Thursday, January 31, 2008

Of cold and adaptation

Adaptation is among the important features of human being. Actually, one of the four main subdisciplines or subfields of anthropology is about this human capability. Biological (or physical) anthropology studies human biological diversity in time and space and is concerned with adaptation among other things. Adaptation refers to the process by which organisms cope with environmental forces and stresses. There are three ways of adapting biologically: genetic, long-term and short-term physiological (Kottak, 2006).

After I eventually managed to pick up my visa, what concerned me more than the US crime rate was cold winters in northern states like Ohio. Actually, that was one of the reasons that I never thought seriously about applying to Canadian universities (them being very miserly about funding and assistantship was the major reason).

And doing research on Toledo temperature in winter made me panic even more as I was going to land there amid December. Not that I'm spoiled by warm weather (as people here surmise about Iran). I've lived almost all my life in Tehran, and the temperature in winter is usually about freezing, sometimes a few degrees below. But that's about it. And I've been a frequent-flyer to Mashhad which has nasty winters (compared to Tehran).

When I was in Tehran, I used to go mountain-climbing even in snow-storms. But living and doing your daily routines under such weather conditions is different. And whenever I heard about places (including Northwestern provinces of Iran), with winter temperatures 20 degrees below freezing, it sent shivers down my spine. How people would live in such a cold? Me, surviving in such a place? No way.

Then, I found that a temperature of -10 (Celsius) is normal in Toledo over December and January and it could easily go -20C. And add to that windchill. Brrrr. I had experienced windchill in Mashhad, so I didn't need much imagination. To my surprise, when I landed in Toledo, It was warmer than Mashhad. And it made me forget about my fears. Then, time passed by and I could experience the Midwest winter. One night that it was -20C, I was outside for grocery shopping and I had missed the last bus, so I had to walk a long distance amid snow and wind with those bags in my hands to catch another bus. And it was not fun. But I didn't die of cold (homeless people actually die over such nights).

I gradually got accustomed to the cold. But still, I didn't dare riding my bike last winter. It was partly because I had enough negativist nagging people around me discouraging me to do anything beyond their limited routines. And feeling dependent on the terribly dysfunctional public transport in Toledo was even more aggravating than the cold. Being castaway from my family as a result of a single-entry visa and living below federal poverty line was depressing enough. Getting stuck in a home-campus-home routine was too much. Any cap on my mobility and travel is a real killer to me. I was badly depressed over my first winter and if it were not for my field research around churches, God knows how I would had survived.

Then, the winter was over and I started riding my bike around and in retrospect, I realized how much I missed by limiting myself to buses. When I was in Tehran, biking beyond metropolitan area sounded out of question to me and whenever I traversed a distance of 20 miles inside Tehran, it sounded like a great feat to me. But here, I kept riding and riding. I kept exploring beautiful metroparks and nearby towns. And this was a big morale-booster. First time, I rode my bike into Michigan, I felt like venturing into a new country and I felt kinda excited about it. Now, riding 20 miles or visiting nearby towns sounds normal. On my birthday, I biked around Lucas County for about 50 miles.

And as I got used to biking, I really didn't feel like making myself desperately dependent on those lousy irregular buses again, even in winter. And I stopped listening to negativists who can do nothing but disheartening. Now, I'm not afraid of biking in snow and cold weather. I've biked in -15C (4F). Definitely, I don't enjoy such weather, but I no longer let it immobilize me. And I've got used to the cold.

And now that I think about it, I find it funny. Over my trips to Mashhad in winter, whenever it went 5 degrees below freezing, I felt miserably cold, almost felt like dying. Now, whenever the temperature goes up to -5C (or somewhat closer to zero), I feel like it's a GREAT day and I can go out biking. No kidding. That's adaptation.

But the cold weather is not permanent here, even in winter. Boring as life is down here in Toledo, God keeps playing with His thermostat up there to give us some variety down here. One day it's -5, then it goes up to 10 with sunshine and the next day it drops down to -10 feeling like -25 with windchill. Quite an eventful life. I'd never experienced such rapid and drastic changes in temperature while in Iran.

And this is a regular pattern here, not just happening once in a winter. We have almost four seasons in a week. And this challenges what we were taught in science at elementary school. Big bodies of water (seas, oceans, big lakes) are supposed to have a moderating effect on temperature, buffering climatic changes. It appears that the Great Lakes act quite the opposite. And that's not all.

Before coming here, I comforted myself that by enduring this cold winter, I can at least enjoy a moderate summer. At least, that's how things go in Iran; provinces with cold winter have mild summer and vice versa. I was wrong. Here, with chilly winters like Northwestern Iran, summer was as stifling as Southern Iran, hot and humid. Oh my God, give me either hot summer or cold winter, not both.

Yet, we had summer days here with torrential rains. And I cannot say I was quite successful with adaptation to such muggy weather. All the while, I remained loyal to my orthodox dress code; long sleeves, long pants. And there were days that I was drenched in sweat or rain (or both) and had difficulty breathing easily, but even that didn't stop me from biking long distances. Maybe that's adaptation, American style.

And it appears that this year, God has decided to give people in my country a sense of life in the Midwest, at least climatically speaking. Over my life in Tehran, I remember very few wintry days below -5. Then, there was this arctic blast this winter all over Iran. There was heavy snow and frigid weather for 2 weeks, with temperature staying below -10 for several days in Tehran. In Mashhad (where my parents have migrated 3 years ago), temperature remained around -15 (or below) for about 10 days. And I was thinking of my snow post a few weeks ago, mocking road closures and emergency levels in the US. My people went through the same thing, with schools and even universities remaining closed for a week. Well, that snow in Iran was much heavier than what we got here. But anyway.

Speaking of biological adaptation and temperature makes me think of another adaptation as an engineer. In Iran, we use metric system for measurement. Even the British have got rid of their old lousy units. Ironically enough, Americans who tried to distance themselves from the British in everything after Independence, have stubbornly remained loyal to the English units.

And as an engineer used to SI units for so many years, it was a challenge to do my shopping in pounds and gallons instead of kilograms and liters or getting a feeling about temperature in Fahrenheit instead of Celsius. And I think of my engineer friends who are continuing their education in engineering. To them, it's more than feeling about the temperature or shopping. Those units are all their life. And I don't know how this engineering adaptation feels to them.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

I believe ...


I received this from a friend and found it worthwhile. Trivially, I censored the line asking poeple to forward it (I'm against chain-letter culture, even for good ones like this). However, I maintained the colorful scheme.


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A Birth Certificate shows that we were born

A Death Certificate shows that we died

Pictures show that we lived!

Have a seat . . . Relax . . . And read this slowly.

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I believe ..... That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do love each other.

I believe... That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe .... That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe.... That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe .... That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe ..... That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe..... That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe.... That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I believe ..... That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe .... That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe ...... That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe.... That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe....That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I believe..... That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe....... That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe..... That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe..... That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe.... That no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe...... That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe ....... That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life Forever.

I believe ....... Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe....... That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe...... That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.

I believe...... That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe ..... That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Ashura

This is my second Ashura in the US. Last year, it was on a Tuesday and I could not do the rituals quite the way I wanted, as explained at the end of my Nowruz 1386 post. But this year it was not on a weekday and I could visit a mosque for mourning ceremonies.

I attended the Islamic Center of America and it was good. The ceremony went exactly the way I desired; recitation of the Passion of Imam Hussein and his associates martyred in Karbala, without any unauthentic acts or words (as I've briefly explained under my Good Friday 2007 post). I was delighted to see the person who recited the Passion, did it reading from the book. And not surprisingly so, because he was not simply a precentor (or maddah as referred to by us Shia Muslims in Iran); he is a well-known clergy.

I had attended this mosque last year for the birth anniversary of our Prophet. From outside, it looks like any other mosque. But when I entered, I immediately thought of CedarCreek Church. They had a bookstore with luxurious books/items, a coffee-shop with excellent coffee (I'm not much into coffee, but I admit I was really impressed with their high-end service and quality) and you could smell the business-mentality much stronger than the excellent coffee. I had been taken there by one of my friends and I had no clue that we must have made reservations of $25 for the dinner (in Iran, dinners given over such religious celebrations are free). Fortunately, we were given complimentary tickets for the dinner.

And despite apparent similarities with CedarCreek and its modern atmosphere (without rock-music of course), they were not conservative, theologically speaking. I have to say they were far from that. Talking to one of their senior board members, I felt myself a backward bigot talking to a liberal.

Well, these labels are relative. I'm certainly a conservative Muslim (and if it were not for my passion with music and my beliefs on some other issues) I would had considered myself an orthodox. Yet, there are true bigots who regard conservative people like me as liberal. And probably, they would label people of this mosque as infidels. Religious labeling is a complicated business. Depending on where you stand on the ideological spectrum, you would think differently of other people, to your right or to your left. Maybe not.

When Imam Hussein defied the arrogant call of Yazid to pledge his allegiance to him as caliph, it was Imam Hussein who was labeled as rebel against Islam. At least, Herod didn't call himself a religious authority when he had John the Baptist beheaded. Just think about it, the embodiment of corruption and immorality calls himself caliph (successor of the Prophet) and then expects the Prophet's grandson to accept that. When I talk to my non-Muslim friends about what happened in Karbala 13 centuries ago, they find it incredible that those people could slaughter their Prophet's grandson and family and yet call themselves Muslim. An upside down world.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

The University Church

This post should had come long time ago. Last September, I visited the University Church for the first time. And it was an interesting experience. Well, they have an interesting pastor. That's why. When I looked at his profile for the first time, I realized that I would have a different experience with him. A completely unchurched professor of chemistry who turns pastor after so many years teaching at the University of Toledo. Quoting his profile:

Because Julian didn't grow up in a church and still doesn't really know why churches do most of the things that they do, don't expect The University Church to look like anything you've ever seen before!

I had attended a couple of their Table Talks over my first semester. Again, quoting him:

Drinking coffee, eating cookies and talking about theology - what could possibly be more fun?!!!

And you know, cookies. That speaks for itself. So, I had enough incentive to experience a casual theology table talk with an ex-professor of chemistry turned pastor. Each week, they discuss a book from a theological-religious perspective, although the book may not be completely theological; it could be some mainstream book touching issues somehow related to religion. The setting was very casual and laid-back (although not very spiritual according to my conservative standards). And it was about the time I began to feel the meaning of life in graduate school (remember, four reading-intensive courses over my first semester; that was not fun). So, I couldn't visit them on a regular basis.

Then, at the beginning of my second semester, the pastor Emailed me about their series on world religions, titled "who is my neighbor". Over the series, he sought to address the issue of non-Christians and their relationship with Christians. It was about diversity and pluralism. So, I felt like attending the series, although I was very busy and it was about the time I'd begun to think I was no longer a good Christian. But well, I thought, I could spare some time as I was sure I would enjoy listening to well-researched informative sermons by Pastor Davies (or Pastor Julian?) on this very interesting topic and also observing the worship at the University Church as a side benefit.

The setting was too casual here as well, although the attendees were not limited to students (as I'd falsely surmised); people from different age groups were represented. And just to make sure anybody understood about the place and its setting, shortly before the service was about to begin (or had already begun?), Pastor Davies advised anybody who had not grabbed a cup of coffee to go to the lobby and help themselves (however, it was Ramadhan and I was fasting and hence could not do a complete participant observation). Casual enough, eh? There was more for me.

I've attended (or watched on TV) all sort of contemporary worships. So, I'm beginning to get accustomed to unusual things without being surprised. But then, I witnessed some students sharing the peace by doing high-five. Or uttering whoo-hoo, instead of amen. Well, is it worship or what?

There were other interesting details like this. For example, an almost all-white choir singing an African worship song. Watching those white kids trying to imitate a Swahili accent and making African swings was amusing.

Anyway, I managed to attend the series just for the first Sunday (which was on Judaism) and the second Sunday (which was on Islam), before being bed-ridden by an untimely cold (do we have timely cold BTW?) and couldn't enjoy the rest of the sermons which looked and sounded more like academic lectures.

After the sermon on Islam, I promised Pastor Davies to post my comments on his weblog, but that untimely cold didn't let me do that in time. And after I recovered, I had so much to do for my schoolwork that I forgot about it. Anyway, better late than never. I've posted my comments on his post, Islam: In the Footsteps of Ishmael.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Spring 2008 Semester

Having thought hard and long about my thesis research, I've come to believe that I'd be better off finishing my Master's with coursework only and continue with my research on traditional vs. contemporary worship when I get into a PhD program. I have two more courses to complete my core course requirements for my MA degree:

Advanced Sociological Theory & Political Economy
Advanced Social Research Statistics

And as I'm going to research on the role of religion in American politics in more depth (than what I've been doing over past years), I've chosen the following as my elective courses:

Presidency
Legislative Process

Hopefully, these would deepen my understanding of how American government works. It's very likely that I add an independent study course focusing on American politics and religion. That means if everything goes well, I'll be done with my MA degree requirements by this summer, God willing. That would also mean what people with academic background in sociology normally do in 4 semesters, I'm going to do in 3 semesters, without an academic background in this field. Ambitious, eh?

Well, a very intensive semester, worse than my first spring semester I'd say. Back then, I had to read 14 books for 12 credits. Now, just for the four routine courses above (12 credits), I have to read 16 books and God-knows-how-many papers. And adding the books for my independent study (3 credits)? Good luck!

But at least I know that I don't have to worry about my Master's thesis. Sometimes, making tough decisions would relieve you from uncertainties. That's how I felt after making my big decision to switch from engineering to sociology after so many years working as an engineer.

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