Douce France

Yesternight I turned the T.V. on the TV5 Monde channel and saw a live broadcasting from France about their municipal elections. I like how they look. I especially liked a young woman in a talk show after the primary results were declared. I then read her name and found that she seems from Arabic origins. Najat- something- Belkacem. She is a minister of woman's affair. Well, a little disappointment when I knew her ministry. I hoped she is the minister of, say, Education... Industry... something like that...

An Asian looking man was also in the talk show. He is French too.

The new Maire of Paris is of Spanish origins.

I slept thereafter and cannot remember if I ever dreamed of something or not. But if I did dream then it must me related to France.

Douce France.

 

Sun's halo over Erbil citadel

I walk in the Erbil's citadel and raise up my head to see the sun. There was a halo around it. I don't understand what that halo is. 

 I remember my neighbor the engineer who told me once that when he was working in a mountain in Kurdistan and developed a sun burn the back of his neck and in his ear lobes. When I asked him for an explanation for what happened he said that he was working in a mountain, so he was nearer to the sun. That was the first, and only, time that I heard of such a thing. Being nearer to the sun.

I am now in the hotel writing this post and hearing "Magnificent" by U2. The video clip is somewhere in place looking like Morocco. I am trying to understand the lyrics without looking them in the Google. The chorus says something like: "only love can leave such a mark. only love can leave such a star." It goes well with the halo of the sun above Erbil citadel.

I see the green grass and feels fine. It feels fine. 

EILTS in Erbil's Sun

So, I come to Erbil to receive my EILTS certificate, a certificate with marks that are not enough to join that training/working in the UK. A certificate with no clear benefit for me. I go back to the hotel. The hotel's name is MONTANA. Near the citadel. Erbil citadel. I think Montana is a city in Canada. With some Etymological root referring to the word "Mountain". A mountain. I go to sleep at about 11:00 am. Yesterday I didn't sleep well. I sleep deeply. I wake up gradually. I take my mobile phone and play "Taffic Racer". Raise up some money to buy a truck. Quit the game. Take on clothes. Go to have a lunch. Much red meat. Drink yogurt. Drink another yogurt. I cannot finish the meat and remember my friend Ammar who became a vegetarian in Germany. He came for a visit before days and brought me a present from Paris. A book of photos in black and white picturing the quotidian life of Paris. I stand up and go to wash my hands. I find a young woman washing her hands and mouth. I am a little surprised. In Baghdad there is a strict rule of separating men and women when washing hands and I don't know why. The separation, I think, started from the W. C. and then was generalized. She finishes washing. I go and wash my hands then I head to the square near the fountain to drink tea.    

The sun starts entering through the water. The sun washes its light beams in the waters. I drink tea. I remember the EILTS speaking part when I was asked about whether I like the sun or no. I said I do. Sun means happiness, brightness, and one feels lighter when the sun is shining. The next question was whether I would go for tourism in a sunny country and I answered that: as an Iraqi, I am saturated with sun. I would rather chose a country with thick clouds.

The sun stays washing in the waters and the numbness slowly fades. I chat a little with the one sitting next to me and we smile. We even giggle. I distribute my sights a little to the orange color of the oranges, another little to the sun washing in the water, another little to the citadel, and much others to the people walking around... Tomorrow I will head to Baghdad. 

Erbil and EILTS

I was told that I can start a training in the UK. Something called the MTI program. Get paid and studies at the same time. That sounded great. I had to make some files. Prepare some papers. I had to have letters of recommendation. A letter from my employers too. And worst of all, an above 7 score in all the four parts of EILTS. EILTS had to be prepared in less than two months. The EILTS center in Baghdad is in the green zone and they don't respond to phone. The Erbil center responded but, since there were explosions in Erbil, young Arabic men were not accepted to enter Erbil by earth, the only way was by airoplane. 

You got to go to Erbil to inscribe (you must pay the fees so that they regard you as really inscribed) and then you go after about a month to "sit" for the examination, then you have to come again to receive the result. This is my result as received from the EILTS web site:

I think I did my best at writing but the score was below 7. I think I cannot do better, at least in the coming months. I did my best too in the Speaking part. I even talked about my journey to Algeria. Cannot do better. Will not repeat the exam before one year. I came to Erbil before two days to receive my certificate but the center is closed. Due to Newroz. Their telephone number is not working. I emailed them and they answered that they will open in two days. Well, I just sighed.

I don't understand Naom Chomsky, and why he has to do with Iraq. He talks much. He is really a linguistic. At large.

I prefer this man named ROBERT SAPOLSKY. His lectures in Stanford are free in the youtube and I enjoyed them all. I took some parts of it and re-represented it to students. They liked it. I become aware that I talk much Arabic during the lecture. I will try to write more here. Will try to hear more English too.

Love.