Character notes for "The Melting Pot"
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ysabetwordsmithHere are the character notes for "The Melting Pot."
Kardal Abdullah -- He has pinkish-fair skin, black eyes, and short black hair with a mustache and beard. His heritage is Syrian. He speaks Arabic and English. He is 20 years old in 2014.
Kardal grew up in Aleppo, Syria where he worked as a street cook. When the uprising intensified to civil war in mid-June 2012, his family home got destroyed in a bombing and they escaped to join relatives in Damascus. By mid-July, however, Damascus became unsafe. They fled again, but this time Kardal's parents were killed trying to leave the city. He made his way southeast, hoping to escape through Jordan, but got turned back at Hadalat and Rukban. So he went a little north and snuck over the border into Iraq. From there he traveled south through Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates. In January 2013 Kardal got lucky and the Emirates Airline took pity on him, offering a zakat ticket to a traveler in distress, which landed him in Heathrow Airport, London, Britannia. He tried to settle there, but it was too crowded and the government didn't want him to stay. He shuffled around the United Kingdom for months before securing an opportunity to travel to America in November 2013.
In January 2014, Kardal heard about a chance to settle in Rutledge, Vermont. He pounced on it. A few months later, he managed to get a job working as a cook at Mandy's Diner. They wanted someone familiar with halal food in general and Syrian cuisine in particular. Kardal is deeply grateful for the job, and his cautious nature is an asset in a busy kitchen. His innovations include za'atar maple candied nuts, za'atar maple chicken kebabs, and za'atar maple sesame seed bars. Kardal started by earning an American Food Handling Certificate. Later he completed an Entrepreneurship Certificate at St. Joseph College in Rutledge, then Food Truck Academy online. In July 2015, he launched the food truck Syrian Foods. Then he earned a Restaurant Management Certificate at Ed2Go online, and launched The Melting Pot restaurant in 2016.
Because of his experiences, Kardal grieves his lost family and fears losing new people that he meets. He worries about running out of resources or being robbed of them. He feels let down by the government, not just in Syria but others along the way who refused to help, which makes it hard for him to trust the offers of support in Rutledge. However, Kardal tries very hard to fit in. Usually this makes life easier, but he also has a bad habit of hiding things that he thinks other people might disagree with.
Qualities: Good (+2) Cautious, Good (+2) Cook, Good (+2) Gratitude, Good (+2) Muslim, Good (+2) Stamina
Poor (-2) Living Through Civil Unrest
Motivation: "Even when life is unjust, it's better to do as I'm told than to make waves."
On 12 June 2012, the UN for the first time officially proclaimed Syria to be in a state of civil war. The conflict began moving into the two largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo. In both cities, peaceful protests – including a general strike by Damascus shopkeepers and a small strike in Aleppo were interpreted as indicating that the historical alliance between the Ba'ath government and the business establishment in the large cities had become weak.
---8<---
In mid-July, rebel forces attacked Damascus and were repelled in two weeks, although fighting continued in the outskirts. After this, the focus shifted to the battle for control of Aleppo.
The United Arab Emirates is a country on the Arabian Peninsula. It runs a major Middle Eastern airline with widespread destinations.
This map shows potential points of escape from Syria. Legal routes are all but impossible. Compare with a map of the Middle East.
In Terramagne-America, Ed2Go offers options for alcoholic and/or nonalcoholic beverage management. Kardal took the nonalcoholic option.
VII. Nonalcoholic Beverage Management
1. Legal and Ethical Considerations
2. Characteristics of Celebratory Beverages
3. Nonalcoholic Substitutes for Alcoholic Beverages
4. Mocktails
5. Dry Bar Service
6. Inventory Levels
7. Beverage Calculations
Berna Habib -- She has fair skin, black eyes, and long wavy black hair. Her heritage is Turkish. She speaks Arabic, Turkish, and English. She was 28 years old when she moved to Rutledge in 2014, and 30 in 2016. She is the widow of Adnan, mother of daughters Elif (13), Yildiz (10), sons Kerem (8), and Baris (5).
Berna grew up in Kilis, Turkey. As a teen, she married a Syrian man, Adnan, an excellent provider with a good farm. In rainy years, they depended more on crops; in dry years, they relied on chickens who could forage for their own food and needed less water. After Adnan was killed in a bombing, Berna continued to work the farm as long she could. When roving soldiers burned her crops and ate all the chickens, Berna and her children fled back to Kilis where they stayed with her relatives. They couldn't afford to stay there, though.
Eventually they made their way to America as refugees where they settled in Rutledge, Vermont. Now Berna and her children live on Baphomet Farm. Once they noticed that the farm had extra space, and that their hosts had a small flock of chickens for personal use, Berna asked for permission to expand. Now she and her daughters raise halal chickens for meat and eggs.
After Adnan's death, Berna came to see religion as a nuisance rather than a comfort. She no longer follows Islam consistently and likes the freedom that brings her. However, it causes friction with her daughter Elif, who remains devout.
Qualities: Good (+2) Chicken Farmer, Good (+2) Gentle, Good (+2) Graceful, Good (+2) Mother, Good (+2) Naturalistic Intelligence
Poor (-2) Religion Is More Trouble Than It's Worth
Kilis is a city in south-central Turkey, near the border with Syria, and the administrative center of Kilis Province.
Azaz (Arabic: أَعْزَاز, romanized: ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, not far from Aleppo. See a map of Syria and Turkey.
Read about Syrian agriculture.
Elif Habib -- She has fair skin, brown eyes, and long wavy black hair. Her heritage is Syrian and Turkish. She speaks Arabic and Turkish, and is learning English. She was 11 years old when her family moved to Rutledge in 2014 and is 13 in 2016. Elif is the daughter of Berna (30) and Adnan, older sister of Yildiz (10), Kerem (8), and Baris (5). They live on Baphomet Farm in Rutledge, Vermont where they raise halal chickens for eggs and meat. Elif wears modest Muslima clothes, often in deep colors like crimson and navy, and she covers her hair completely. This causes some friction with her mother, who now finds religion more trouble than it's worth. However, Elif remains dutiful and still helps her mother on the farm.
Qualities: Good (+2) Dutiful, Good (+2) Interpersonal Intelligence, Good (+2) Muslim
Poor (-2) Family Friction
Yildiz Habib -- She has tinted skin, brown eyes, and long brown hair with just a little wave. Her heritage is Syrian and Turkish. She speaks Arabic and Turkish well, and English moderately. She was 8 years old when her family moved to Rutledge in 2014 and is 10 in 2016. Yildiz is the daughter of Berna (30) and Adnan, younger sister of Elif (13), older sister of Kerem (8) and Baris (5). They live on Baphomet Farm in Rutledge, Vermont where they raise halal chickens for eggs and meat. Unlike her more demure sister, Yildiz is a tomboy who loves running around in sweatshirts and blue jeans. She is fascinated by astronomy, along with its associated math and science, but has no interest in girl stuff. When not helping her mother take care of the chickens, she plays with her brothers and explores the rest of the farm.
Qualities: Good (+2) Astronomy, Good (+2) Strength, Good (+2) Tomboy
Poor (-2) Girl Stuff
Kerem Habib -- He has light caramel skin, brown eyes, and wavy black hair buzzed short. His heritage is Syrian and Turkish. He speaks Arabic, Turkish, and English. He was 6 years old when his family moved to Rutledge in 2014 and is 8 in 2016. Kerem is the son of Berna (30) and Adnan, younger brother of Elif (13), Yildiz (10), older brother of Baris (5). They live on Baphomet Farm in Rutledge, Vermont. Slim and athletic, Kerem enjoys a variety of sports, particularly track and field. He's no good at math, though.
Qualities: Good (+2) Fast, Good (+2) Kinesthetic Intelligence
Poor (-2) Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
Baris Habib -- He has fair skin, gray eyes, and wildly curly brown hair. His heritage is Syrian and Turkish. He speaks Turkish and English, some Arabic. He was 3 years old when his family moved to Rutledge in 2014 and is 5 in 2016. Kerem is the son of Berna (30) and Adnan, younger brother of Elif (13), Yildiz (10), older brother of Baris (5). They live on Baphomet Farm in Rutledge, Vermont. War trauma has left Baris quiet and introspective. He wonders why bad things happen and how that can be prevented.
Qualities: Good (+2) Existential Intelligence, Good (+2) Quiet
Poor (-2) War Trauma
Berivan Kul -- She has pinkish-fair skin, brown eyes, and long straight brown hair. Her heritage is Kurdish; she speaks Kurdish and is learning English. She was 18 when she moved to Rutledge and is 20 in 2016.
Berivan grew up on a farm near Kobanî, Syria. After her family and all their livestock were killed by ISIL, she fled north toward Turkey. She came across a relief group rescuing scattered farm animals, and helped them take up goats and sheep to support surviving people.
Eventually the relief workers helped Berivan escape to America where she settled in Rutledge, Vermont. Their charity helped her set up a small farm with dairy goats and sheep. Currently she is trying to start a business making Syrian cheeses. However, Berivan is skittish around people due to growing up on an isolated farm and then suffering war trauma; this makes it challenging to interact with others for business.
Qualities: Good (+2) Dairy Farmer, Good (+2) Energetic, Good (+2) Introvert, Good (+2) Naturalistic Intelligence, Good (+2) Survivor
Poor (-2) Skittish Around People
Commonly, three goat genotypes are distinguished in Syria, namely Jabali or mountain goat, Baladi or local goat and Shami or Damascus (a well-known dairy goat).
Kobanî (كوباني, pronounced [koˈbaːniː] is a Kurdish-majority city in northern Syria, just south of the Syria-Turkey border.
“In Kobani, Kurdish is used in schools from pre-school to university level, and in other areas, the same materials are taught in three languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac.”
See a map of Rojava Kurdistan in Syria.
Kardal Abdullah -- He has pinkish-fair skin, black eyes, and short black hair with a mustache and beard. His heritage is Syrian. He speaks Arabic and English. He is 20 years old in 2014.
Kardal grew up in Aleppo, Syria where he worked as a street cook. When the uprising intensified to civil war in mid-June 2012, his family home got destroyed in a bombing and they escaped to join relatives in Damascus. By mid-July, however, Damascus became unsafe. They fled again, but this time Kardal's parents were killed trying to leave the city. He made his way southeast, hoping to escape through Jordan, but got turned back at Hadalat and Rukban. So he went a little north and snuck over the border into Iraq. From there he traveled south through Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates. In January 2013 Kardal got lucky and the Emirates Airline took pity on him, offering a zakat ticket to a traveler in distress, which landed him in Heathrow Airport, London, Britannia. He tried to settle there, but it was too crowded and the government didn't want him to stay. He shuffled around the United Kingdom for months before securing an opportunity to travel to America in November 2013.
In January 2014, Kardal heard about a chance to settle in Rutledge, Vermont. He pounced on it. A few months later, he managed to get a job working as a cook at Mandy's Diner. They wanted someone familiar with halal food in general and Syrian cuisine in particular. Kardal is deeply grateful for the job, and his cautious nature is an asset in a busy kitchen. His innovations include za'atar maple candied nuts, za'atar maple chicken kebabs, and za'atar maple sesame seed bars. Kardal started by earning an American Food Handling Certificate. Later he completed an Entrepreneurship Certificate at St. Joseph College in Rutledge, then Food Truck Academy online. In July 2015, he launched the food truck Syrian Foods. Then he earned a Restaurant Management Certificate at Ed2Go online, and launched The Melting Pot restaurant in 2016.
Because of his experiences, Kardal grieves his lost family and fears losing new people that he meets. He worries about running out of resources or being robbed of them. He feels let down by the government, not just in Syria but others along the way who refused to help, which makes it hard for him to trust the offers of support in Rutledge. However, Kardal tries very hard to fit in. Usually this makes life easier, but he also has a bad habit of hiding things that he thinks other people might disagree with.
Qualities: Good (+2) Cautious, Good (+2) Cook, Good (+2) Gratitude, Good (+2) Muslim, Good (+2) Stamina
Poor (-2) Living Through Civil Unrest
Motivation: "Even when life is unjust, it's better to do as I'm told than to make waves."
On 12 June 2012, the UN for the first time officially proclaimed Syria to be in a state of civil war. The conflict began moving into the two largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo. In both cities, peaceful protests – including a general strike by Damascus shopkeepers and a small strike in Aleppo were interpreted as indicating that the historical alliance between the Ba'ath government and the business establishment in the large cities had become weak.
---8<---
In mid-July, rebel forces attacked Damascus and were repelled in two weeks, although fighting continued in the outskirts. After this, the focus shifted to the battle for control of Aleppo.
The United Arab Emirates is a country on the Arabian Peninsula. It runs a major Middle Eastern airline with widespread destinations.
This map shows potential points of escape from Syria. Legal routes are all but impossible. Compare with a map of the Middle East.
In Terramagne-America, Ed2Go offers options for alcoholic and/or nonalcoholic beverage management. Kardal took the nonalcoholic option.
VII. Nonalcoholic Beverage Management
1. Legal and Ethical Considerations
2. Characteristics of Celebratory Beverages
3. Nonalcoholic Substitutes for Alcoholic Beverages
4. Mocktails
5. Dry Bar Service
6. Inventory Levels
7. Beverage Calculations
Berna Habib -- She has fair skin, black eyes, and long wavy black hair. Her heritage is Turkish. She speaks Arabic, Turkish, and English. She was 28 years old when she moved to Rutledge in 2014, and 30 in 2016. She is the widow of Adnan, mother of daughters Elif (13), Yildiz (10), sons Kerem (8), and Baris (5).
Berna grew up in Kilis, Turkey. As a teen, she married a Syrian man, Adnan, an excellent provider with a good farm. In rainy years, they depended more on crops; in dry years, they relied on chickens who could forage for their own food and needed less water. After Adnan was killed in a bombing, Berna continued to work the farm as long she could. When roving soldiers burned her crops and ate all the chickens, Berna and her children fled back to Kilis where they stayed with her relatives. They couldn't afford to stay there, though.
Eventually they made their way to America as refugees where they settled in Rutledge, Vermont. Now Berna and her children live on Baphomet Farm. Once they noticed that the farm had extra space, and that their hosts had a small flock of chickens for personal use, Berna asked for permission to expand. Now she and her daughters raise halal chickens for meat and eggs.
After Adnan's death, Berna came to see religion as a nuisance rather than a comfort. She no longer follows Islam consistently and likes the freedom that brings her. However, it causes friction with her daughter Elif, who remains devout.
Qualities: Good (+2) Chicken Farmer, Good (+2) Gentle, Good (+2) Graceful, Good (+2) Mother, Good (+2) Naturalistic Intelligence
Poor (-2) Religion Is More Trouble Than It's Worth
Kilis is a city in south-central Turkey, near the border with Syria, and the administrative center of Kilis Province.
Azaz (Arabic: أَعْزَاز, romanized: ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, not far from Aleppo. See a map of Syria and Turkey.
Read about Syrian agriculture.
Elif Habib -- She has fair skin, brown eyes, and long wavy black hair. Her heritage is Syrian and Turkish. She speaks Arabic and Turkish, and is learning English. She was 11 years old when her family moved to Rutledge in 2014 and is 13 in 2016. Elif is the daughter of Berna (30) and Adnan, older sister of Yildiz (10), Kerem (8), and Baris (5). They live on Baphomet Farm in Rutledge, Vermont where they raise halal chickens for eggs and meat. Elif wears modest Muslima clothes, often in deep colors like crimson and navy, and she covers her hair completely. This causes some friction with her mother, who now finds religion more trouble than it's worth. However, Elif remains dutiful and still helps her mother on the farm.
Qualities: Good (+2) Dutiful, Good (+2) Interpersonal Intelligence, Good (+2) Muslim
Poor (-2) Family Friction
Yildiz Habib -- She has tinted skin, brown eyes, and long brown hair with just a little wave. Her heritage is Syrian and Turkish. She speaks Arabic and Turkish well, and English moderately. She was 8 years old when her family moved to Rutledge in 2014 and is 10 in 2016. Yildiz is the daughter of Berna (30) and Adnan, younger sister of Elif (13), older sister of Kerem (8) and Baris (5). They live on Baphomet Farm in Rutledge, Vermont where they raise halal chickens for eggs and meat. Unlike her more demure sister, Yildiz is a tomboy who loves running around in sweatshirts and blue jeans. She is fascinated by astronomy, along with its associated math and science, but has no interest in girl stuff. When not helping her mother take care of the chickens, she plays with her brothers and explores the rest of the farm.
Qualities: Good (+2) Astronomy, Good (+2) Strength, Good (+2) Tomboy
Poor (-2) Girl Stuff
Kerem Habib -- He has light caramel skin, brown eyes, and wavy black hair buzzed short. His heritage is Syrian and Turkish. He speaks Arabic, Turkish, and English. He was 6 years old when his family moved to Rutledge in 2014 and is 8 in 2016. Kerem is the son of Berna (30) and Adnan, younger brother of Elif (13), Yildiz (10), older brother of Baris (5). They live on Baphomet Farm in Rutledge, Vermont. Slim and athletic, Kerem enjoys a variety of sports, particularly track and field. He's no good at math, though.
Qualities: Good (+2) Fast, Good (+2) Kinesthetic Intelligence
Poor (-2) Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
Baris Habib -- He has fair skin, gray eyes, and wildly curly brown hair. His heritage is Syrian and Turkish. He speaks Turkish and English, some Arabic. He was 3 years old when his family moved to Rutledge in 2014 and is 5 in 2016. Kerem is the son of Berna (30) and Adnan, younger brother of Elif (13), Yildiz (10), older brother of Baris (5). They live on Baphomet Farm in Rutledge, Vermont. War trauma has left Baris quiet and introspective. He wonders why bad things happen and how that can be prevented.
Qualities: Good (+2) Existential Intelligence, Good (+2) Quiet
Poor (-2) War Trauma
Berivan Kul -- She has pinkish-fair skin, brown eyes, and long straight brown hair. Her heritage is Kurdish; she speaks Kurdish and is learning English. She was 18 when she moved to Rutledge and is 20 in 2016.
Berivan grew up on a farm near Kobanî, Syria. After her family and all their livestock were killed by ISIL, she fled north toward Turkey. She came across a relief group rescuing scattered farm animals, and helped them take up goats and sheep to support surviving people.
Eventually the relief workers helped Berivan escape to America where she settled in Rutledge, Vermont. Their charity helped her set up a small farm with dairy goats and sheep. Currently she is trying to start a business making Syrian cheeses. However, Berivan is skittish around people due to growing up on an isolated farm and then suffering war trauma; this makes it challenging to interact with others for business.
Qualities: Good (+2) Dairy Farmer, Good (+2) Energetic, Good (+2) Introvert, Good (+2) Naturalistic Intelligence, Good (+2) Survivor
Poor (-2) Skittish Around People
Commonly, three goat genotypes are distinguished in Syria, namely Jabali or mountain goat, Baladi or local goat and Shami or Damascus (a well-known dairy goat).
Kobanî (كوباني, pronounced [koˈbaːniː] is a Kurdish-majority city in northern Syria, just south of the Syria-Turkey border.
“In Kobani, Kurdish is used in schools from pre-school to university level, and in other areas, the same materials are taught in three languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac.”
See a map of Rojava Kurdistan in Syria.
