A few months ago, this region held its elections. For about a month, the city streets were adorned with banners and large posters, as flags and ribbons floated along in the spring breeze. Above is a picture of a rally, which was a common sight as well. People driving in caravans of colorfully decorated vehicles would often make their presence known by the honking of horns and cheering.
When the election day came, men and women both went in droves to local schools to cast their vote. After voting, each person was to dip his or her finger in permanent, purplish-blue ink so as to make sure that person will not vote again. For the next week or so, everyone in town had a purple index fingertip.
This young boy was also allowed to get in on the fun. 
I also was able to go with local friends to three different voting stations, where I was able to see first-hand how elections are done here. Although I didn’t get a purple finger like everyone else, I was glad to be a part of the election in the way that I was able to be.
Another project I have completed here was an academic seminar. I taught students about time management, homework planning, and prioritizing daily activities. Kurdish students, especially young women, are often unmotivated and undisciplined in studying – largely due to a lack of post-secondary opportunities – that is, if they even finish high school. During my seminars, I was able to encourage these students to work their hardest at their school work and show them practical ways accomplish it.
A student who attended a seminar later saw me at a wedding and told me how she now makes lists in order to help her get her school work done. She said that it has helped her and thanked me for teaching her and her classmates. I was encouraged to know that I can help here in so many different small ways, such as something like this seminar, and have it make an impact.
Recently I finished teaching an English conversation course at a local teacher’s union here. We conducted a 4-week course, focusing on expanding vocabulary, correcting pronounciation and learning colloquialisms of the English language. Our goal was to host this for English teachers, business owners, those involved in the government, and the like – the people who will be teaching others English. We wanted to help correct the problem at the source, so our teaching would have effects long after we are gone. Pictured above are two of my students who participated in the course. Because of the conservative nature of this culture, my class was for women only so as not to shame them or myself with the intermixing of men.
Right from the beginning when we hosted the entrance interviews, I found that there are many women who desire to know English as a second language. Do to the advanced nature of the course, I was not able to accept all who applied. The need became apparent for equal education opportunities and qualified English teachers as well. We are considering how we might be able to help this situation here, working from the top of the education system down. It was a joy to participate in this project and further the education of those living here.
As the title states, lately all of Kurdistan has been turning colder. For the winter season, the rain comes and brings the cold air with it. Instead of the dusty, dry city that I had known, now I face streets turned into “rivers” and puddle-dodging while walking, and shoes and clothing made dirty by mud. This picture above is taken when I was driving to another city on a rainy day. Yet as night began to draw nearer, the sun peaked out as it lowered below the clouds. My friend was able to quickly capture this tiny rainbow on my camara.
I like this picture though because it reminds me of an important truth. First, I remember that in order to have a beautiful spring, there must first be a winter. Everyone here always tells me how hoosha, or wonderful, spring is. Everyday it rains, I remind myself that it will all be worth it when the grass begins to become green and the flowers begin to bloom. The same is true with hard times in life. The rainbow is a sign of Promise to me that no matter what rain life brings, I always have Hope.
Here is a sight that is not uncommon here – these goats were my neighbors for a few days! It is a normal occurance to see cows, sheep, goats, wild dogs, or chickens along the side of the road when I am walking or driving in my car. To avoid a small stampede, I keep my distance and hope that they do the same! haha Most likely these goats were sent to the butcher shortly after this picture was taken. Each day here is an adventure!
Today I was invited to join my friends in the age-old tradition of making bread. Making nani tanik, or flat bread, is an activity that has been passed down through Kurdish history from generation to generation. My friend explained to me that she learned from her mother how to make bread when she was about the age of twelve. Her father encouraged her as she learned, saying that each time she would improve. Today when I watched her, her adept hands showed her many years of experience as they worked tirelessly without flaw.
She first began by mixing flour, water and salt together in a very large metal pan. Slowly the three ingredients became a mixture by the steady kneading of my friend’s hands. She kept adding more water slowly until the mixture was the exact consistency that it needed to be. She showed me how it should look and explained how to test it to see if it was fit for baking.
Next, the ladies used a knife to cut pieces of dough off, shaping it into balls. The batch of dough that she made yielded probably about 100 balls the size of a small grapefruit.
The next step was to then go outside and start cooking the bread. First, my one friend rolled the bread on a large, round wooden surface using a dowel rod, and then passed it on to my other friend, who then cooked it on a large, curved circle of metal over a gas fire. She would flip it over and over with a long wooden stick until it was fully cooked.
This continued over and over until the whole batch of dough was baked. I would say the process took about two to three hours to complete. But the time passed so quickly though, as we talked and enjoyed one another’s company. We all laughed as I learned how to roll the dough, trying to flatten it in the same way that my expertly skilled friend so quickly achieved. This little one in the middle is the one I made.
After it was all over, I was so thankful to be a part of this fun activity. I was so grateful to be able to spend time with my friends and get to know them better as we worked together. I loved being reminded about how we all need daily bread and enjoyed learning the process of making it, as well as sharing more about my life and hope.
Several days ago I had the opportunity to go to a wedding with my friends. The bride was the cousin of my good friends, so I was invited along with them to join in the celebration.
On the night before the wedding, the bride’s side all went to her house for her henna night. The henna night follows the tradition where the bride and the groom put henna dye around one of their pinky fingers and then wrap it in a bill of currency. They are supposed to keep it on all night, so that the henna dye leaves a dark stain by morning. After the henna is done, the bride and groom go their separate ways and don’t see each other until their wedding the next day.
Sometimes it is tradition for the bride’s family and friends to put henna on their fingers too. So, my friends and I all did the henna as well. The dye is a thick, mudlike substance that gets molded around your pinky. Then the pinky gets wrapped in tissues and a rubber band to keep it on. That night when I slept, I was hoping that I wouldn’t accidentally brush it off – what a mess that would be! But all was well, and that is a picture of our pinkies the next day at the wedding.
The wedding itself was a very fun experience. Even though the bride was sad at the thought of leaving her family and her house, she was happy about the marraige and her groom. The couple seemed to really care about each other, which was an encouragement to see! My friends were quite sad afterwards to see the bride go, however. They said that she was like a sister to them and things will never be the same again. When a daughter gets married in Kurdish culture, she is not allowed in her father’s house again until he goes to the new husband and specifically welcomes her back.
But it seems like this situation will turn out to be a positive one. I am glad for all those involved! I also am so glad for this new experience and opportunity to meet new people. There is never a dull day here in Kurdistan!
Our first project that we have completed as a team was a dental hygiene seminar for first and second grade students at a local elementary school here. We had eight different classes of thirty minute sessions with the children, where we explained the importance of healthy teeth and how to take care of them.
We began by speaking (in Kurdish, after much practice!) to the children about teeth and the importance of taking care of them. Then we continued by passing out toothbrushes and we went through the lesson again, this time with them doing the brushing motions with us. The children were shy at first, but after a few minutes they started to smile and really have fun with what we were teaching them.
We finished by passing out toothpaste and a brochure that reminded the kids of how to brush their teeth properly. The administration of the school was very appreciative of what we came to do, and we in turn were very glad to help in this way. Yet being with these children showed me a deeper need that mere toothbrushes alone cannot fill. 
May these children be well in all areas of their lives.
Even though it is late October here, the weather is still quite warm and pleasant. In Kurdistan, Friday is the day of the week that everyone has off, and therefore weekly picnics are still carried out until winter comes. This past week was no exception, as I was able to go to another gund with a family that I have become friends with. We packed up our car early in the morning and headed out to their village, which was only about forty minutes away on winding, bumpy roads. The gund was so peaceful and beautiful, and again it was so nice to get away from the city and into nature. This picture above was taken on a walk up the mountain that we went on. At one point too we even had a race (in high heels, flip flops and slides, of course), and as I was running as fast as I could I forgot all about how bad my shoes were for my health and was able to enjoy the first run I have had in over two months. Although it was short lived, I was so thankful for the little fun things that pop up when we are watching for them, and I love acknowledging where they come from.
The rest of the walk was of course gorgeous, and as we were on our way back to our picnic area I took this picture. I wish I could come back here whenever I wanted and just bring a blanket, book and journal!
This is my friend and I as we were preparing the day’s meal. The clothes I am wearing is my first set of jilli kurdi ever. Every woman I know has tons of these traditional clothes, and they wear them around the house, to other friends’ houses, and to parties, picnics and weddings. They are bright, sparkly, beaded, sequin-filled four-piece clothing sets that are therefore very hard to keep clean! We have ours tied up in this picture because they are very long and we are trying to keep the hems from getting wet and dirty from the dusty ground. Also, another blessing from this day was that this was the first time I got to wear my hair down since I have been here! Women are allowed to wear their hair down when they wear the jilli kurdi for weddings and picnics. My friend in the picture tied the scarf in my hair like that and told me it was jona (beautiful).
In the midst of my work here, I am so thankful for fun days off like these! I am so thankful for the time off to see the beauty in creation and think about things that truly matter. Also I am so thankful for the opportunities to know my friends more and more by the time that we spend together. Yay for all our blessings!
I’d like to introduce you to my Kurdish “mom and dad” (the meaning of my title) that I mentioned in a previous post. I met this dear older couple through some mutual friends here. Like mostly all Kurdish families, this couple has many children, with the older ones off and married long ago down to their youngest, who is fifteen years old. They also have an eighteen year-old daughter who I have become friends with.
Ever since I met them, this family has continually shown me kindness and wonderful hospitality. The one afternoon when I had no plans I just walked over to their house to ask if I could come back later for dinner. They of course ushered me in, and after insisting I eat their homemade nan u paneer (bread and traditional herbed goat cheese), drink choi (tea), they finally let me leave only when I promised that I would be back in a few hours. That was the night when we were talking about the father’s dreams. This man in the picture is Hajji, the father. I hope you can remember him better from seein
g his dear face.
I have visited this family again and have been able to have more related conversations of the like. I have also been able to get to know their seven year-old granddaughter, who was so shy at first (like most of the girls here in Kurdistan) but is quickly warming up to me. Right after this picture was taken I gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, “Ez haji ta kim” (the equivalent of “I like you;” what a friend would say to another friend), and she quickly responded in the same way to me. Then she wouldn’t stop hugging me like that for a good twenty minutes.
I look forward to developing my relationship more with my deyk u bab here in Kurdistan, along with those in their family as well.
Looking back over the past few days, I can say that this city is quickly grabbing a hold of my heart. Many times many people ask me, “do you think Kurdistan is beautiful?” I answer them yes, and then tell them that the reason it is beautiful to me is because the people are beautiful. The phrase “dila min” (in my title) is a saying here that literally means “my heart,” and it means that whatever you say it about, that particular thing has your heart. I do agree that this has happened to me with the people here in Kurdistan.
It is hard to believe that I have been here for four weeks already. As one month has already slipped away, a renewed awareness of the brevity of our days has overcome me. Learning the Kurdish language has gone miraculously well so far – I am able to communicate on daily life issues, and even share deeper things in Kurdish. Of course, my dictionary is always close at hand. But I see this miracle and I am so thankful for this gift of being able to speak with my friends and communicate things I never would be able to say without using their language. I love how their eyes light up when I say, “Kurdistan dila min.”
