Monday, February 9, 2009

My friends Akala and Farid

Something unexpected happened when we renovated our house last year. The contractor hired Arab laborers and over the course of the eight month renovation, we became "friendly" with each other. It was sort of inevitable considering I saw them almost everyday, excluding Jewish and Muslim holidays.

At first I found the whole thing very creepy. I refused to let Chaim leave me alone in the house with them. I am convinced that one guy was always looking up my skirt when I climbed the stairs to the second floor to have a look at the work going on up there. And I still think that some of them viewed me as a pathetic little female who should really go back to the kitchen. But since I had already escaped the kitchen (you know, to go to university for six years), what could they do?

And those same creepy guys liked the times when tensions were running so high that Chaim was yelling like a banshee at me. I think that when Chaim yelled he gained a lot of credibility in their eyes. You know, a Jewish man who could control his wench, just like they did.

(Before I continue I feel compelled to say that some of these Arab men were highly skilled artisans. One of them spoke English as well as I do and he did great work. However, the majority of the guys doing this sort of work were not well educated or sophisticated.)

But over time, things began to change. I got to know many of them by name -- Akala, or Abed as the younger workers called him, was the guy in charge. And Farid was a young guy who did all sorts of the messy jobs. And once you know someone's name, all the rules change.

The moment of truth came when, after the renovation was completed for a few months, I was walking to a friend's house one night and I heard someone call my name. I stopped and looked around, only to see Akala and Farid standing on the corner waiting for me!!! When I caught up to them they both hugged me. (I can only imagine what any passers-by from my neighbourhood would have thought!) And off we all walked down the street until I came to the point where I went one way and they went another. Which, if you think about it, pretty much sums up the whole relationship.

No comments:

Post a Comment