Roots

The past week, every evening lots of kids (10 yrs to 20) having been packing into the Omariyya Boys School hall late into the night. I know that every Thursday evening they have martial arts classes (they're very into kung fu kinda thing ... you know ... like everywhere else). But bright search lights have been turned on till midnight and kids coming in and out - very noisy. You see my room is directly opposite the hall and classrooms so it gets lots of noise. I have to shut the double windows to block it out.

So last night we found out why - funky loud music blaring from 4pm towards. And lots of kids in martial arts wear. There was a competition or exhibition of the different groups and it was drawing alot of attention from the arab crowd. Kids as young as 10 (I guess) were part of the competition. Hope no one got hurt. And I saw a chinese man among them - must be their instructor. All the excitement - and noise. We couldn't study - some of our students moved into the library to get away from it.

Well I guess these arab kids need this type of healthy diversions - it gives them some discipline and control over their lives; to experience a foreign culture (pretty much Jacky Chan type culture but it helps when you're living in this land - a little fantasy to get away from the harsh and violent reality); the nearest thing they can ever have in contacting the Far East because they will never ever be able to travel abroad; they dream of the peace and tranquility of the Far East (obviously they haven't read about the Taiwanese parliament or how it treats Chinese envoys http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7681556.stm), the values of co-existence (ditto above), tolerance, drinking tea under willow trees .....

It's all ok in this make-belief world so long as these kids don't use the martial arts to fight and rob people. I see their great joy when they receive a "chinese" type shirt that they wear when practising - or the cloth chinese kung fu shoes (mind you they can be very expensive) - it gives them a sense of pride; it's like the greatest thing that has ever happened in their lives ... and I compare that with all the modern stuff the kids in HK or Singapore get to play with and still are not satisfied .... and i sigh.

Anyway after having lived in this land for these years, I've seen the joys and sorrows of these people always as an outsider - but this year, I'm feeling it deep inside. I may not agree with everything they do or think, but I can understand their hardships. Is it a sign that I'm growing roots?