Sometimes Fun

I've been taking it easy this week, kind of. I have been switching off between doing surveys and doing essentially nothing during the day. Monday, did nothing. Tuesday, I went to La Paillade to the marché and was overwhelmed with the amount of people there. The kicker was, of course, that the majority were there to shop and had almost zero desire to answer my survey questions. I don't blame them necessarily. I was able to acquire two people from shopping.

One man approached me and asked what I was doing, so I explained and we began the survey. What then proceeded was a long, treacherous conversation regarding U.S. involvement in the middle east, Israel and zionism, Iran and the fundamental tenets of Islam with respect to the individual. I left with him honestly and positively wishing that I find God (or Allah). "May Allah guide you," he proclaimed as we parted ways. "May you keep faith in humanity," I said. It was a glorious meeting.

Also, I spoke with a man whose French was not so great. I found myself translating certain words from French into Arabic with success! He understood the word migrant (muhajjir) and was able to answer the many questions regarding immigration policy, or siyasa-t-al-hijriyya.

Wednesday of course was a nice day off, and today I wasn't expecting much from my visit over to Figuerolles. Unable to find a suitable porte-éponge downtown, I went to Figuerolles to do a bit of ye olde surveying. Within maybe 20 minutes I had four completed (a new, world record). I then wandered a bit, found a man sitting in front of a café and interviewed/surveyed him (Kurdish from Turkey). Not only did he take my survey, he bought me tea and talked to me for a long time about the differences between the United States and Europe (mostly economic questions). He was pretty awesome, and seemed like a pretty sweet dude to go clubbing with.

All in all, I have 51 surveys. I'll be able to get a few more before I leave, hopefully rounding out around 65 if I can manage it. I'm okay with that. It's not 100, but it's not terrible for one person with extremely limited resources. Right?