turn on the meter, refused to take us all the way to work, because it was not as easy to get back to where there was more business. He basically threw us out of his car, so I did not give him a piaster (penny) more than he was owed. He was an ass, and yelled at us. I guess somehow it's my fault he didn't plan ahead for this particular holiday.
I want to come home.
This holiday is the celebration of sacrifice. Basically, they get some barnyard animal and slaughter it together as a family, and then donate the meat to the poor. It's a lot gory, but the intention of the holiday is to help those who have less. Seems like a good idea, right?
Well, imagine our overall good will that we have for Thanksgiving. People are together as families, and we are grateful for what we have. Then the very next day we turn into crazy people, sometimes physically assaulting each other over the best deal for gifts, all in the name of the continuation of the season of peace, and good will towards all men.
We, as Westerners, do not have the corner on this particular bit of bad behavior.
Islam demands that families buy an animal. I don't know any farmers, so I imagine this industry is making a killing right now (ha I'm puny.). These animals are not cheap. If you buy a goat, then you're looking at $300 JD. If you want a cow, then it's more like $500 JD. Considering the average person makes $300 JD a week, this is a hefty chunk of change. And, like everyone else in the worlds, they procrastinate, so some people either just bought the beast with money they don't really have, or are still frantically trying to make some so they can buy their critter.
So what does this mean for me?
People are mean and unhappy, much like those who have not finished their Christmas shopping.
People also are guilty of bad behavior. This means cab drivers for me.
I have had people attempt to rip me off more in the last week than in the previous 7. The law is...if you ride in a taxi, the meter has to run. You can't have a broken meter, or just refuse to turn it on. Of course, they don't really enforce many laws here when it comes to this kind of thing, so it takes FOREVER to find a cab that doesn't want to rip me off. It usually takes me 2 JD to get me to my house from UJ. Last night, I was quoted 3-5, and where every dime counts for me, I was getting really frustrated. It took me half an hour to find someone. Today, when I left earlier to go to work, it was the same crap. It was really, really frustrating.
And why is it like this? Well, so they can buy something to make a charitable donation. They want to RIP ME OFF, which is, as the locals say haram (evil), so they can give to charity.
And no one here seems to have a problem with it. My last cab here, after we finally pointed out that he needed to turn on the meter, refused to take us all the way to work, because it was not as easy to get back to where there was more business. He basically threw us out of his car, so I did not give him a piaster (penny) more than he was owed. He was an ass, and yelled at us. I guess somehow it's my fault he didn't plan ahead for this particular holiday.
I want to come home.
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