From Bites to Barney

This week has been a little slow, but not without its quirks and funny moments. Classes are getting hard for all us to sit through, as we are coffee deprived and the brunt of fasting is hitting us all. Even my family agrees, this halfway point is hard. Life at home has been a lot of hanging out, socializing, eating, and watching soap operas in Arabic (which I mostly watch to make fun of the soundtrack in my head). We've only had a few nights where we went out, because someone hit my brother in his car... everyone was fine, except the car door... which is now in the shop. We did get a chance to go the International Oman Exhibition Center to browse through boothes of Eid dresses, shoes, bags, and curtains. However, I did not find anything long enough.... stupid height genes.

The other inhibitor on excursions was the large bite I somehow picked up on the top of my foot. Its pretty beautiful- I think it was a spider bite.... but the doc clarified that it was most likely an infected mosquito bite or something. Still, I had an elephant foot for a few days. And I got to visit the injection room (creepy to see that sign on the door- I was like... woah.... I don't know if I want to go in there) and get some hard core drugs. One of the program teachers took me and we joked about how everything in Oman is fixed with an injection- You have a scratch? Have an injection! But it did get back to a normal size, and now I am waiting for it to totally disappear so I can once again wear shoes like a normal person.

A plus (at least a plus for my maternal side) is that I've gotten to spend a lot of time with the little ones. My little nephew, Sultan, has finally warmed up to me- I think it was the raspberries that won the cause. And Fatima is still glued to my side whenever they are over... which is a lot. Trying to expand her song knowledge past the first line of the "I Love You" Barney song... maybe we'll get to line two by the time I leave haha

Want to say, glad to hear from all y'all via this blog or facebook or email. Sooo makes my day to get your messages. Love you all, from family to friends to Delta sisters :)

I'm a Barbie Girl

Last night was the second night of Ramadan and our house was quite a busy one. Two sisters of my mom came with their families- so a good 25 of us were huddle around the floor mat for dinner. Yup, we sit down on the ground to eat big meals together. Foods were oh my gosh delicious- chipati bread, chicken cutlass, apples, pears, grapes, sweet bananas, chicken biryani, green bananas in a spicy sauce, salad, garlic bread, milkshakes, and vimto. Her family is so nice, and it is fun to meet all of them again. After we totally stuffed ourselves- or at least felt unbelievably full- we all sat around and talked, watched tv, etc. Saw a bit of this cartoon show in Arabic- the characters look like Bedouin women- pretty funny to watch.

But watching tv soon turned into a brushing my hair session- which progressed into making me a Barbie and braiding my hair. I had some wicked half-cornrows until I slept on em. One of the girls talked me into telling a scary story and I eventually broke down. Told the ol' Bloody Finger story- quite hilarious since when I told the opening door part, someone actually opened the bedroom door. The kids flipped.

Today, after coming home from school (yup, school on a saturday) I helped my mom cook rice for 100 people! They take it to the mosque when the guys go to pray, since the mosque hands out free food during Ramadan. (1) Lots of ghee (2) Onions for a mob (3) Handfuls of spices: pepper, cardamom, cinnamon (4) Chicken Stock (5) Garlic and ginger (6) Buckets of water (7) Boil it all together like a soup (8) Add rice and let it cook!

I guess the hardest thing about Ramadan is not the fasting.... but the hijab. Since I have decided to fast, I have to wear the headscarf all the time- even at home. Comical for my US friends who havent seen me covered thus far. And my host family thinks I look so beautiful in it.. I have to admit, its kinda fun to experience wearing it full time. Makes me want to wear the whole shibang out in public just to see how people treat me in relation to how I normally dress.