Response to Comment

The following comment was made on my blog and I'd like to respond to it:

"why should anyone who smokes, drinks and brings women home, with the women's consent of course, why should he be a bad man? Harassing you is another matter, but smoking, drinking, womanizing..
Also, why this language? I thought only American generals and politicians used to label people good and bad. People are seldom all good and all bad.
Are you sure you are grown up enough to be a peace corps volunteer?"

First of all, yes, I am grown up enough to be a Peace Corps volunteer. Secondly, I want to make clear my circumstances here. I am a woman living alone in a Muslim country. If you have any idea what Muslim societies can be like, you would understand that it is not easy for me. In Muslim culture, smoking, drinking and womanizing is "haram" or forbidden. So, it is totally appropriate and not at all judgmental of me to label men who participate in those activities "bad." Another reason for simplifying things into categories of "good" and "bad" is because the Darija dialect of Arabic is simpler and has fewer words than English used to describe things. Things are either "good" or "bad." There's only "beautiful" and "ugly." You're either "hungry" or you're "full." Sometimes when writing this blog, I am translating things from Arabic into English and some of the meaning might get lost along the way.

And believe me, I realize people are seldom all good and bad. I see this contradiction every day here. There are people who pray five times a day here. There are people who never pray. There are people who drink. There are people who smoke. There are people who steal. There are people who respect their parents. There are people so kind and generous it could make your heart break. If there's one thing I have learned during my time in the Peace Corps, it is that there are contradictions everywhere, but this is a part of life. Once you accept these contradictions, you can see and appreciate the human experience of life. Life can be so varied and diverse on earth and I am thankful I was given this opportunity to open my eyes to the rich diversity of life.