The Ups and Downs of Eid

Well, Eid began last Saturday in Oman. So on Friday, my sisters and I went to get our henna done. An aunt took us to a woman she knows and we got henna done at her house. I was able to watch 3 women get their feet and hands done before my turn. I only got the design on my hands... which was perfectly enough to amaze me. The daughter who did my henna was near my age and had some stellar talent. She took the henna and just began doodling all over my hands... almost like decorating a cake. Once she was finished, I had to sit there to let it dry and turn a light green... then I was able to flake it off. Henna is very orange at first, but I coated them in vaseline for the next 8 hours to make it turn a dark brown- so gorgeous! A little smelly, but the design was amazing.

Eid in a nutshell went somewhat like this...
- the night before, my sisters and I cleaned our room, did all the necessary beauty treatments to look stunning, and hung out with the family in the sitting room. Fatima decided she'd break out the moves. It was adorable.
- Visitors started to arrive at the house around 9:30am (btw, we've been up since 6). We used the formal sitting room, providing little candies and coffee for everyone. The nearer it became to lunchtime, the crowd of people had grown quite a bit. All the aunts, uncles, kids, and some friends (maybe a few strangers thrown in there) crowded around the floor mats we set up to eat Chicken Biryani and salad. Ice cream and sodas were tossed around- quite literally by some of the little ones- and hundreds of conversations. One of the aunts told me I needed to improve my begging skills, as it is tradition to receive money from family during Eid, and I needed to really beg for it. I felt totally awkward.
-THe afternoon was our quiet time.. most of us napped.. or at least those of us who could sleep through the kids being hooligans did. Parenting skills are quite different here... somedays a little stressful.
- Around 7, my family went to my mother's ex's house (also the family of my olders sister AND where another SIT student is) to have a BBQ. My SIT pal and I sat around for awhile watching the Action TV channel, and then I went outside to meet some of the relatives. I sat with 2 girls around my age, talking about Oman, studies, and just randomness. Was really nice to have such good conversations while eating kebabs with potatoes and soup.
-Well, it was good anyway until.... I developed a terrible reaction. I spent the next 2 days of Eid in bed.
-And the clinic had its own set of funness. Getting dropped off alone at the front desk. Couldn't understand the doctor's Indian accent. I just wanted to say "Just FIX me!!".. but instead we reverted to him writing down what he was trying to say. I finally got to a bed, and for the first time in my life, had to have an IV line. All that, with the fear of air bubbles in the tube, and the fact that a fly had decided I was so depressing that it would fly around me like I was a dead person... was retched. But, a couple hours later, I could at least eat and drink again, collapsing on my bed at home.

Thus, Eid ended.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid is the League Champion! Last night we tried to go to a bar in the Puerta del Sol to watch the match... but they were all packed- out the door packed! So we walked over to another area and watched it, crammed in between packs of life fans. Missed the first half, but caught all 3 goals by Real Madrid. Everyone headed to Plaza de Cibeles to see the whole team (including David Beckham) ride in with glory. The entire city was crazy. Fireworks, cars honking, kids on the metro chanting, and flags everywhere for all hours of the night. They've been touring the city all day, with a posse of fans crowding the streets. It was so fun to see so many people out to watch a soccer game in the hubub of the city and so many crazy fans! Loved it! Definately don't have that experience in the US.