MJ's funeral

In yet another great example of confusion over cultural differences, one of my professors reported to us today that he watched Michael Jackson's funeral yesterday. (Does anyone know where I can see the full coverage online? I need to go back and see it now.) And after reporting to us a few of things he had watched and explaining that he didn't really understand any of it or why folks who were there said anything that they did, he asked about Michael Jackson's wife. He kept asking about the way she talked at the funeral. We were all a bit confused until he finally switched to English and falteringly explained, "Queen Latifah. This is his wife?" Laughing, we quickly exclaimed that she wasn't. With a confused look, our prof continued, "But he is King of Bob (pop). So his wife, she is called queen?" After explaining that there was no relation and quickly trying but then abandoning an attempt to explain Michael Jackson's family situation, he nodded. "Ahh. I wonder, because, she so happy. And I think, maybe his wife, she would be not laughing?"

Here in Yemen, funerals happen within 24 hours of the death of a person because they don't do any embalming. Instead they wrap the body up, put it on a stretcher type contraption and all the men gather together to carry the body above their heads and march down the street. There is also some sort of spiritual "credit" (for lack of a better word) that you supposedly get when you help to carry the body in this procession, so the men often rush to at least touch the stretcher, whether or not they knew the person. And no women join this procession, even if it's a woman who died. We saw a funeral procession in the streets of Sanaa last weekend. Interesting sight.