Que horas son mi corazon?


I still recall the first time I heard about Yemen from John Brogan, one of my Peace Corps trainers in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (RIM). After working as a Peace Corps volunteer in the RIM, John went to work in Yemen and after that returned to the RIM to train our group in late 2000. Fluent in Arabic, Brogan had seen many moons in these two lands and mentioned that he saw interesting parallels between some of the rural areas of Yemen and those of the RIM. During my time in Mauritania, I do recall actually meeting a Yemeni man in Nouadhibou. As is the norm there, he asked me where I was from and I told him and then he mentioned to me that he was from Yemen. He also made it a point to show me his jambiya or dagger. I learned that Yemeni men carry daggers like this as part of their traditional dress.

Now it is 2006, and I sit in Ruta Maya Cafe in downtown San Antonio, listening to Jarabe de Palo's bluesy romantic ballad "La Flaca", while I intermittently sip a "Romantika" tea. On Friday I will embark on a journey to Yemen. After 20 hours on various planes and more hours waiting at various airports en route, I am due to arrive in Sanaa late Saturday night. So this is it. After reading books and travelogues on my home for the next 10 months and talking with several people who have lived there, I'm thrilled, to say the least.
Since receiving an invitation to work there, I have met with several people who know Yemen and read various books, blogs about that country. Yemen comes highly recommended as the "undiscovered pearl" of the Arabian peninsula. And I do love oysters!