God tur!

... an Iraqi classmate who hadn't yet realized I'm American told me today that my country had destroyed his country.

I told him my country was responsible for a lot of awful things. That I've always been opposed to the war and that I think any person with an interest in other cultures and societies, like those of us who are in Norway and taking this class in order to learn a new language, would feel the same. And I told him I hoped it would end soon.

That paragraph makes what I said sound more eloquent than it actually did. It sounded really empty. I realize I am representative of the country I come from whether I want to be or not, but I feel like a powerless representative. It was useless for him even to take out his frustration on me.

Interestingly enough, this man is a translator who worked with Thor Heyerdahl in order to help him translate some Arabic texts he needed for the building of one of his papyrus boats. I was nearly star-struck when I heard this, and it was lovely to hear how much this man admired Heyerdahl. It makes me wonder if he helped him build the boat he eventually burned in protest against the wars that were occurring in the Middle East at that time. Days like today make me wish I had a boat to burn.