After more than two years, we were finally able to reconvene our QFI-UT Austin Teacher Leadership Program cohort in person. And truthfully, it was as if no time had passed. I honestly feel like these people are some of my closest friends: despite only seeing each other in real life once before, we have gone through a lot together and have kept in such close contact. I feel so lucky. This workshop took place in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit that has the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the country. The majority of our learning took place at the Arab American National Museum. The architectural aspects of the museum were gorgeous — and they weren’t even part of the actual exhibits. The actual exhibits were super cool, too. Check out these copies of the sacred texts of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, for instance. There are, of course, the three monotheistic religions found throughout the Arab World, but there is great religious diversity both within and outside of these religions throughout the region as well. Like we learned in Austin (and in the virtual sessions since), the Arab World is not synonymous to the Middle East. The Middle East, by the way, is a geopolitical term; in fact, our docent, who was born and raised in Iraq, had not heard the term until he came to the United States. I am obsessed with this artist, Yasmeen Nasser Diaz — her art pieces, her installation, her process, her artist statement, everything. Essentially, she created these burnout pieces on velvet: she etched the soft fabric away to create the negative space (and subsequently the images). Please check out this video of her explaining the meaning behind this work: it’s incredible, and I can’t wait to create lessons around it. This was one of my favorite pieces at the museum. The museum is the first (and only) of its kind in the United States. It was founded 17 years ago, is Smithsonian-affiliated, and is a social services institution, one that grew out of a need to curate and share stories of the community. Check out some of the pieces that especially touched me: every single artifact in this museum is incredible. On Friday, we headed out on a bus tour, and our first stop of the day was to Holy Cross Chaldean Catholic Church. Father Andrew was amazing and super informative about the Chaldeans, the indigenous group of Iraq. There are 1.6 million Chaldeans worldwide, a huge percentage of whom are located in Detroit, particularly following a huge influx after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2005. Father Andrew said that many Chaldeans ask each other, “Do you speak Christian?” (as opposed to Chaldean) because they speak Aramaic, Jesus’s language. One of the coolest moments of the day was when Father Andrew recited the Our Father in Aramaic — “the language of Jesus to Jesus.” The Bible that you see pictured here is written in four languages: old Aramaic, English, Arabic, and modern Aramaic — the languages in which the services at this church are also given. It was a fascinating experience. After lunch (which I'll talk about shortly), we went to the Islamic Cultural Center, the largest mosque in North America and the oldest Shi’a mosque in the United States. The imam took time out of his busy day to give us a tour of the prayer space and discuss the facility as a whole, despite a major fundraiser, in which Abdullah Hammoud (the first Muslim and Arab-American mayor of Dearborn) was in attendance, taking place there as well. I greatly appreciated this opportunity, especially because it was my first time, I think, inside a mosque. Lunch today was at an incredible restaurant, Ishtar, where we had the opportunity to feast on delicious Iraqi cuisine. We went to the supermarket, too, where we sampled more snacks, followed immediately by dinner at Sheeba, a Yemeni restaurant. (While all of it was delicious, I think so far Yemeni cuisine is my fave.) There has been no shortage of food on this trip, which is indicative of two of the values of Arab-American culture: hospitality and generosity. Our last stop on the food tour was Haraz, a Yemeni coffee shop. Oh my goodness, it was awesome. First, the ambience was amazing; I mean, just look at it! Second, the coffee, tea, and treats were so good. We had Adeni, Yemeni tea that is flavored with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and condensed milk (omg). We then had coffee (I can’t remember if it was Yemeni or Iraqi) and honeycomb, a bread stuffed with cream cheese and soaked in a sugar syrup. I mean, come on. I need to figure out how to recreate all of the above when I get home. Prior to hopping on the plane back home, we went to Shatila Bakery. Y'all. Wow. I cannot wait for our next trip together!
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