... As the weather has started to cool (the high is now between 99-101 degrees F) we took advantage and walked to our favorite corner Lebanese restaurant where Trevor is whisked away by the staff for affectionate hugs and given a tour of the kitchen. He is passed around from one employee to the next and by the time we are ready to leave he has warmed to them again and runs to their open arms so he can be thrust into the air over and over again. When we were finished we decided to walk down the sidewalk to enjoy the evening air and take in the local sights. We came upon a large crowd of semi-locals(there really are very few true locals here) gathered on the sidewalk outside of one of the shops, all were waving their hands and talking loudly. We paused to determine whether it was safe to continue and decided to cross the parking lot to walk on the sidewalk on the other side. Being vigilant and mindful of recent events in the Middle East Matt took Trevor in his arms in case things were less than friendly ahead. As we approached we were not only relieved but also sheepishly embarrassed to witness the large group gathered around the plate glass windows of the local Salon watching a riveting game of cricket on the 19 inch Television in the corner of the shop! We have had many inquiries as to our safety over here and I know that many of the news stations would have you to believe that everywhere East of the U.S. shoreline is wrought with conflict over the recent developments.... While I do not want to underscore our own concerns or cautions that we take, we have not been greeted with anything but open arms and compassionate agreements from people that hail from all over the world. We are so fortunate to live in a place where many different nationalities have learned to co-exist and make the most of the opportunities that abound here. Over the last 4 weeks since we have been back nearly 9 out of 10 of our taxi drivers have been from Pakistan, a country (who on the news) appears to have nothing but hatred for Americans and many other Western influences. So it was with cautious reservation that we encouraged Trevor to continue to ask our Taxi drivers where they were from, one of his favorite activities to learn world geography while taking our short taxi rides from the store. Instead of the expected cold shoulder or worse from any one of our taxi drivers, each and every one smiled with warm affection when Trevor confidently responded in his loudest voice that he is from American and California. Some went so far as to give him the rest of their candy or part of their tip money to show that there was no animosity what-so-ever between the individuals that we are here. It was a refreshing experience time after time when the news only wants to show and inflame the hatred on both sides of the world. One of my favorite responses was from a Pakistani cab driver who cheerfully exclaimed "CHiPS" when he heard we were from California. He was probably just a little bit older than we were and said it was one of his favorite T.V. shows when he was growing up many years ago... who would have thought "CHiPS" was being aired half way around the world in Pakistan 30 years ago!! There are places that are very unsafe throughout the region but we are continuously blessed to know that this is not one of them. Thank you again for all of the thoughts and prayers. We truly do appreciate each and every one.
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