Somewhere Between Where We’re Going and Where We’ve Been
Another scene, new characters. Again, it's a rough one. And there's definitely a part two.
***
Night, on a plane, approaching Chicago. ACADIA is holding her carryon and approaches the empty seat next to DANIYAR. She points to the seat. DANIYAR removes his earphones.
ACADIA
Hey. It is cool if I…
DANIYAR
Yes. Sure. Sit.
ACADIASorry, it’s just that I was sitting next to that Troup Leader over there who smells like he’s been hiking for the past five years and he took his shoes off and I thought I was going to suffocate. I just couldn’t take it anymore.
DANIYAR
My shoes are off. I could put them back on…
ACADIA
As long as you’ve changed your socks in the last, I don’t know, two weeks, it should be fine.
DANIYAR
Hmm… (pretending to count days) Jk. My socks are new.
ACADIA
Even better.
DANIYAR
Are you going to Chicago?
ACADIA
For an hour and forty minutes. I wish that was my destination.
DANIYAR
I have a layover there too.
ACADIA
Where are you headed?
DANIYAR
Canada. A town called Edmonton.
ACADIA
No way.
DANIYAR
You’ve heard of it?
ACADIA
That’s where I’m from. And, unfortunately, where I’m going back to.
DANIYAR
It’s not a good place?
ACADIA
No, it’s fine. I just wish I was staying in Berlin. Wish my Visa hadn’t expired and my money hadn’t of run out and my parents weren’t going to disown me if I didn’t come home. But, whatever. That’s life I guess. So what are you going to Edmonton for?
DANIYAR
I’m going to live there.
ACADIA
Seriously? Why?
DANIYAR
My aunt and uncle are there. And my parents think it will be better for me. Safer.
ACADIA
Where are you from?
DANIYAR
Tehran.
ACADIA
I should know where that is but…
DANIYAR
It is the capital of Iran.
. I guess your parents are right.
DANIYAR
How do you know that if you don’t when you don’t know the capital?
ACADIA
I just know that George Bush wants to invade it. Like Afghanistan.
DANIYAR
Do you know why?
ACADIA
Probably because he wants your oil.
DANIYAR
It’s because the government is building an atomic bomb.
ACADIA
Oh.
DANIYAR
My parents do not want another war in our country and they oppose our president who enrages Israel and the U.S. That is why they sent me away. It is dangerous to oppose the government. My father is a writer and he was put in jail. He is free now, but there have been threats and he wants me to be safe.
ACADIA
Will they come to Canada too?
DANIYAR
I don’t know. My father says he has much work to do and my mother will not leave him there alone.
ACADIA
Wow. I’m a big jerk.
DANIYAR
What?
ACADIA
Here I am complaining about my parents making me come home while your parents…
DANIYAR
Send me away?
ACADIA
Yeah.
DANIYAR
It is for my safety.
Pilot announcement. Begin descent into Chicago.
ACADIA
What’s your name?
DANIYAR
Dani.
ACADIA
Really?
DANIYAR
Yes. Is that strange?
ACADIA
No. It’s just so… Western.
DANIYAR
It comes from Daniyar, which is Persian. What is your name?
ACADIA
Acadia.
DANIYAR
Ac-adia?
ACADIA
Almost. Here. Do you have a pen? I’ll write it.
DANIYAR
Interesting. Is it a Canadian name?
ACADIA
Yeah, actually. One of the few. It’s the name of the Atlantic region of Canadian. Means “land of plenty” or something. Figures that my parents named me after Canada and my sister, who has no desire to ever leave Alberta, gets named after a city on another continent.
DANIYAR
Which city?
ACADIA
Sidney.
DANIYAR
Australia.
ACADIA
Yeah, she’s named for Australia. And she doesn’t even want to go there.
DANIYAR
I like your name better.
ACADIA
Thanks.
DANIYAR
I think it is beautiful.
ACADIA blushes and looks past him to the window.
ACADIA
Can you see anything out there yet?
DANIYAR
There are lights but they are very tiny. Very far away still.
ACADIA
I love flying into big cities. I love how many lights there are.
DANIYAR
They remind me of the stars.
ACADIA
Wait till you see the stars from Canada. I don’t know what they’re like in Iran, but in Edmonton they’re so close you can almost touch them.
DANIYAR
They are closer there?
ACADIA
Well, not really. Actually, I don’t know… we are further North… Anyhow, there aren’t many other lights out there to compete with them. I guess that’s one good thing about being in the middle of nowhere.
DANIYAR
They are closer now. Like we are entering another universe.
ACADIA
For you, we probably are.
***
posted by Joy @ 1:08 PM
29 Comments:
Daniyar reminds me of Sayid from "Lost", the level-headed Middle-Eastern that we never see on the news. Really solid character, I like it.
ooooh.
i liked that one a lot lot lot.
and of course.
the acadia kinda calls out to me.
the whole traveling thing and all.
berlin.
man that would be great.
but i was kinda miffed by dani because well, at first he sounds so western and then his language kind of sounds less like hes so sure of what hes saying?.
you understand what im saying kind of?.
anywhooo.
i enjoyed that one.
more to come hopefully!.
yes, it was excellent. but are stars in edmonton really that great? there is actually quite alot of light pollution. it's when you're outside of edmonton... i just find that it makes edmonton sound like some small hick village in the middle of nowhere. - don't get me wrong, i loved the scene. i just found that i couldn't quite relate to acadia's description of edmonton's sky -- and i live there!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
thanks for the comments. they're specific and that's what i need.
danny, i don't watch Lost. when you say Daniyar is like Sayid, does that mean he is another kind of stereo-type? i hope not. probably i should look at his language and let him be less serious. i have a feeling he's pretty funny, as in he jokes around a lot.
lihz, glad you dig Acadia. as for Daniyar's language... you're right. i got stuck somewhere in between this idea of someone who probably has never spoken real English before outside of the classroom and someone who is more comfortable with English (though I'm not sure how if he hasn't left Iran before). do you or anyone else have ideas for which way this should go and how i might justify it?
molly, i didn't mean to make Edmonton sound hick! oops! the stars there do seem closer and clearer than they do anywhere near Chicago, but of course there are still city lights to compete with. guess i'll change that. thanks.
yea.
like i totally understood where he was coming from.
like hes way better and speaking and comprehending english than anyone he knows but he still stuck on some things.
i think it was the jk at the beggining that threw me the most.
but yea.
i guess maybe you just have to figure out at what stage he is at.
but defintely liked both characters.
No actually he's like Sayid in the fact that he's NOT a stereotype. All we see in movies and TV are the terrorists that Americans think make up the middle-east. But like you said, Daniyar, like Sayid, has a sense of humor and a personality and a real sense of character. And if anyone here has never seen an episode of Lost I highly suggest you do. One episode and you'll be hooked.
wow really neat scene. I like the charecters alot! it's interesting to see a whole new dimension to new charecters i like it. The title is my fvaourtie part. Not that the scene wasnt good it was great I just think the title is very strong. loovvveeddd it.
i'm not affended or anything, it's just that in my experience the stars in edmonton are nothing compared to, say, the stars in jasper. i've never been to chicago, so maybe the comparison from there to here is the same as here to somewhere else... if that makes any sense. just keep in mind that if it is an edmontonian audience, they won't understand.
You can't see a single star from Chicago. In the suburbs you can usually find the big dipper and a few others on dark nights. The stars in rural Ireland: fucking incredible.
Wow. I really love this scene. I must say that there is a lot that I relate with Daniyar in this scene. Theres a couple things that I want to say before I forget. I think that the image of flying into chicago is amazing. I went to New York last spring break and on the way home we we held over in Chicago. One thing about that is that no matter which way you look out the windows you cant see the end of the lights. In fact looking down at Chicago and its millions of lights is actually kind of like looking into another night sky on the ground...Like a reflection in a certain pool...oooo Deep(no pun intended, the pools actually pretty shallow.)
Anyways Te feeling of leaving such a huge city like New York to go home to a city Like Edmonton is probably one of the most offsetting feeling I've ever experienced. Its like for that 2 weeks you were outside of your bubble. The bubble that you've been dependent on for great deal of time. And to go back is the last thing that you want to do. Because you've finally gotten a taste of the stars.
As for Daniyar. I find a lot of similarity with him in my own life. I was actually born in Santiago Chile. The country at the time was ruled by a dictator Named Pinoche and it was a pretty dangerous time. From time to time you would here on the news and such of people going "missing". Jut not being heard from again. Mostly people that opposed the government. My Dad was actually one of those people. He used to speak at mass about the government needing to be changed as well as the state of the people. At the time, groups called "terror squads" were the ones who got rid of people that spoke out about the government. My father and Mother unfortunately were two of those people. I'e never really known what happened to them really, and as you may have heard, Pinoche died on Dec 14th. So I guess I'll never know. Needless to say, I was sent to live in Canada by my Uncle, along with all my siblings.
Anyways I thought it was quite spooky how much I related to Dani, Hope that helps :)
I hope, you're a writer man, because you seem like you've got things to say. If you ever want to sell the movie rights, gimme a call. :-)
Wow, Nathan. What a history you have. Danny's right, you've got a lot to say. Guess that's why you're studying theatre and writing music, huh?
It is spookey that you have so much in common with Daniyar. I had no idea. I think this means that this collaboration is going well. Really well.
Some similar things happened with the first Rain... specific things I would have never known about the students found their way into the play and then the students were like, no way, that's my story almost exactly. And I didn't know where they came from... I was just 'in the zone.'
That said, I don't think it's just coincidence. I think some important stuff is happening here and that we've got an important story to tell. This play is meant to exist.
I'd love to hear more of your story if you want to tell it. How old were you when you moved to Edmonton? Do you remember the flight? I bet you could give some serious insight into Daniyar.
Well when it happened I was actually 5 years old. I stayed in the country for about a year and a half afterwards and stayed with my Uncle. After a while it got pretty bad. Even though he wasnt in power anymore there were still people carrying the ideals for a while. It got too dangerous so we were sent here to Edmonton. A few of us that is. My oldest brother and my older sister were old enough to live on their own so they did. My brother lives in Philidelphia and my sister is living with a fiance in California last I heard from her.
I dont really remember the plane ride that well. I was pretty young and I was a pretty different person then. Anyways I remember it being scary as all hell though. Its a completely different world. Its given me a pretty crazy outlook on culture though.
lol I have deffintly thoght about writing a play about it all, but two things make me hesitant. Well first of all its a pretty hard subject to delve into and there's also the pressure of giving it justice.
Anyways I feel like Im talking about myself quite a bit. Stop me if I start to ramble?
there's always the pressure of giving it justice... how do you think i feel trying to write characters who are even remotely as lively and interesting and intelligent as you guys? it's scary business writing. but stories need to get told and if we don't tell our own stories they might not ever get told... although there are certainly many ways of telling your story and not all of them have to do with telling it factually...
now that was blabbering. yours was not. write away. and be sure to help me out with this character especially. i feel like he's got a lot to live up to now.
just a little on the Dani language thing, i dont know how it is in iran but in the places ive lived in the middle east you would have plenty of practice with english, i could see him having an accent but nto being new to the language, i dont think there is a major metropolitan one can go to these days and not be able to speak english, and i like how how Dani comes out a guy who likes to joke alot i think he could be a really easy going guy, and thats how the lifestyle is in the middle east hahahah fond memories, alot of peopel in the middle east are procrastinators its just part of the culture, if your ever in the middle east and you need a plummer or something and the guy says ill be there tommorow inshalah (by the will of god) then hes not going to be at your house for another week
Thanks, KK. These are really important details for me, seeing as how I have never been to the Middle East.
Can you keep helping me with the language and personality of this character so that he seems real? I know that his English would be good, but I don't know how formal or informal it would be... like contractions, for example. Do you think he would use them? (I've, she's, we're, haven't, don't, etc).
Also, what do you or anyone else know about teenage Muslims? I have this idea that he's probably not very devout and that it's more of a cultural thing than a religious one, but I still wonder how that translates into how he relates with girls in public... Ideas?
ahh well i can try and help with this one.
see my best friend is half muslim and half hindu which is quite the odd mix and i for one know that relationships are pretty much shunned upon unless it's later in her life or it's arranged. Her particular family doesn't believe in arranged marrages but her brothers are extremly protective of her and thought of her dating does not go over well. When her sister started dating her current fiance their brother actually didnt talk to her for 5 years. They talk now but for awhile there was nothing. It's actually a very neat culture though, i enjoy getting caught up on world views with them lol. did that help at all?
hahahaha thats so weird, in the middle east like every muslim guy i knew was a pimp, just straight up and they werent really devout but there were certain things u didnt miss out on even me being christian ddindt miss out on Ramadan, and Eid
but yeah for the extremists its actually considered normal to kill your sister if you dont approve of her boy freind
And what are the celebrations for Ramadan and Eid like?
Also, if you're saying the norm is for everyone to not be devout... then I wonder if it would be more interesting if he was devout... or at least trying to be. ???
Either way, how do you think he would act if he liked a girl? HOw would it be different than a canadian boy?
Jasmine, your friend has some story. Does it stress her out? Does she try to keep secrets from her brothers? Or is it all just normal to her because it's her life?
no it doesnt really stress her out anymore, it really used too though. She used to hide alot from her brothers but i mean boys used to call her house for her all the time and her parents knew...it was just her brothers who didn't approve. To tell you the truth I don't know how they would react today becuase almost all of her siblings are married so I don't know if it would be accepted now more then 5 years ago or if it would still be frowned on. But despite it all like every girl she's had crushes and heartbreaks the only difference is her family isnt so much informed lol.
well ramadan is a period in the islamic calendar its during october and november it has to do with lunar cycles, but basically they fast from sun up to sun down for one lunar cycle, and in an islamic country as a foreigner it would just be easier to go along wiht it because the penalits for eating during the day are extreme, and everyone is pretty lax aswell muslims are not allowed to swear, the whole period is to keep them humble and to alow them to know, what if feels liek to be homeless, the place is pretty much dead during the day you still go to school and everythign but the shops and everythign are closed during the day but at night the whole place wakes up and its sort of like a reversal of days but with no time for sleep, and even if ure not devout this is one thing that you always do, i did it and im not even muslim, eid is basically the celebration after ramadan everyone is happy and merry and everyone eats and people come to your door and ask for money its the eid thing, to give these a similie for the christians eid is like christmas and lent is like ramadan, its like christianity when it comes to the doevout and the non devout, except the government is devour there is a Mosque on every intersection almost and there is a call to prayer 5 times a day and there is always people at the mosques, but u dont ahve to go to the mosque to pray you can pray from teh comfort of your own hosue, well i think hed be even more confident than a canadian boy there is nothing in the quran about not fratenzing as a man or boy thats more geared towards women but he would treat the woman with the uptmost respect
thats pretty sweet.
going to peoples houses and asking for money.
baha.
thats better than christmas.
and i like the idea of a boy treating a girl with the utmost respect.
unless is got boring.
because sometimes gentlemen become boring.
and no one wants that.
especially when it comes to lohve.
if it does.
So what is "with utmost respect"? What does that look like?
I'd also love to know more about knocking on people's doors for money. Do just the poor do it? And what do you say when you're asking? What's that exchange like?
I'm hungry for details. Give me all of them that you've got.
Which country or countries did you live in KK?
No everyone knocks on the door, as long as you've gone through Ramadan, there are only 2 reasons you can skip ramadan pregnancy and sickness, and if you miss a day you have to make it up
The Asking would go something like this
*Ring Doorbell*
Salam Alaikum
Wa Alaikum Was Salam
Eid Mubarak
Eid Mubarak
Ma'h Salama
(i think thats how it goes, my arabic is a little rusty)
Anyone can do it but usually its mostly teenagers and younger who do the door knocking, and family gatherings is when everyone gets money
and then what? then they just get some coins and hand them over to the kids? how much? and where do they put the money? in a special pouch or something?
i'm totally fascinated. thanks for the great descripition.
wooh hahaha sorry ive been gone for a while, that google thing took me by suprise and im a procrastinator so it was just sort of like ill do it tommorow and i tommorow was always tommorow well tommorow is today folks
no its not like a couple of coins its like $1000 dollars canadian, and they spend it on whatever they like really
No way! That's nuts! That's tons of money.
What did you spend your money on?
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