Praxis Watch

Saturday, 18 June 2016

What and how much we have learned about each other and from each other

"Shukran" is Arabic for "thank you".
"How are you" is "kejfa haluk".
Good is "Bihair".
"La bihair" is when it is not so good.
And everything will be only "Insallah" - "if God wills".
"Taman" is Serbian "taman", “just right”, and everything is clear.

Tea is "šaj" and it’s consumed on a daily basis and with lots of sugar. Almost as if you drank sugar with some tea. If there is no sugar, there is no point in tea.

Appropriate size of trousers in Afghanistan is not measured by using  “the elbow method”, but by the “the neck method". You stretch trousers around the waist, holding with fingers the two farthest ends. Then with the part which normally goes around the waist, try to circle your neck. If the ends are touching, the size is appropriate. A good choice is confirmed by the head nodding to the left and to the right, meaning approval.

Decisions are made within a group, with the approval of all present. The problems are being solved in the same manner. People who fell close or relatives often hold hands.

The most popular Pakistani musician was Nustrat-Fateh Ali Khan. Ali Khan was able to sing for hours without stopping, and with the first beats of his music people from Pakistan gather instantly. And so the conversation turns into a group dance.

And the dance turns into a laughter; into conversations about the meaning of different names and words, and the best culinary recipes. Several bagels, biscuits and sardines turn into a festive lunch, and one Belgrade park turns into a place, where at least for a moment, despite all the hardships that brought us together, all becomes tamam and all is bihair. For those moments we are grateful to each other.

To those moments - shukran!

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Praxis means action
Praxis means action
Praxis means action
Praxis means action