Feeding pigeons at the fountain in Temple Square this afternoon. I had just bought a loaf of bread and sat on the edge of the fountain. That attracted the pigeons. This one waddled up to me and started pecking my finger until I fed it.
I like to sit by the fountain and read while I wait for the morphine to kick in. I don't want to be visibly high, so when I start to feel it, I go inside and work for a while.
Earlier today, I had tea with Pinar at an Arabic café in the Latin Quarter. She is learning English, so often, she speaks English to me, and I speak French to her, and we correct each others' mistakes.
Out of the blue, she invited me to go with her to her best friend's wedding in Algeria this summer some time after the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday, the end of Ramadan.
We would be spending a week together very close, travelling through a dangerous and remote region of the world and visiting and staying with people she knows. She would probaly expect me to be meeting her closest friends and family. We have never traveled together, but I think the trip would be fun.
What does it mean when a woman invites you to go to her best friend's wedding? It seems like a big deal when a Western woman asks you to go to a wedding, like she is claiming you, right? But when the wedding is in a foreign country where travel is difficult? And there are cultural differences - she's Muslim and it's in an Arabic country? Is Pinar trying to tell me something?
She liked my story about spending a year in the desert in the cabin and about hiking the Pacific Crestr Trail so maybe she only thinks i like going to out of the way places.
There used to be a blogger on here, Rachamim, who lived in the Middle East and was very familiar with the Maghreb (Northwest Africa) and its customs. He would know, but he's been AWOL for years.
It would be a fun and interesting trip, and I would probably never do it on my own. Partly because I don't speak Arabic. Arabic is her first language. Also, Algeria is one of those countries taht the STate Department issues travel warnings to stay away from. But she knows the country and where it is safe and which places to avoid.
I see her nearly every day at work. Outside of work, we often go out together. We know each other somewhat well, and I enjoy her company. But we only go out as friends, and we have never talked about going further than that. I have always assumed it wasn't possible.
She has an exotic Middle Eastern beauty. I'm very plain in comparison so I have assumed she would never feel anything for me. She smells good too. When we hug and kiss, it's hard to resist the temptation to inhale deeply and smell her hair. I think she would notice if I did that. She's smart too. She has a PhD in neurobiology. I like smart women. She's easy to get along with. I could fall for her.
I haven't told her about Ariadne specifically. She doesn't know I'm addicted to morphine either. If I'm going to Algeria, there's no way I'm taking any morphine with me on the plane.
So, I have no idea how to interpret her invitation. Dudes never invite other dudes as 'dates' to their best friend's weddings, unless they are gay, right? It's usually the girl friend who invites her boyfriend to her best friend's wedding. The only weddings I've been were those when girl friends I was very serious with took me as a date to the weddings of their family of girl friends. Or my own friends. Something like this would mean a lot more than driving an hour to the next city and then spending the day at the wedding and driving home at night.
There are big cultural differences between American Women and non-American women and how weddings are done. But wouldnt being invited as a date mean the same thing in both cultures?
I like to sit by the fountain and read while I wait for the morphine to kick in. I don't want to be visibly high, so when I start to feel it, I go inside and work for a while.
Earlier today, I had tea with Pinar at an Arabic café in the Latin Quarter. She is learning English, so often, she speaks English to me, and I speak French to her, and we correct each others' mistakes.
Out of the blue, she invited me to go with her to her best friend's wedding in Algeria this summer some time after the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday, the end of Ramadan.
We would be spending a week together very close, travelling through a dangerous and remote region of the world and visiting and staying with people she knows. She would probaly expect me to be meeting her closest friends and family. We have never traveled together, but I think the trip would be fun.
What does it mean when a woman invites you to go to her best friend's wedding? It seems like a big deal when a Western woman asks you to go to a wedding, like she is claiming you, right? But when the wedding is in a foreign country where travel is difficult? And there are cultural differences - she's Muslim and it's in an Arabic country? Is Pinar trying to tell me something?
She liked my story about spending a year in the desert in the cabin and about hiking the Pacific Crestr Trail so maybe she only thinks i like going to out of the way places.
There used to be a blogger on here, Rachamim, who lived in the Middle East and was very familiar with the Maghreb (Northwest Africa) and its customs. He would know, but he's been AWOL for years.
It would be a fun and interesting trip, and I would probably never do it on my own. Partly because I don't speak Arabic. Arabic is her first language. Also, Algeria is one of those countries taht the STate Department issues travel warnings to stay away from. But she knows the country and where it is safe and which places to avoid.
I see her nearly every day at work. Outside of work, we often go out together. We know each other somewhat well, and I enjoy her company. But we only go out as friends, and we have never talked about going further than that. I have always assumed it wasn't possible.
She has an exotic Middle Eastern beauty. I'm very plain in comparison so I have assumed she would never feel anything for me. She smells good too. When we hug and kiss, it's hard to resist the temptation to inhale deeply and smell her hair. I think she would notice if I did that. She's smart too. She has a PhD in neurobiology. I like smart women. She's easy to get along with. I could fall for her.
I haven't told her about Ariadne specifically. She doesn't know I'm addicted to morphine either. If I'm going to Algeria, there's no way I'm taking any morphine with me on the plane.
So, I have no idea how to interpret her invitation. Dudes never invite other dudes as 'dates' to their best friend's weddings, unless they are gay, right? It's usually the girl friend who invites her boyfriend to her best friend's wedding. The only weddings I've been were those when girl friends I was very serious with took me as a date to the weddings of their family of girl friends. Or my own friends. Something like this would mean a lot more than driving an hour to the next city and then spending the day at the wedding and driving home at night.
There are big cultural differences between American Women and non-American women and how weddings are done. But wouldnt being invited as a date mean the same thing in both cultures?
