My mom recommended a great book which I'm reading. It's called "Leap of Faith... A Memoir of an Unexpected Life." It is an autobiography of Queen Noor, the American-born queen of Jordan. It was very thought-provoking. Some of the thoughts it provoked were:
1. There is a queen and king of Jordan? Huh...didn't know that before.
2. The U.S. sticks its nose into a lot of other countries' affairs, even when they don't ask it to.
3. Israel is our ally, but that doesn't mean we should automatically think every move they make is perfectly perfect in every way.
4. The Palestinians often get a bad rap in America.
5. It would be nifty to be a queen.
I also learned a lot more about Middle Eastern geography. For example, when speaking with Josh's grandma about a country near Saudi Arabia in which a cousin may be working this year, I suggested that the country she couldn't remember may be United Arab Emirates. Yeah, I just pulled that out of my hat. It was the country she meant. When she couldn't remember the name of the city he would be in, I quickly suggested Dubai, it's most populated city. I was right again. Reading "Leap of Faith" has silently filled my brain, without my consent or knowledge, with geographical information that hitherto I dismissed as nonessential. Well, now I appear as a certifiable genius to Josh's venerable grandparents. I think the benefits of reading this book are clear.
