Anecdotal Interculture (Assignment 4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE6jL8ChwsA&feature=related


The concourse of events were as such: Jared, a close acquaintance of North African lineage and a virtuoso distance athlete I dreamt of matching up to, and it was the summer of 2004, the time once again for the quadrennial Olympic Games in Athens.

I received a North-African dinner invitation from him and duly accepted it with no fuss. While at it together with a few friends of his origin, I took note of nothing exceptional in terms of flavor or texture of dish, for which the meal and henceforth its conversations proceeded unremarkably; I simply had nothing useful to pronounce! Given that, the order of events that followed promised much fanfare and fodder for mutual interaction, in the way of cultural themes.

We first sat among ourselves after dinner in front of a plasma screen and before a talking point could pitch, the long awaited Olympic track 1500m duel between the supreme miler of all-time, a North African, and his heir apparent came into view on air. Before the competitors broke out their starting positions, we had been tight-lipped and fixated for five good minutes; my friends taking anxious interest in the pre-race happenings and commentaries surrounding their comrade.

The race fired to a stupendous ovation in the stadium Olympic, bringing nervous torment to bear upon me and my friends for the rest of three and quarter minute race, in which their comrade won by the thick of his vest. What followed soon after was unexpected conversation.

Reveling in victory and the emblem inscribed on the maroon of the Moroccan flag, the winner dived, with admirable but suspicious affection, into the equally suspicious bosom of his fellow comrade and competitor; smothering him with multiple smooches.

Thought and tongue tied, and short on breath following a harrowing race, I only had breaking into wild guffaw the only physical reality. That was container for all my uneasiness at watching two grown-up men in perceived scandal; while I was more alarmed the Games’ officials had made no disciplinary inquest into the manner of intercourse between them.

In complete oblivion, my friends had all the while perceived the state of my non compos mentis, and conveniently had me for amusement dessert. They hadn't made sardonic opinions as I inwardly and outwardly displayed of the two men, and no conflict resulted of my supposed faux pas. They only thought I had over-reacted according to what they believed about Asian cultures through their sojourns past. Embarrassed through the bottom, I had to be forgiven for cutting an insisting figure about such acts of unguarded homosexuality being unacceptable even in the contemporary West, and never had I been surprised more when they passed them off as fast as they would an insignificant lady to enlivening me about the closed culture and behavioral practices of North Africa.

More than ever had the two men engaged in a fellowship of brotherly love and care, nothing illicit even extraordinary, and I should expect the same in any other occasion joyous or grievous, as a staple of North African agency.

When we got ourselves doubtless agreement on this, eased thereafter into the tranquil night in our generous remark of a very gifted middle-distance runner, and now Olympic Champion!!

What an athlete; more what a culture!

(560 words)

Cheers
Que maestro!