Trick-or-Treat!!

The kids were feeling a little bummed about missing out on begging for candy with their friends.  (They don't do that here.)  So Dad took us all out to go "dukkaan" (convenience store) hopping in our neighborhood. 

The kids stocked up on treats and came home smiling!

So they came home to check out their loot and had a healthy dinner of soda, candy bars, chips, sugary liquid in a spray bottle(?), and chocolate... oh, and a little chicken stew!

Afterward, Dad had them show off their best scary faces!

                                              K had two silly faces!

   

Thanks for a fun night, Daddy!

A thawb or thobe (Arabic: ثوب‎ / ALA-LC: thawb), dishdasha (دشداشة / dishdāshah), kandura (كندورة / kandūrah), or suriyah in Libya, is an ankle-length garment, usually with long sleeves, similar to a robe. This clothing is called Kanzu in Swahili, and is commonly worn in East Africa as well.

Our favorite taxi driver brought us gifts back from his hajj to Mecca.  Here are the boys in their dishdash's.  Pretty cool, huh?

Party Time!

So we are sitting at our dining room table doing our homework at 10:00 on a Monday night.  It's a beautiful night, the windows are open wide to let in the cool breeze.  Outside music is blaring from a function (concert, party, wedding, we have no idea what it is, really??), one block away.  C went to the roof to check it out, then for a quick walk.  Whatever it is, it looks like they are having fun.  C said it's all shabaab (meaning young men),  no women in sight.  Guys dancing and doing something with swords, while another guy sings.  It's been going a couple of hours now.  The music is punctuated every few minutes with beautiful fireworks.  No wonder the kids had a hard time going to sleep tonight.  We love the festive lifestyle here!  Our friends really know how to throw a party!

...11:00 now...The music is still going...I consulted with a neighbor I saw just coming in with her husband and 2 and 4 yr old sons (This really is a late-night culture!  We night-owls love it!).  Her first reaction when I asked about the reason for the music was, "What music?"  After that she agreed, "maybe a wedding".  The busiest "wedding season" is in the summer, when there are parties like this, with music and fireworks, every Wednesday- Sunday night. Who needs a stereo?... Just open the windows!

Aroma Buffet

This is the spice and olive selection at our local supermarket.  I only wish I could transmit the aroma offered at this buffet for the senses.  It's wonderful!  (You can see my favorite shopping cart escalator in the background.)

Language-Rich

When you are trying to learn a new language, one of the things you look for in a neighborhood is a place where nobody speaks your mother tongue, so that you are forced to learn the language to survive.  We call this kind of neighborhood, "language-rich".  Ours is pretty good, in this aspect, although many people will proudly use the few English phrases they know when they find out that we are Americans.  However, many others speak Arabic only, as evidenced by one young man in his 20's who had no idea at all that his new sweatshirt read, "GRANDMA is my name and Spoiling is my Game!"  That's language-rich!

Introducing Our Newest Family Member: Bruce Lee!

One of the benefits of living in the desert is... When one of your friends is driving down the road and sees a chameleon crossing the street,  he can stop and pick it up and give it to you for your birthday!  We've had Bruce for about a month now, and he really has been a fun pet!

 He likes to get out of his aquarium and climb around.  We like him because he doesn't move very fast and he doesn't go missing if you put him down! 

 He changes color, depending on his mood or what he's doing.  Sometimes he's dark brown, sometimes tan with flecks, sometimes pale green.

We have enjoyed him more than the crabs, frogs, and geckos that have come to stay at our house recently. 

Here he is eating a fly out of M's hand.  He also likes grasshoppers and cockroaches!  We've considered fitting him with a halter and leash and renting him out to our friends!

Old stones

 Living in the Middle East, there is never a shortage of ancient ruins to climb and explore.