Ah life in the Middle East, where the men roam free and the women have to cover their heads. Our time in Yemen was well spent as we got to teach English and be engulfed in the culture. We worked with an English language center in Taiz, Yemen about five hours south of Sana’a, the capitol. We arrived in Yemen and our troubles began since the recent bombings on American foreigners the Yemeni government has kept close tabs on all foreigners coming into the country. It took us about five extra hours in the airport before we were let out into the country, they did a check on all of us to make sure we were safe and had no dodgy backgrounds. The next day we drove to Taiz, it was supposed to be a five hour van ride I prepared myself for a seven hour ride and that pretty much turned out to be that long. The ride involved driving through mountainous country and some very scenic and breathtaking views.
The next day we started at work. We were involved in a free course called “English Café” where anyone could come to practice their English skills. This involved playing games and conversational English. Through this we were building relationships with the students and were soon invited to homes to eat dinner and learn how to Yemeni dance. At one home we learned how to make Yemeni tea which is what everyone drinks there it’s just black tea with heaps of sugar and a little spice and milk. Another cultural experience we enjoyed was learning how to Yemeni dance. These dances involved moving your hips and since I’m white I didn’t have the moves but I did enjoy laughing at myself. We even got the pleasure of going to a Yemeni wedding. In Yemen this is the equivalent of prom. Yemeni weddings are interesting. The men and women have separate parties since the women are not allowed to show their faces or any part of their body to the men. The women’s party involves lots of girls with glittery dresses and loads of makeup loud music and lots of dancing. I felt like I was plucked from reality and thrust into a gypsy movie. It was a good experience, I even got a picture with the bride which was an honor and I didn’t even know her.
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