What Eid means

When I was a kid watching all my little kid movies, I always remembered the parts of movies that made my dad laugh, because I never understood them. One was when Captain John Smith, on the verge of death, said, "I've gotten out of worse scrapes than this...can't think of any right now..."

Another was in Muppets from Space, when Gonzo says "Hey Rizzo, come here! I think my Captain Alphabet is sending me a message!" and Rizzo replies, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I had some guacamole last night, and it’s still talking to me."

And another is when the duck from Babe realizes one of the animals is getting slaughtered for Christmas dinner, and he flaps around squawking "Christmas means carnage! Christmas means carnage!"

Today in the adult class, I learned about Eid Al-Adha, which just ended. My students spent a few minutes compiling their thoughts on what Eid means and what they like about the holiday, and one of my students needed to Google translate the word "ransom." I was like, huh? Then they explained that when Abraham was about to kill his son Ismael, Allah saw that he was faithful and told him to slaughter a sheep instead. So every year during Eid Al-Adha, Muslims slaughter sheep and share their meat with the poor as a way of paying the ransom of Ismael's life to Allah. Both Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha are celebrations of great acts of worship, Eid Al-Fitr celebrating the end of Ramadan, and Eid Al-Adha celebrating the end of the Hajj.

Hilou. beautiful.

Yesterday and today we were visited by Matt and Nadia. Matt taught English in Al Aqaba for one week last summer while the Rebuilding Alliance Charette was going on (more about that later). The combination of having guests and it being Eid, well, we feasted like kings.

Looking at the Pocahontas quote really took me back. I didn't really understand this part either...

John Smith: We've improved the lives of savages all over the world.
Pocahontas: *Savages*?
John Smith: Uh, not that *you're* a savage.
Pocahontas: Just my people!
John Smith: No. Listen. That's not what I meant. Let me explain, now...
Pocahontas: Let go!
John Smith: No, I'm not letting you leave.
Pocahontas: [jumps up into a tree]
John Smith: Look, don't do this. Savage is just a word, uh, you know. A term for people who are uncivilized.
Pocahontas: Like me.
John Smith: Well, when I say uncivilized, what I mean is, is...
[he grabs a branch, but the branch is not strong enough to hold his weight, and John falls back to the ground. Pocahontas jumps down after him]
Pocahontas: What you mean is, "not like you."

*cue music* Obviously not the best movie but you take your 90's nostalgia snippets with you....