Iraq

Population: 32.96 million

Capital: Baghdad

Currency: Iraqi Dinar

Language: Arabic and Kurdish are the official languages Phrases:

Climate: Iraq weather is compared to the Southwest religion of the United States.  It has hot summers and a unique wind that blows through.  Because of the lake of rainfall it classifies as a desert.

Religion: Iraq is 95% Muslim.  There are two different kinds of Muslim religions that are followed: Shia and Sunni.  I of course was interested in what Shia Islam is a branch of Islam that calls themselves the Shias.  They believe that Ali (Muhammad's son-in-law) is the rightful successor to Muhammad, so they follow Ali.

Sports: Once again soccer is the most popular sport in Iraq.  Basketball, weightlifting, swimming, kickboxing and tennis are other popular sports.  Iraq's soccer team isn't bad.  They won the 2007 Asian Cup Championships and placed 4th in the 2004 Olympics.

Famous people: Saddam Hussein is probably the most notorious person from Iraq, but that was the only person whose name I recognized.

Flag:

Facts:
* Traditionally marriages are arranged
* It is a compliment if one eats their food fast and without utensil
* It is rude for a families dog to come close to the table while eating
* Families are usually large and very close, most live in the same house together

Culture: Iraq has one of the world's oldest cultures.  It is where the ancient Mesopotamian civilization was which was the civilization that influenced and shaped the old world and it is said invented writing and the wheel.  The country is known for its poets, painters and sculptors.  Iraq does celebrate achievements that happened in pre-Islamic time which is not a common practice among Muslim nations.  It is common for store owners to take a break in the afternoon and retreat to their tea house to drink tea with close friends and gossip.  It is thought that wisdom comes with wrinkles and old age and thus grandparents and parents are highly respected.  It is rude to snub someone who is asking a favor because generosity is valued in their culture.

Activity

For Iraq we decided to go back to the Shahrazad Market where we went for our Afghan experience   This time I went prepared to be more open and friendly with the people so we could have a better interaction   When we arrived we went straight into the store without any hesitation.  It almost seemed like a different place then before.  The first time we went I felt so scared and hesitant and the store seemed foreboding from the outside.  Now I felt the store was open and inviting, even the door was prompted open inviting us in.

We walked around for a bit taking pictures and really exploring the store.  We smiled at everyone we saw and when we saw the same girl in the Hijab that we saw months earlier we said hello.  We asked if she remembered us asking about Afghanistan items and she smiled and said yes.  I wasn't sure if she really did or not, but at least she was polite.

We stopped and spoke with the manager of the store for a while.  He was from Iraq.  He pointed out his flag that was hanging up along the wall with other Middle Eastern flags and I could tell he was proud of his heritage.  We talked a bit about our blog and what we were doing.  He mentioned that a representative from the IRC had been in a couple weeks back to get food ideas for a festival they had coming up so he thought we were with them.  When we explained our purpose of teaching our children about other cultures he seemed very interested.  We introduced our kids to him and he was friendly and nice with them.  Not once through the whole experience did the thought of war, terrorist or danger come up in my mind, he was a person just like I was.

We ended our experience with a lot more items in our cart then the first time we went, I think we were open to trying new things.  We had a nice conversation with the lady at the cash register, but did not get into details about her past.  I was happy we had this redemption visit, it went a lot better then the first time we came.