Monday, August 16, 2010

Ramadan Day 9

Again; not day 9, but - I think today is like 21 or something... Ah!!!!

Food has been pretty normal now; we are the 'normal' part of the month where unless we are with family and stuff, things are part of daily life. I always think it's interesting how because the fast is so long, that happens. I mean, you are still completely aware that you are fasting, but it's not as hard (of course, I say this while not fasting this year!) as when you first started. I find also that around this point I would feel pretty calm overall- something I think I get more while fasting than not! ;P

Your moment of Zen:


Ramadan Day 8

Soo... this was written about 2 weeks ago; I've gotten bad with the start of school and everything! :) I'll try to get better, but for now, I'll post what I had all set to go.

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Fried chicken, fries, soup, and salad! :)

Another TV show to talk about today... One full of mystery, history, big mustaches, organized resistance, politics, romance, culture and DRAMA! Bab al Hara has got to be my favorite Arabic language TV show. It has everything, PLUS is in a dialect that I can actually understand a bit better (Egyptian is still difficult for me; they seriously have 50,000 ways to say the same thing! With Levant-area Arabic, you always know they will say "Hello, How are you?" and basic conversational things).

So, this is the 5th year of the drama. They only show it during Ramadan and in addition to the apprehension of knowing where the plot will go this year, I also look forward to see what actors are replaced, lol. There has been quite a few changes and they even killed a character off after the 2nd session (reportedly) because the actor wanted more money!


Your moment of Zen:


Ramadan Day 7 & "I want to get married!" Drama

Didn't get the picture again- we are at that point where Iftar is right when baby Z is going to sleep... Anyways- we had lentil soup, sambosek, rice with lamb and broad beans and later on atyaif.

So, as you may have seen, Ramadan is a time where the TV and advertising industry goes nuts! As my 'moments of Zen,' I am highlighting a few of these shows and commercials; I hope you are enjoying them so far. Today, I have a clip from this drama (think telenovela, when we talk about Arabic shows) that is allll about marriage in Egypt. Right now it is very hard to get married- in large part because of the economy. People just don't have the money. When you are looking to get married, you need to show up front that you can support your wife-to-be and family-to-be! That means providing a home, furnishings, money, gifts for her during the engagement and of course the wedding- all paid by the groom. Lots of pressure on the groom and his family and certainly very hard to show when the economy is bad...

The result? Many people are getting married MUCH later. So for men, this doesn't seem to be so much of an issue- I mean, they can procreate at pretty much any age, right?- but for women, this is a HUGE issue! And just because the economy is bad, doesn't mean that they are going to lower their standards and marry just anyone! But, there is the issue of marrying before it's 'too late,' plus they are competing with younger women for the same men...

So, this series address that issue- the difficulties that women encounter in the marriage process; especially in this time period. Of course- my summary is not doing it justice- there is a large component about the process too; the idea that you meet the guy with your family in this formal setting to decide (in that time period of about an hour or so) if you want to be engaged!! Now, after the engagement, you have time to date and sometimes break up, but still... it's a big deal!

It's very funny and deals with the main actress talking directly to the audience... I wish I knew Arabic better because I think knowing what she was saying and -I'm sure- the phrases and play on words would make it more enjoyable)

Some recent articles on the blog/book/tv drama:

NPR- In Egypt, Carrie Bradshaw In A Headscarf

BBC- Spotlight on Egypt's marriage crisis


You can also find the episodes online through MBC

Your moment of Zen:


Ramadan Day 6

...I forgot my iftar picture :( Sorry!

Imagine if you will, our table - all set up for iftar with the normal plates, bowls, spoons, cups of water, dates, jug of water-Vimto-Orange juice (ok, it's something else, but I can't remember what it's called)- and in the middle: soup- tomato base with some really yummy seasoning and noodles and meatballs (of sorts) and rice with roasted almonds and stewed lamb. Yum, Yum, Yum!

Ok, I'm behind on posts, so it's short and sweet today ;)


Your moment of Zen:

Ramadan- days 3-5 (weekend) & Trays












It's the weekend! Yay! So, here was have Iftars from Friday and Saturday night- I forgot to take a picture on Sunday night. Friday was lentil soup, salad, sambosek, rice with chicken, pea gravy (more like a stew of just tomato sauce and peas- anything stewed like this is usually called a 'gravy'. Saturday was stuffed grape leaves, salad, lentil soup, rice, pea gravy, sambosek. Sunday was macaroni bechamel, salad with corn, sambosek.

And here is the picture of the cups we use for the Arabic coffee! They are very small cups with no handle and you will pour from the stack as you hand out the coffee (I haven't gotten the hang of this- I'm too afraid to spill on someone!). I don't know why, but I really like these cups and the whole process that goes along with it... a very small thing, but unique!

Our beautiful cups were brought in from Jordan by my mom-in-law and sister-in-law. They are white with silver on them.

On that note- you can see in the picture part of our beautiful silver tray (1 of 2). Normally, I will use wooden trays if I'm bring food upstairs or downstairs or anyplace and I don't want to make multiple trips. It's funny- and something that I had already noticed in Jordan- how much we are using the pretty silver trays now... on the main level. My mom-in-law and sister-in-law are with us through the end of Ramadan and of course they do those things like at home. (I love having them here- they are super casual and do many things like I do... and we have always stayed with them in Jordan so long periods of time together are not that unusual for us)

When I saw we are using trays on the main level, I mean we are using trays for everything. In most cases I would just bring out food or tea/coffee, but now we pretty much use the trays for these actions. So, we bring out the cute silver trays (big and small), usually put a paper towel down so the tea/coffee doesn't spill, put out the tea pot, sugar, cups, plates and perhaps a snack. And then bring them out to everyone. Which is very nice, but certainly not something I really would normally do or anyone in my family would normally do :) There is something in the way this is done that seems much more elegant than just bring out the tea in individual cups- don't you think?

Your moment of zen: (ok, not that great of a commercial, but it sure has many big-name actors! ...or at least many *I* like :P)

Friday, August 13, 2010

2nd night of Ramadan & writing scripts

2nd night of Ramadan with Lentil soup, Rice and chicken, meat pies (yum, yum!), fatoosh, and atyaif. Afterwards, coffee - I need to take a picture, you can see in the far right the cups we use- and ate more pies later on.
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Does anyone write in cursive anymore? I am missing writing in cursive today. There is something very fun about looping and connecting one letter to another.

I usually don't write in cursive (of course, how much does anyone actually WRITE these days?), but when I do, it's more of a half cursive, half print writing. I'll do in cursive my 'f', 'l', 'e' and various other letters that are looping and 'fun,' but keep in print things like my 'b', 'r', capital letters, 'p' (although 'p' is pretty much the same in both prints) and others...

Do they still teach cursive in school? They must- when I took the GRE I had to write the 'I will not lie' statement in cursive, which was probably the first time in 8 years that I had to write in cursive! I don't remember it making a difference in university how I wrote- just as long as it was eligible.

What I find is that how I physically write things is very different than how I type things. I feel like when I type, it's a more direct connection between my brain the keyboard. I type faster than I write. Of course, that can contribute to the writing being more like 'talking'- flippant, casual, incorrect, etc. When I physically write (in cursive or print), it takes more time and I feel like I have to think more. I can't just go back and fix what I write down- is that why it's different for me? Is it because it takes more time and therefore I can think the sentence and each word out in more detail?

Perhaps I should start to practice writing again- in the physical sense- and see if it's true that my thoughts are better put together. Of course, that'll take time, but I miss that part of my life; seeing a topic and talking about it in good detail. I feel like through writing I can explore something a bit more than typing sometimes...

What do you think? Do you find you think differently whether you type something or physically write it out?

And now... your moment of Zen:


Thursday, August 12, 2010

1st night of Ramadan

First night of Ramadan and we had the always super yummy lentil soup, salad (fattoush), and rice & chicken (with almonds and
raisins). Yum, yum, yummy! Later on, we have some
family come over and had some Arabic coffee (not to
be confused with Turkish coffee) and Atayef/Qataieyf-
a yummy pancake with nuts/cinnamon inside (or
sweet cheese) with sugar water on top.

Otherwise, the day was pretty uneventful- I worked
from home and gave my baby sweet potatoes for
the first time (I don't think she's a fan of them). I always find it takes a few days to really get in the
'swing' of things- maybe by this weekend. But, I'm not doing much for Ramadan this year, so it's
different than normal for me anyways...

On a more fun note- I LOVE the TV shows during Ramadan. It's very much like all the special
shows during Christmas time in the U.S. In particular, I like Bab al Hara (the neighborhood door-
a reference to Damascus, Syria and the different neighborhoods which almost function like
separate administrative zones) and Tash Ma Tash - a Saudi satire show. Also, there seems to be
a "Tonight Show"-esqe show this year in Egypt with this women who gives a comedic monologue
and then has a guest on the show! Certainly something new for me!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

August & Ramadan

So....

It's mid-August. And tomorrow (inshallah) is the start of Ramadan. Yay for Ramadan; blah for mid-August.

Mid-August means that I have less than 2 weeks before students return to campus and the fall semester begins. It TOTALLY doesn't feel like school is starting again soon. 1. It's too hot! 2. We just didn't do (or I don't feel like we did) as many projects this summer like we normally do in the office. (of course, that's because we got a new webpage which has pretty much taking up all of our time and bitching... lol) 3. I'm still figuring out the mess from the spring (ok, it's not THAT bad, but not where I would like it to be)

So, that is a lot of what I'm thinking of now, but because it's mid-August (ie, vacation time for most people), I have really lagging in being productive. NOT good.

On the good side, Ramadan is starting tomorrow (inshallah) and while I'm not fasting this year on account of my breastfeeding, I am excited and will still need to adjust my schedule over the next month since my husband, sister-in-law and mother-in-law will be fasting. I certainly prefer to fast during Ramadan- it bring a level of spirituality that's hard to feel otherwise. By fasting,
you really focus on what's important in life and since you change your life around so much for the month, it bring a nice peacefulness to your life... I'm going to miss that.

But, I still need to change things a bit- mostly since my family will be fasting and I need to eat with them!! :) I think what I'm going to do is eat breakfast and drink water during the day, but not eat after - breakfast, so around 10:30/11 am. Of course, if I feel my blood sugar get so low (like this past weekend when I pretty much didn't eat until 6 pm!!!), I will eat again, but at least keep things small...

LOL! I always see people write about ill-positioned ads and thought this one was HILARIOUS!!! "How big is your weight loss goal?" ad on a page about fasting?! Ummm- FAIL! lol

Oh- so a big difference between Islamic fasting and (for example) Catholic fasting is that Catholic fasting lowers the total amount of food consumed (unlimited water and other items), while Islamic fasting is more time-based to eating/drinking/etc NOTHING during certain times of the day. I was brought up Catholic (to which I must note that I really do think Catholicism is fun) and it's kinda' funny looking at the 'official' rules for fasting because it's different from what my church taught and I remember traveling and basically having people in other countries not think I was Catholic because we didn't fast like they did. But, overall Catholic fasting is intended to make you suffer- like Jesus- and Islam fasting is more about spiritual focus (and empathy for the poor).

Of course, once nightfall hits, there is lots of eating and drinking and so I always say Ramadan is like a mix between Lent and Easter- each day! My husband thinks it's like Thanksgiving every day.

Ramadan Kareem!!! :)

Monday, August 9, 2010

Blogging

Ok- I'm going to try to blog again on a regular basis... Maybe it'll help me get on track of things again!

It's funny; I like reading expat blogs, but haven't really LIVED overseas (I'll put over 1 month, although I suppose at my age it should at least be 1 year...) in, like, 9 years! My job is a daily involvement in living abroad, but I myself haven't personally dealt with it in so long! Just small trips of 1 month or less... I miss living abroad sometimes.

BUT, I should really be better about living in my area. As much as the Washington, DC is not a place I have ever really considered as 'home,' it does have A LOT to do and I need to go back to doing stuff. (ok- when it gets cooler and easier to breathe outside) I always took advantage in university, but now that I live and work outside DC proper, I don't do as much as I used to.
Which is pretty sad... ;(

On THAT note- I think I may become addicted to the news reports for "Real Housewives of D.C." Not the show itself - it was 'eh'- but I LOOOOVE the articles that have been written about this show. A few of my favorites:

"She boasts that she runs the top modeling agency in Washington, which is a little like claiming to be the No. 1 car manufacturer in Charleston, S.C."

Washington Post: Real Housewives Homepage
"Lynda Erkiletian runs "the top modeling agency in Washingotn, D.C."(How many others are there, Lynda? We'll never let her live that down!)We see her auditioning some models, and she explains that "we cater to the ambassadors, to the dignitaries" (Note to self: At next embassy party, ask what they're hiring models for.)" - HAHAHA!!!! Of course, it does kinda' sound like she runs an escort service...

I have that on my DVR and I hope it get's a bit better as the season goes on; I AM pleased that it's not all about the Salahi's- although I, of course, like to know the end event and to see it speeding towards that wreak... (ok, that is mean. But, SERIOUSLY? You actually crashed a White House party?)

Oh- there was also an article and I can't remember where it was, but it did mention how pretty much ALL of D.C is full of wanta-be's; something I totally agree with... It's not like there are many 'old wealth' or just plain 'old' families in the DC area! It's such a transitional area- I think you can go back maybe 3 generations in most cases...!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Ramadan & Soccer

I was very pleased today to hear on the Kojo Nnamdi Show today a section on Ifars and Ramadan. I need to go back and listen to it (I AM at work...), but it was just nice to hear people talking about their traditions and food and the season. It means a lot to me to hear about this because (for the most part) you don't get ANY recognition of the holidays in the U.S. (of course, there's not a majority population in most locations of the U.S.) and since it changes your life for such a good period of time, any discussion is certainly appreciated from me.

So, it reminds me a lot of the dramatic increase in soccer highlights in the U.S.! ;) I mean- about 10 years ago, we barley got ANY soccer coverage on tv; now we have MLS games, British Premiership games and even World Cup games - not JUST on ESPN and ESPN2, but also on ABC!!!! WOW!

I know that many people may feel threatened by this increase in coverage on main stream channels- of Ramadan and Muslim holidays, that is, not soccer- but I think it's a very good thing for 2 reasons:

1. Awareness is always a good thing. You don't have to change anything about your life (thank you U.S. for our religious freedoms!), but you know that some other people are celebrating a holiday in their religion and it's ok to say "Happy Ramadan!"

2. It brings Islam more and more into a part of mainstream U.S. culture. Again- this may be something people don't want, but it's not like Muslims have NOT been in the U.S. I think the 1840s was the first Muslim I know of in the U.S., although that was a while convert and so there might (probably) have been someone before him... I mean, Morocco was the first country to recognize the U.S. so we must have had some diplomats at least here, right?
Anyways- Muslims have pretty much always been part of the U.S. and our culture, but most people just didn't know much about the religion. Which seems to more or less to have be ok (except when they didn't know why we were fasting at random months! lol), but with the added pressure on the community to have more of a unified identity since 9/11, I get worried about young Muslims feeling like an outside or not being accepted as an American, when they really are. I think this small recognitions are nice and really help Muslims proudly say, "I am American and I am Muslim and this is my holiday where we fast and celebrate with our family... And it's good and ok and not a bad thing for anyone else."

So, Ramadan Kareem and enjoy the month, starting next week! (August 11th) I will try to upload pictures from our Ifars again this year- it'll probably be more exciting than last year because my mom-in-law and sister-in-law are in town and they are GREAT cooks! :)