Rehabilitating "Terrorists"

Well, I head out to the field for my first field visit tomorrow morning bright and early at around 6am. I'm eager to see how it goes. I'm sure it will be interesting regardless.

There's been quite an entertaining ongoing pattern that's happening whenever I talk to people about why I'm here that I feel I must relate. Inevitably the conversation goes something like this.

Other: So, what are you doing here in Yemen?
Me: I'm doing research. I'm working with the Social Fund for Development doing some preliminary research on rehabilitating terraces.
Other: Oh really!?! That's very interesting!!!
Me: Yes, I think so.
Other: And you're getting your PhD you said?
Me: Yes.
Other: In what area?
Me: Agricultural and Resource Economics.
Other: huh... what does that have to do with terrorists?
Me: Oh, no no no, not terrorists... terraces.
Other: Ahhh, interesting... uumm, but I have to say, much less interesting than rehabilitating terrorists.

(it's nice to constantly be letting people down by the end of our conversations... oh well, at least I think it's interesting)

This miss-hearing has happened three times now. It's actually quite indicative of where peoples' minds are, being here in the Middle East.

There was one particularly choice instance of this exchange when there was a three-way conversation going on between me, Katherina (who had already gone through the miss-understanding and so now knew we were talking about terraces), and a new guest at the American Institute, Sophie. Katherina and I were talking about the economic theory behind how the funding for rehabilitating the terraces would work and Sophie was nodding sagely but starting to look more and more puzzled. By the time I brought up the fact that one of the things we were trying to solve was a problem of mudslides she finally chimed in to ask what that had to do with terrorists. So now there's a grand ongoing joke about how rehabilitating terrorists helps avoid mudslides. We're all getting quite a kick out of it.

Here are a few photos I took today at work. These are some views of Sana'a from my office window. In this first one you get the sense of how the city is snuggled in among the mountains. Sana'a is really kind of in a little bowl, right at the top of the mountains. It's cool.




This is my work area (see mom, I'm drinking water!)


Nap time! (I was watching this guy sleep outside my window for a while and really wanted to try and catch a picture but right as I was fishing out my camera he got up and I thought I had missed my chance... but then 5 minutes later he was back!)



The girls next door playing in their yard outside my window at the hostel. They're really cute! Especially the little one. I wish I got some better shots, but I'll try again another time. Sometimes they play soccer! Girls after my own heart...