Knowing the interest among my co-workers, I made a point to note the results of the 5th cricket match between India and Pakistan. 'P' was amazed to find that I had sought out the news, so I was ready to share his joy when I saw him on Thursday. I still know nothing whatsoever about cricket, so my facts were sparse: the series was 5 one-day games, best three out of five, between India and Pakistan, played in Pakistan. The score was 2 to 2 going into the last game, so the stakes were high. The key player on India's team is named Sachin. P feels that Sachin is so adored that people would willingly die for him, if necessary. But the games (and the fans) were peaceful -- way better than anyone expected.
I am working hard to build bridges. Of course, the irony is that I've never been interested enough to even follow American sports. Each year I think that I'll at least keep straight which sport is the superbowl and which sport is the world series, but it doesn't stick in my head. I'm just not much of a sports person. (However, I would be glad to discuss the thrill of Mary Lou Retton's two-in-a-row perfect 10's, or the ice skating scandal with the French judge!)
All these years, I was afraid that that God would send me to Africa to eat bugs and learn some strange clicking language so I could communicate His love, and instead, he's sending me to NYC to supply snacks from Trader Joe's, and to talk about cricket.
And now for a piece of trivia. Did you know that the word for tea is pronounced the same way in Hindi and in Turkish?
Friday, March 26, 2004
Thursday, March 18, 2004
I hate it when things are out of my control
What is the common factor in all the items below?
The common factor is pretty apparent for the first three -- they are all things that are to some extent out of my control, but they are worrying me because I'm trying to make sure that I do whatever IS under my control.
The last one is more subtle -- but I realized this morning that it is also a control issue. I don't want to be unable to communicate on my trip to Turkey. But at least that one I can do something about!
Hosca kalin [but the 's' and the 'c' should both have accents, and the 'i' should not have a dot, in order to say 'good bye'
- Tomorrow evening we are holding a Harp & Bowl style prayer meeting, which is my leadership project, and there is supposed to be a snowstorm tonight.
- I'm studying for the VLI final, and I'm still frustrated that I got many questions wrong on the midterm due to misinterpreting the questions, even though I was well prepared and knew the material
- There is an odd odor at work, a sort of hot metal smell, with a chemical edge -- I'm not sure what it is, or whether it migt be dangerous, and the engineers haven't shown up yet to examine it.
- On the way to work, I'm trying to learn a few words in Turkish
The common factor is pretty apparent for the first three -- they are all things that are to some extent out of my control, but they are worrying me because I'm trying to make sure that I do whatever IS under my control.
The last one is more subtle -- but I realized this morning that it is also a control issue. I don't want to be unable to communicate on my trip to Turkey. But at least that one I can do something about!
Hosca kalin [but the 's' and the 'c' should both have accents, and the 'i' should not have a dot, in order to say 'good bye'
Friday, March 12, 2004
It is a war without the shooting
There's a big cricket match tonight between Pakistan and India. 'P' came over to my desk today and said "I am very tense". So I of course asked him why, and he explained the phenomenon of cricket, and especially the huge significance of a game between India and Pakistan, given the political unrest between the two countries. His final description of a passionate cricket match was "a war without the shooting".
He will be going to a theatre on 74th street tonight, where he expects to watch a satellite feed of the match from 11pm until around 5am. In India, life will pause as the whole nation remains glued to their TV screens. Apparently, this is expected to be the most watched event in the history of TV. After all, there are a billion people who live in India, and this is a national passion.
In fact, 'P' is so concerned about this, he has been fasting and praying for a win, and even asked for my prayers. I think he is trying to improve the odds by getting everyone's various gods involved. I wimped out and said that I hoped he (India) would win. I've never been sure whether it's 'ok' to pray for a sports win. But I was excited that he even views me as a praying person.
And then it suddenly occurred to me to ask if anyone on the floor is Pakistani, and he said yes. And I didn't even realize. So I will need to be careful of whom I congratulate and who I commiserate with on Monday!
He was dumbfounded when I admitted that I know nothing about the sport, and wouldn't even recognize what it was if I saw someone playing. He showed me a picture of Sachin, the best player in the world. But I have already forgotten if he is a bowler or a batter, (since I don't grasp what the players do).
He patiently tried to convey how important this is to both Pakistan and India, and showed me the major newspapers of both (online). What a dramatic example: The front page news headlines were over 50% about cricket, and there wasn't even a mention of yesterday's terrorist bombings in Madrid.
I see that if I am to try to bridge the cultural gap and learn something about my Indian co-workers, I must learn something about cricket.
Tomorrow morning when I wake up, I will find out whether 1/4 of the world's population is happy or sad.
He will be going to a theatre on 74th street tonight, where he expects to watch a satellite feed of the match from 11pm until around 5am. In India, life will pause as the whole nation remains glued to their TV screens. Apparently, this is expected to be the most watched event in the history of TV. After all, there are a billion people who live in India, and this is a national passion.
In fact, 'P' is so concerned about this, he has been fasting and praying for a win, and even asked for my prayers. I think he is trying to improve the odds by getting everyone's various gods involved. I wimped out and said that I hoped he (India) would win. I've never been sure whether it's 'ok' to pray for a sports win. But I was excited that he even views me as a praying person.
And then it suddenly occurred to me to ask if anyone on the floor is Pakistani, and he said yes. And I didn't even realize. So I will need to be careful of whom I congratulate and who I commiserate with on Monday!
He was dumbfounded when I admitted that I know nothing about the sport, and wouldn't even recognize what it was if I saw someone playing. He showed me a picture of Sachin, the best player in the world. But I have already forgotten if he is a bowler or a batter, (since I don't grasp what the players do).
He patiently tried to convey how important this is to both Pakistan and India, and showed me the major newspapers of both (online). What a dramatic example: The front page news headlines were over 50% about cricket, and there wasn't even a mention of yesterday's terrorist bombings in Madrid.
I see that if I am to try to bridge the cultural gap and learn something about my Indian co-workers, I must learn something about cricket.
Tomorrow morning when I wake up, I will find out whether 1/4 of the world's population is happy or sad.
Saturday, March 06, 2004
The Passion of the Christ
Here is my stream of consciousness response to the movie:
I was truly puzzled that anyone could watch the movie and view it as anti-Semitic. Given that the events centered in a Jewish context, there was a full range of Jewish characters: heroic, good, weak, bystanders, and malicious. And even the role of villains (to use a move term) were split in a tie between the Romans and the Sanhedrin.
My theory is that there is something about this movie that causes us each to see what we are looking for (or what we are afraid of).
So I saw something different. I saw a world filled with weak people who made choices out of expediency. And I saw a few people whose faith shone through. But my final 'proof' for saying that the movie is like a mirror in which we see what we're looking for, is that there was a theme that seemed huge and blatant and obvious to me, that was mysteriously not noticed by any of the notable people who have publicly commented on the film. Are you ready for it?....
Did you notice how many of the people with faith (or at least an open mind, and compassion) were WOMEN? In addition to the obvious example of Mary the mother of Jesus, and the other Mary, you also have the wife of Pontius Pilate, the woman who exhorted Simon to 'help the holy man', and Veronica offering her head-covering to Jesus to wipe his face(extra-Biblical, but moving).
I was stirred to question myself and ask if I would have the courage to make the choice for faith and compassion in such a situation of danger. I don't know. But I want to be that kind of woman.
- Bloody, brutal, sickening (the scourging);
- Dispassionate (both Jesus and Mary);
- Catholic (the nails in the traditional - but incorrect -- places);
- Betrayal;
- Inconguous (why use Latin instead of Greek?);
- Inevitable (it's not about "who killed Jesus");
- Compassion (Jesus, of course, and the woman with Simon);
- Creepy (that weird baby that Satan held);
- Disappointing (the resurrection was weak);
- Touching (the flashback of Mary running to her fallen child);
- Anticlimactic (I was relieved when Jesus died);
- OJ Simpson (when Barabas was released)
- Jewish (certainly a more authentic portrayal of Mary than we usually see);
I was truly puzzled that anyone could watch the movie and view it as anti-Semitic. Given that the events centered in a Jewish context, there was a full range of Jewish characters: heroic, good, weak, bystanders, and malicious. And even the role of villains (to use a move term) were split in a tie between the Romans and the Sanhedrin.
My theory is that there is something about this movie that causes us each to see what we are looking for (or what we are afraid of).
So I saw something different. I saw a world filled with weak people who made choices out of expediency. And I saw a few people whose faith shone through. But my final 'proof' for saying that the movie is like a mirror in which we see what we're looking for, is that there was a theme that seemed huge and blatant and obvious to me, that was mysteriously not noticed by any of the notable people who have publicly commented on the film. Are you ready for it?....
Did you notice how many of the people with faith (or at least an open mind, and compassion) were WOMEN? In addition to the obvious example of Mary the mother of Jesus, and the other Mary, you also have the wife of Pontius Pilate, the woman who exhorted Simon to 'help the holy man', and Veronica offering her head-covering to Jesus to wipe his face(extra-Biblical, but moving).
I was stirred to question myself and ask if I would have the courage to make the choice for faith and compassion in such a situation of danger. I don't know. But I want to be that kind of woman.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
What should I read today?
You can always infer what I'm thinking about, by looking at the book(s) on my coffee table. Right now, the stack is getting pretty high. You can see the influence of last quarter's VLI topics on evangelism and missions. In addition to the books for the current quarter of VLI, the following titles are also competing for my attention.
I bought the Hinduism book to try to understand my co-workers better. But once I started planning my vacation to Turkey I wanted to prepare for that, so I bought the book on Islam. And most recently, my Jewish co-worker has suggested that I read The Sword of Constantine. It's such a pleasure to talk to him, because he goes beyond the slogans and the buzzwords and the political correctness. So I think I need to read that one first. I've only read about 50 pages so far (which focuses on the author's personal story), and it's kind of scary. The author (brought up Catholic) describes a current, pervasive foundation of anti-Semitism. I'm not sure whether he is over-generalizing based on his particular experience, or whether I am, but I'm pretty sure that one of us is! I'm also not sure whether the difference is simply Catholicism vs Protestantism. Or whether it is explainable as pre-Vatican II attitudes.
The book quotes a Rabbi as saying that every Christian child is taught that the Jews killed Christ. And then my reaction is to refute it because I was never taught that, but then I realize that I wasn't brought up as a Christian, so I'm not qualified to say what Christian children are taught. Sigh.
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hinduism
- Waging Peace on Islam
- The Sword of Constantine
I bought the Hinduism book to try to understand my co-workers better. But once I started planning my vacation to Turkey I wanted to prepare for that, so I bought the book on Islam. And most recently, my Jewish co-worker has suggested that I read The Sword of Constantine. It's such a pleasure to talk to him, because he goes beyond the slogans and the buzzwords and the political correctness. So I think I need to read that one first. I've only read about 50 pages so far (which focuses on the author's personal story), and it's kind of scary. The author (brought up Catholic) describes a current, pervasive foundation of anti-Semitism. I'm not sure whether he is over-generalizing based on his particular experience, or whether I am, but I'm pretty sure that one of us is! I'm also not sure whether the difference is simply Catholicism vs Protestantism. Or whether it is explainable as pre-Vatican II attitudes.
The book quotes a Rabbi as saying that every Christian child is taught that the Jews killed Christ. And then my reaction is to refute it because I was never taught that, but then I realize that I wasn't brought up as a Christian, so I'm not qualified to say what Christian children are taught. Sigh.