PSU Magazine Winter 1989

The travelers encountered other c ircumstances during their stay that snagged thei r Western consciousness. - In Yemen, litter marred the visual richness of the landscape. Trees are few, metal costly, but pl astic is inex pensive and eas ily attainable. Getting rid of their drifts of pl astic bags and bottl es is not yet a priority fo r the country - but it will be , project members predict. The pervasive habit among Yemeni men of chewing qat was difficult to understand . "Practically the who le male sector has a rea l psycholog ical addiction to thi s drug," soc ial work professor Anderson marveled . "It consumes much of the famil y income and they chew it about four hours each day. At least 25 percent of their irrigated land , which could be used fo r grow ing food , is devoted to grow ing qat. It 's a profound problem, " she contends. And in Tunisia, the concess ions to touri sm and the diluti on of Arabic culture were di sturbing. "Touri sm is a source of income but also tension," says Jon Mandav ille. "Touri sts di sport themse lves on the beaches , often topl ess , yet those PSU 8 . serving them are Islamic with very different values. " The juxtaposition of thi s freewheeling westerni zation with traditional Arabic values may give rise to hidden antagoni sm , Mandaville suggests. "Civilization didn't begin and end with the Greeks and Romans, with the European vision we've got. " R egardless of the culture shocks and value differences ex peri enced by the Oregon travel ers , however, the benefits of the trip are profound . G roup members have a more international perspecti ve now and increased sensiti vity. 'T m more in touch with what's go ing on in that part of the world ," says Joan Strouse . voic ing a shared consensus. 'T m better able to present info rmation to my students and be more useful to students from fo reign countries. " Sa 'adnh, li!men And more tangible benefits are cropping up . Already slides of the architecture in Yemen have made it into the cl assrooms of both Andrus and Barton. Strouse is pushing for a course on comparati ve educational systems where she would di scuss developing nations. In the hi story department , Jon Mandaville is advancing an increasingly global orientation. Books on public admini stration which Walter Ellis brought back will be pl aced in the library. Sandra Anderson is able to prov ide her classes with comparative data on the status of women, hea lth care issues and consequences of addiction. A changed perspecti ve and a sense of optimism are what Rudy Barton garnered from the trip . "Civili zation didn't beg in and end with the Greeks and Romans, with the European vision we' ve got," he reminds us. "And there are po ints that we as people have in common, even in reli gions. We can coex ist. " D (Par Scott is a writer in the PSU News & Infor– mation Office.)