Spicin' things up! I hope

Nafisa: Taryn, I would like you to go roll around in that fetid pool of fish guts over there. Can you do that for me?
Taryn: Uh…sure Nafisa.. I’ve got plans this afternoon, but I can do it later tonight maybe.
Nafisa: No, actually I was hoping you could do it now. Do it right now.
Taryn: Sure, yeah, no problem. I’ll go do it right now? Sounds good, I’ll go do that right now. Exactly how long would you like me to roll about in that putrid mess? Okay, I’m going now. Thanks Nafisa!

I don’t know how she does it, but that innocuous-looking, grandmotherly, old Yemeni woman has got me wrapped around her little finger! She will frequently come sleuth me out in the teacher’s room, and as she is barreling down on me, I make eye contact with Amira who makes a “S” shape on her forehead and mouths the word “sucker!” at me. Everyone knows I'm completely incapable of denying this woman a damn thing.
Because of my inexplicable inability to say no to this woman I have done a million, mostly spur-of-the moment activities such as
- gave 3.5 hour lecture and discussion on President Obama’s address to the Muslim world in Cairo and the social, political, and cultural ramifications of such a speech- I, the facilitator, was also the only non-Muslim present. A bit daunting.
- Helped plan and supervise many student community/cultural events- beach clean-up, visits to local refugee camps, historical ship viewing and presentations, etc
- Consulting, supervising, and advising on the final projects of the Yemeni scholarship students.
-delivered a many hour, many day lecture-series on such interesting topics as- civic participation and volunteerism in present day America, America: a history in brief, and a timeline of American social change. I was all, listen.. I’m only 23.. wasn’t really around for all this social change/ couldn't care less either way
-allowed local teachers/wannabe teachers to job shadow me, and review my classes
-more minutiae, add tedium ad nauseum

So the other day Nafisa informed me that some new teachers are coming at the end of September (nice!), and asked me to write one of them an email talking about Yemen, living here, teaching here, life here, etc. I’ve had to do this a few times for various other teachers and it was no problem. After I sent an email I got rather anxious about it- did I just send an informative, albeit perhaps viewed as condescending email to an older career-teacher, someone with far, far more experience than I? Or was this a good email, the type I wish someone had bothered to send me before I packed up my life and moved a million miles away from everything that was familiar. Hmmmm… I decided to Google the teachers name, maybe, just maybe I could deduce who this gal was- another old-lady teacher? A possible kindred spirit? In the very least it would assuage any absurd anxiety I was feeling.
I knew her name, and where she was from- AND THIS IS WHAT I DISCOVERED!!
http://www.trinitynews.ie/articles.php?tn=1&issue=8&id=492
Oh my god! Could this be her?! I still have no idea her age or anything personal, this probably isn’t her. BUT WHAT IF IT IS!?! This is exactly the type of person that Yemen needs. WILD.