posted @ 15:10... I suppose I should post on here a little more, huh... now that people actually read the darn thing! I have several excuses. Sometimes, I'm busy. Sometimes, the Internet is down, or too slow to post. Sometimes, I'm just too tired.
But you don't wanna hear excuses. You'd rather hear about how I made friends with a 20-year-old Iraqi who used to be in Saddam's army. No big deal, actually. He and a pal were doing some work around our building, and I got to babysit them off & on for a few days. He spoke English pretty well. In fact, he kept saying how much he loved being around American Soldiers because he loves practicing English. He initially learned it by watching TV.
Another interesting thing about talking to this guy was his bewilderment at the concept of female Soldiers. "Are they happy?" he asked." I don't have time to go around and ask each individual female Soldier as to her own level of personal fulfillment, but I replied, "Well, I assume they are, since they volunteered to join the Army." I mentioned that in American culture, a woman could have whatever job she wanted, just like a man. He couldn't comprehend that a woman would even want an actual "job." He said Iraqi women were happy doing housework (cooking, cleaning, childcare, etc.). I have yet to talk to any Iraqi women about their opinion.
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4 Comments:
Hey,
Thanks for visiting your blog, I was beginning to wonder if you had went AWOL.
Your story reminded me of when I was in Nam, the viets all thought that women should do everything, from the farming,carrying,cooking,etc. But they didn't quite know how to take the women they saw in the Medical Corp.
They didn't understand how they could be over there doing that type work. I tried to explain to one guy that I had made friends with about womens roles in America. I don't think he ever believed me.
He would have had a fit if he had ever saw a female soldier driving a truck or working on one.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
As a woman, I am so thankful to have been born in USA. I laugh at the concept that cooking,cleaning and child care are the most fullfilling part of life for a woman.
I did all that plus had an opportunity to have a career which brought many additional opportunities in my life. I was fortunate in having a loving husband and a happy home life, but I doubt I would have been happy just staying home cooking, cleaning etc. I know it is a cultural thing and before WWII it was the most common role for women in the US. Iraq has many educated women who have had careers but men still like to think we do not have the ability to do anything outside of the traditional roles. Glad you enlightened the man.
You know, the irony is, my wife is essentially a housewife right now. She even mentioned shortly after the boy was born that she didn't mind that lifestyle so much. I wonder how she feels now that it's 7 months later, and the kid has an ear infection...!
She is very smart, and was getting pretty close to an associate's in marketing/advertising. I really hope she can pursue that at some point - if she still wants to, of course!
I know that you are not saying any of this stuff for my bennifit, but I sure do love you honey! Yeah, I did want to be a professional woman in a busy industry, working a 9-5 job wearing expensive business clothes. Now I am so happy just being able to take our son to the park and teach him about the leaves blowing in the wind. I would love to start volunteering some day, but for now I am happy teaching the future and caring for our home. Ahhh, this would be the perfect life if only you were here.
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