Hello...Hallo...Ciao!

Rasha Almaqaleh 

I’ve always been fascinated by languages for language is, as Edward Murrow once said, “the memory of man.”  That’s why I find learning a new language interesting and much fun. But, it could be challenging and tricky at the same time. Especially if the language to be learned has difficult sounds and complicated grammatical rules.

 When I started learning English, I couldn’t help but comparing it to my mother tongue, Arabic. I would spend so much time figuring out the differences and similarities in the sentence structure, sounds of letters, articles, noun genders, etc.  But, when we learn more than one or two second languages, comparisons become much more fun!

  I learned English a long while ago and it was my ‘first’ second language. I loved learning it since I was in school and I’ve always planned to master it. Ironically, I got higher grades on English than on Arabic! I think that’s because the Arabic language is more complex and difficult comparing to English.

The first thing I noticed when I started my journey with English was that the Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters while the English alphabet has 26 letters. I started searching for the sounds that Arabic has and English does not. The variety of the sounds in Arabic is stunning. Take a look at the table below to see the Arabic alphabet and the corresponding letters in English. 

Before living in Italy, I used to think of English as a universal language and a great way of communicating with the whole world regardless of its differences. However,  my faith in the English language and the whole ‘dreamy’ concept of communicating with the world crashed in Italy! There, my English was pointless and not much of a help. That is because most of the Italian people don’t speak English at all. English to them is very difficult to speak and hard to understand. As a result, I had to learn some Italian to be able to communicate with my surroundings.

Honestly speaking before arriving in Italy, I hadn’t known a thing about the Italian language, not even a single word. In my early days there, I remember hearing the word “Si” so much and I was wondering what that word meant and why Italians use it so much. And when I started learning Italian, I found out that ‘Si’ simply means Yes! Wow, I really had zero knowledge of Italian and it was then when I realized that I would struggle learning it.

I started listening to people when they spoke and I found that the sound of Italian was so different from English. That was interesting because I realized that I was comparing Italian to English and not to Arabic. I think that’s because English is a second language to me and Italian, too.

But, when I learned how the verbs are conjugated in Italian and how we could use the verbs without the need to mention the pronoun for it is already indicated in the verb, I started comparing it to Arabic.

Italian is indeed musical and Italians talk SO MUCH! When I knew that the Italian alphabet consists only of 21 letters unlike English which has 26 letters, I wondered how they do all that talk with only 21 letters. Well, actually with 20 letters! The letter H in Italian is pronounced just as the letter a, as in apple. That’s why it’s so difficult for Italians to say a basic English sentence such as: ‘I have’! Instead, they pronounce it like this : “I ave!" 

When I moved to Germany and started to learn German, the first thing I noticed was how different the German language is from Italian and how close it is to English, well, close to some extent. For example, when I hear Germans say: “Das ist gut!”  I think they say: “This is good!” The similarity is stunning. We say hello in English and hallo in German! Moreover, some words in German are used in the same sense as in English.

For example, the word ‘book’ in English which means ‘printed work’ could be used as a verb to, to book, in this case it means ‘to make a reservation. In German it is just the same with the word ‘buch’ which means book and the word ‘buchen’ which means to book.

Furthermore, the phrase ‘so far, so good’ which is widely used in English has a similar German equivalent : ‘so weit, so gut’. The word weit means exactly far. There is an ongoing debate over whether this phrase is just a translation of the English one or is it a genuine German phrase. However, what really matters to me is how similar the usage of words and context is.

 But, when it comes to the gender of nouns, German gets so complicated, more complicated than Arabic! In Arabic, we have two noun genders: feminine and masculine. In German, there is a third category which is ‘neuter’. And this is something I’m really struggling to make sense of. Neuter describes a word that is neither feminine nor masculine. For example, the word ‘kind’ which means kid or child, is neuter. It doesn’t matter if the kid is a boy or a girl, the word itself is not either!

And with the three different genders come the three different articles. While in English there is only one definite article ‘the’ and two indefinite articles a/an(depending on the first letter of the word), there are three definite articles in German: der, die and das, and ‘theoretically’ there are two indefinite articles ,ein and eine. However, when ‘cases’ are considered, the indefinite articles madly multiply: einen, eines, einer, einem, and eines! 

There are four cases in German: nominative, dative, accusative, and genitive. Those
four cases in German are what made me appreciate the simplicity of the English language.

Unlike English and Italian, all nouns in German are capitalized which means that each and every single noun must be written with a capital letter. This is one strict rule that our teachers would never tolerate violating! And now, by force of habit, when I write in English, I find myself eagerly capitalizing all nouns! Then, I realize that I’m not writing in German and the ‘decapitalizing’ process starts right away. Learning languages could really mess up your head!

One of the many things that surprised me about German is the way the letter R is pronounced! In some regions of Germany, especially in the north where we live, the letter R is trilled, similar to the French R. This was quite confusing at the beginning but with time I got used to trill all the Rs. Actually, I have no problem with the sound of the trilled R because in Arabic we have a letter with a similar sound. Therefore, we, Arabs, can trill and 'gargle' with no trouble. However, I still cannot accept the way my name, Rasha, is pronounced in German! I don’t like the sound of it but I have to answer, anyway!

And even though the sound of the trilled R is a piece of cake to me, there are other complex sounds that I’m still struggling with, such as pronouncing the following letters which are called ‘umlaute’ : ü, ö, and  ä. I am still not satisfied of the way I pronounce words such as: Übung and Löffel.

Moreover, there is a special pronunciation of the syllables 'ech' and 'ich' and pronouncing the words that have one of these syllables, or sometimes both!, is such a struggle. I always don't feel good about uttering the following words ‘ich’, ‘shclecht’, ‘schrecklich’ and a bunch of other words. I always ask Germans when they pronounce such words about the location of their tongues. It’s indeed a strange and difficult sound for me.

 ‘Doch!’ This is one of my favorite words in German. I like this word because we have similar words in both standard Arabic and also dialect. Even though this word is often translated in English into a variety of words such as but, but still, and yes, none of these translations are really accurate or satisfactory. As a matter of fact, there is no equivalent word in English for doch.  So, what is the meaning of this word and in what context is it used?

I will try to explain this word with an example because I don’t think there is any other way.

A mom and her child are in a supermarket and then the child sees a toy and say to his mom:
Child:  “Mama, ich will dieses Spielzeug!”   (Mom, I want this toy!)

Mom: “Nein!”      (No!”)

Child: “Doch!”   (“It’s a yes even if you say no!”)

So doch in the previous context is not just a plain yes. It is a yes to someone who says no. That’s why you will find this word very popular among kids here and actually my son always uses it with almost every single no we say to him!

Ultimately, I enjoy doing such comparisons while learning and I find learning languages this way more fun and culturally enlightening. Or as Rita Mae Brown put it ocne: “Language is the road map of a culture.”

Shiiti, Sunni....What is really happening?

Anis Albasha

It is said that religion is important for the government not to spread virtue but to control people. Anyone follows the news would notice that the conflict between the two major Muslim sects Shiites and Sunnis has been escalated recently. Right now, there is a proxy war between powers from both sects in a number of countries such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen. The question here is: "is this a religious war between Shia and Sunni Muslims as it has been depicted in the media, or religion has been used deliberately to cover certain political agendas?" 

I have noticed that it is difficult for most people in western countries to understand the nature of the perpetuated disagreement between Shiites and Sunnis. Many times I was asked by some western people about what is happening between Shiites and Sunnis. A lot of westerners have no clue about the differences between these two major Muslim groups and they also wonder how those differences turned to a fierce fight, or as one of them once simply put it: "Aren't they all Muslims?"

Actually, it is not easy to give a straight answer to such questions. As a matter of fact, Shiiti and Sunni are all Muslims and it may be easy to talk about the aspects and characteristics of the two doctrines.  However, it won't be that easy to elucidate the nature of the conflict between the Sunni and Shia Muslims which can be traced back from the present day to the seventh century. Yet, the issues between these two sects can be briefly described as a political disagreement in a religious disguise. In other words, it is a matter of 'who has the right to rule and to lead Muslims', so it is obvious that we are talking politics not religion.

If I am going to describe the ongoing clashes among Muslims in different places of the Arabian area, I would say that it is a struggle over certain interests by some international and regional powers, and religion is being employed as a trigger to keep the ball rolling. Obviously, religion is the most effective way that can incite and urge Muslims in the Arab World to fight against each other. The greatest motivation that would encourage Sunni Muslims to fight and sacrifice their lives is telling them that Islam is in 'danger' and they have to defend it against Shiites.

 This ‘prescription’ has been used several times and proved to be operative and successful. By using this formula, international and regional powers spread chaos and sedition in the Middle East region (Yemen, Syria, Iraq) and they rip off the fortunes of some countries (arms deals and oil).

If we look at this Sunni-Shiite issue from another perspective, a moderate and unbiased one, we will find that Shi'a Muslims carry little difference to Sunnis one, at least not in the sense that has been propagated. In fact, Shia and Sunni Muslims share the most fundamental Islamic beliefs, for example, they both believe in the same One God and they believe that Prophet Mohammed, is the messenger of God, and both sects have the same version of 'Quran'; the holy book of Muslims.

On the other hand, there are differences and disagreements between Shiites and Sunnis. Ironically, there are disagreements even among Sunni Muslims and no one can argue that Sunnis are one unified group that embraces the same ideas and approaches; needless to say that it is the same case when it comes to Shiites who have also their own disagreements. Therefore, disagreements shouldn't be taken as a reason to spark a fight between Shia and Sunni Muslims since each sect has its own disagreements within itself. So, how could some parties turn those disagreements to an aggressive war that destroyed countries such as Yemen or Syria?

Due to the absence of the concept of real 'citizenship' in all Arab countries, people in these countries deal with each other mainly according to the religious affiliation. At the same time, Muslims in Arab societies pay great attention to the religious rituals at the expense of everyday dealings and communications which should be practiced away from any religious considerations or prejudices. Therefore, it is easy to spread mistrust, hatred and animosity as well as to enrich intolerance among people who live in societies where religion is practiced in a very superficial way.

Let's take Yemen as an example; Yemen’s Muslim population can be broken down into two main religious groups: the Sunnis to the middle and southern parts of Yemen and the Zaidis to the north. Despite the fact that Yemen has suffered from many woes over its recent history, sectarianism was never part of the equation. Even though Yemenis live in a stratified society where people are categorized into different social groups, religion didn't play a role in this stratified system which is mainly based on a number of factors such as the origin, the tribe, the area …etc.

From a religious point of view, throughout its history, Yemen was at heart a tolerant and religiously inclusive country. In contrary to what is propagated, Yemeni Zaidi doctrine is so close to the Sunni and for hundreds of years Sunnis and Zaidis have been coexisting very well in Yemen. I was born and raised in Yemen, and throughout my entire life there I have never looked at Zaidis as an alien community.

Sunnis and Zaidis in Yemen used to pray in the same mosques, though some of these mosques are heavily attended by Zaidis or Sunnis. Yemeni Sunnis and Zaidis used to marry from each other without the need to ask about the religious background before giving the consent to the marriage.

Sadly, by introducing and imposing the formula of Shiites-Sunnis conflict in Yemen, sectarianism has spread all over the country and Yemen was turned to a non-inclusive country where Zaidi sect, a community that has been around since the eighth century, suddenly became a potent-Shiite threat to the Yemenis and to the region!

As a result, similar to what happened in Lebanon in the seventies, killing in the name of religious identity has been launched in the country and this scenario is being replicated in other countries of the region.      

    

Despite the fact that the chaos and unrests in the region have been fueled by certain international powers, Muslims should be held responsible for all the bloody conflicts that take place in their area. World powers wouldn't be able to spark a war among Muslims without the help of Muslims themselves who failed to understand the real message of Islam which calls for love, unity and coexistence.

In summary,  although it is stated clearly in the holy book of Muslims 'And hold firmly, all of you together, by the covenant of God, and do not be disunited', Muslims do the exact opposite of what they are told by their own book. They are being manipulated by the regimes and regional and international powers to be divided and to hate each other. Consequently, this Shia-Sunni curse will continue and will have no end, at least in the coming decades and as long as Arabs still have oil and can offer billions of dollars on western arms!  

Muslim Women in the west, easily targeted and culturally stuck

By Rasha Almaqaleh

  It has become obvious that Muslims living in the West have become a controversial issue. And with the growing anti- Islam wave in the Western societies, the hate incidents against Muslims have clearly increased. The easiest and ‘most convenient’ target of such street based Islamophobic attacks is Muslim women wearing a headscarf, ‘Hijab’. The reason behind that is that Muslim women are easily identified; Hijab determines visibly their Islamic identity in an atmosphere filled with growing fear and hate of anything described ‘Islamic’. 

  Therefore, many Muslim women wearing Hijab are afraid to leave their houses. And when they do, they don’t feel safe out there. So, is there anything those women could do to protect themselves against the nasty attacks, which vary between verbal abuse and physical assaults? Do they really have to go in public wearing Hijab regardless of the consequences?

  Experts always warn us from sharing too much information online because it makes us easily targeted by scammers, burglars, advertisers, and stalkers, but does this only apply to virtual reality or it can also be extended to real life? When Muslim women walk around in western societies wearing headscarves, they give away a very private piece of information about themselves, their religious beliefs, in a secular society that considers asking about one’s religion ‘rude’ or unnecessary. Moreover, when Muslim women walk around with Hijab, they make themselves an easy target to the troubled members of the society who may find it a good opportunity to exercise their abusive behavior such as physical assaults and verbal harassment.

  What really annoys me is that Muslim men who live in the west can simply choose to dress in a ‘religion-free’ way or I may call it a ‘cosmopolitan style’. For example, they can simply wear jeans, T-shirts, jackets, etc. Such way of dressing doesn’t reveal their religious beliefs. Even though Muslim women living in the west can also wear jeans, stylish blouses, jackets etc., once they put on a headscarf, they are immediately categorized and stereotyped! So, why don’t Muslim women have the choice to walk around dressing ‘neutrally’ without declaring their religious identity in such an alarming atmosphere?

  As a Muslim woman who lives in the west, I find that Hijab is ‘overrated’ by Muslims and non-Muslims. Both sides have given too much meaning to a mere piece of cloth. On one hand, Muslims consider Hijab as a distinguishing mark between Muslim and non- Muslim women.  According to their interpretations, a ‘true’ Muslim woman must cover her hair; this is regarded as a sign of modesty, religious commitment, and authenticity!

  On the other hand, Hijab, from a Western perspective, has become a warning sign of terrorism, oppression, ignorance, and sometimes vulnerability. “What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you see a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf?” This is a question I usually ask Western women in friendly occasions in order to get a clear idea of how they feel about this controversial issue. The answer that I usually get is:  “the first thing that pumps into my head is: does she really want to wear it or she is just forced to?”  

  I have to say that many Muslim women choose to wear Hijab because they believe that God instructs them to do so. It is part of their belief-system. Therefore, whether they ‘want’ to wear it or not becomes irrelevant. They do it because they believe it’s a divine instruction and they will follow it even if they don’t ‘want’ to.  I know that because I’ve been there myself, too. But, after I paused and reflected, I now beg to differ! 

  In Quran, there is no such a specific instruction that orders women to strictly cover their hair. Muslims are manipulated to think this way. However, I will assume, as a Muslim and for the sake of the argument, that their claim is true. My question is: do Muslim women have to wear Hijab regardless of how it exposes them to harm, physically, emotionally and socially?

  Some Muslim women argue that they wear hijab to protect themselves from the impolite stares. While this could be true in the Islamic countries, it doesn’t work in Western societies. By wearing Hijab in such societies, not only do Muslim women expose themselves to obtrusive stares but also to acts of hatred such as spitting (which I myself experienced!), verbal insults and physical assaults! What kind of protection they are seeking for by wearing Hijab in a hostile atmosphere like this where the offences against Muslims are increasing day after day?! If they want to talk protection then they should consider taking Hijab off and having a neutral look when they are in public. They would feel a lot safer this way and their safety should always come first. 

  Another negative side of wearing Hijab in western societies is that it mostly exposes Muslim women to bias in job interviews . For example, when an employer interviews a Hijab-wearing Muslim woman, they most probably will not hire her even if she has the necessary qualifications and skills. In addition to that, if she is a new immigrant hunting for an apartment, she in all likelihood won’t easily get one. That’s because once homeowners see Hijab, they feel worried and prefer not to rent their property to someone they are scared of, someone they don’t trust. They wouldn’t say that out loud, of course. Instead, they would come up with  different excuses to reject her application. 

  It’s true that there are laws that clearly and strictly prohibit all types of discrimination. In addition to that, freedom is one of the most important values in Western countries and everyone is free to practice their religion.  However, no laws can control or alter how people ‘feel’ or ‘think’ about each other’s differences. Such feelings and opinions are crucial to coexistence because they matter the most in the daily social interactions. 

  We live in a global world today  where the  social media networks and instant messaging applications make it easier and faster for stereotypes, prejudices, and misleading information to spread around the world with one click! The results are: fears deepen and hatred increases. Consequently, feelings of mistrust and hostility cast a shadow over any real intentions of acceptance and coexistence even in the most civilized societies.

  Therefore, when someone moves to a new society, all what they should focus on is how to live in harmony with their new surroundings and how to break as many barriers as possible, instead of  holding onto the old traditions of their original culture regardless of how their new society receives them. Otherwise, the newcomers will end up being isolated in the new culture or at best isolated as a community.

  Conversely, many well-educated and strong Muslim women living in the West insist on wearing Hijab in hopes of presenting a good image of Islam and defeating the stereotype or at least reducing it.  But what happens in actuality is that they go unnoticed no matter how hard they try. That’s because of two reasons: first, the stereotype is really so big, bigger than their efforts. Second, whenever there is a stereotype, people fail to see beyond it.  That's why some Muslim girls start their own campaigns, websites, etc. to support Hijab-wearing Muslim women. Sadly,their
 efforts do not change that much in reality. 

  Another important thing to remember is that religion is not something we have to defend or make look better; it is not propaganda. Religion is there to give us peace of mind and make us live our lives in the best way. It is not supposed to complicate our lives. So, if we find ourselves struggling and not having an easy life and we are in conflict with the society around us because of our so-called religious practices, it is absolutely time to pause and reflect, it is time to question our way of thinking. 

  For that reason, I don’t believe that anyone should spend much time and energy trying to change what other people think about them. Stereotypes will always be stereotypes and there is not much we can do to change that. In other words, Muslim women should only focus on themselves as persons, not on their general image as Muslims. They cannot control what some Muslims might do. And of course among Muslims, just like any other group, there are good and bad people. As a result, it will be much easier and more effective, if they stop thinking of themselves as members of a community and start looking at themselves as individuals in a society.

 However, this is not an easy task and Western people should understand that Muslim women are under too much cultural pressure. They find themselves stuck between two completely different cultures, the original and the host ones. If they choose to protect themselves and make things a bit easier by ‘culturally’ compromising, they usually face harsh judgments from family, friends or their Muslim communities which most likely wouldn’t consent to such an act.

 On the other hand, if Muslim women decide to hold on to their old traditions regardless of the new society, they will definitely face prejudices, stereotypes , discrimination and sometimes, as in France, ‘official’ intolerance and public humiliation. The weird thing is that many Western people believe that Hijab-wearing Muslim women are oppressed. However, a lot of them don’t do much to help empower those ‘oppressed’ women! Instead, they give them skeptical, and sometimes hostile, stares when they see them on the streets, they don’t hire them even if they are skilled, and they don’t rent their properties to them!

  In the final analysis, we, Muslim women, find ourselves judged by East and West on our appearances and not on who we truly are. However, we need to know that we can, and sometimes we have to, culturally compromise in order to protect ourselves from any possible harm, including sizing us up at first glance and defining us. We should keep in mind that “To define is to limit”, and with limitations it is hard to move on and go further. 

The swedish silence

Anis Albasha

The farther north you go in Europe, the paler skin you will see as well as the lower voices you will hear. But if you head south towards the Mediterranean countries or the Arabic Peninsula, you will notice that the skin gets darker and the voices get louder. During my travels in different eastern and western countries, the different vocal capacities of people who live in different places of the world never cease to amaze me.   

Yemenis, for example, have very strong vocal cords which can produce unbelievable noise and disturbance that have become an inseparable part of the Yemenis' daily life.  For example, when you walk down an average street in any Yemeni city, you will immediately be surrounded by the loud sounds, shouts and screams that make your ears ringing and clicking. If you decide to walk into a restaurant to have a meal, you will get the impression that you just walked into a battlefield, not into a place where people are supposed to sit and eat in peace. In Yemeni restaurants, screeching and squawking are common and the moment you go through the restaurant door, you will hear a mixture of noisy sounds and uproar and you will also see the waiters rushing and scrambling from a corner to another.

Even if you stay at home, it wouldn’t get better because you will be disturbed by different kind of noise such as children’s screams, adults’ yells, the ongoing construction work and of course, weddings’ noise which is so common in every Yemeni neighborhood where there is a wedding every week! In addition, in each Yemeni neighborhood there must be a person named 'Hamood' and people are always looking for him and calling his name in a very loud and provocative tone. So, sitting between four walls in Yemen won't be enough to protect you from the noise and disturbance.

When it comes to the noise and disturbance, it was almost the same in both Egypt and India where I heard people yelling and screaming and producing big noise, the only difference was the different languages and accents which produced that noise.   

Like Arabic people, Italians also have a vociferously nature and they also enjoy a distinguished vocal capacity. There was a restaurant under the building where we lived in a town near Milan and we were able to hear the loud humming and buzzing of Italians who eat at that restaurant, especially during the weekends. We also had to ring the doorbell of our Italian neighbor many times to ask her to lower the music that comes out of her apartment throughout the night. Besides, if you ride a bus in Italy, while sitting at the back of the bus, you would be able to hear a full conversation among people sitting in the front of that bus!

Ironically, Italians also have their own version of Yemeni 'Hamood', but it is called 'Simone' in Italy and if you live in Italy, you will hear people calling for that Simone in a very loud tone. One time we were sitting near a train station and on the same chair there was an Italian delicate teenager girl, and out of the blue- she cried out 'Simoneeeeeeeee'. Though the intensity of the sound produced by that girl was no less than 85 decibels, the girl didn't lift a finger nor bat an eyelash! We then realized that when it comes to the vocal capacity, no one can defeat Italians. No wonder that the most famous opera singers are from Italy!

If we leave Italy and head north, we will notice that Germans- especially in northern Germany- are mostly calm and tend to be reserved. Usually, German people are quiet in streets, buses, restaurants and markets. Fortunately, there is no German version of 'Hamood' which makes it quieter in Germany!

When it comes to public tranquility, German civil code states that a home-owner should enjoy his property in such a way as not to have any excessive deleterious effects on the neighbors. For example, you are allowed to make noise outside until 10 pm, the Night quite hours 'Ruheziet' are from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am and no Sunday afternoon lawn mowing. Besides, you may have bigger parties in your house up to four times a year.         

If we keep heading north, we will find out that Swedes are so quiet and so reserved. Most Swedes speak with each other by using the minimum level of the sound (0 decibel) and they tend to be calm and quiet even in the events or the situations that require some noise or yelling. One time I saw a Swedish wedding near a church and there was a congregation of men, women and children as well as balloons and bubbles, but I didn't notice that gathering until I was 2 or 3 meters close when I turned right and saw it! Once we saw a celebration in a Swedish city where a number of men, women and kids made a loop by holding hands and they all were dancing in a circle but quietly and with no noise. The view was like a three-dimension scene which was displayed on a giant screen and someone pressed the mute bottom!

However, when they get drunk, Swedes liberate themselves from that reserved and serene nature and tend to be noisy and chatty.

What made us believe that Swedes may be the quietest people in Europe was what happened one day in the small Swedish city we lived in. We woke up in the morning and opened the windows for some fresh air when we found out that the long street near the house -which was always quiet and empty - turned on to a big and crowded bazaar which was full of vehicles, goods and people!

We wondered how this happened and when? Surely, the cars and the trucks came earlier in the morning and all the tents, shelves and goods were installed and arranged then, but all the work was done quietly so we didn't hear anything though our windows directly overlooked the street.  We then remembered the small market near our house in Sana’a where people sell Qat, though it was so small, the noise that market produced was bigger than a noise that could be produced by a giant factory!

Back to that Swedish market, we wandered into it and knew that it is held once a year, same time and same place. While roaming in that quiet bazaar, we noticed that even the animals which were put in different kind of fences and cages were also quiet and produced no sound. But one of the unforgettable moments was when we saw a little Swedish baby laying in his stroller and crying but on the Swedish way where we hardly could hear its polite cry! At around 15:30, all cars and trucks left and the street became empty and calm again and we noticed that the street was cleaned carefully.

         I have read that environment affects human behavior in countless ways, and I am wondering if the different vocal capacities I’ve seen in different lands have something to do with the environment and geography. But I think that striking the balance between the extreme raucous nature and the excessive calm one is so important. As it is said, we can be serene even in the midst of calamities, and by our serenity, make others more tranquil.