Baby Showers, Fashion Shows, and Weddings....Oh My!

It's been almost a month since I posted, so I feel like it's time for an update :)

Baby Shower. Baby Shower's in Libya are very different than in the States. Here the Baby Shower occurs post-birth, one week post-birth to be exact. I was invited to the baby shower for the new baby of one of my dad's friends. When I told my cousin that I had a baby shower to go to, his wife asked me how old the baby was. I was really confused because I didn't understand how the age of the baby mattered, and I told her I didn't know. She told my cousin that he should ask for me because that way I would know how to dress. I really thought I was misunderstanding what she was saying because how could the age of the baby determine the dress code? I called my dad and told him and his response was "Oh, it doesn't matter what you wear, I don't know what they are talking about, just wear a skirt and you'll be fine". So, I put on a skirt and tell my cousin that I am ready to go. His wife looks at me and says "You can't wear that!", ummmmm....what am I supposed to wear? She said "A dress" Me: "Like for a wedding??" Her: "Exactly like a wedding". Oh man, I had no idea what kind of baby shower I was going to where you dressed like you were going to a wedding (as you will remember weddings are VERY formal/fancy). I reluctantly went back to my room to change (if I had known this was the dress code I would've made up an excuse not to go because I am so tired of dressing up for weddings). The baby shower was EXACTLY like a wedding. It was in a wedding hall, everyone dressed up really fancy, there was a singer and people dancing on the stage. The only diffference was that the occasion was technically for a baby (that does not attend the party). I stayed a respectable amount of time and then called my cousin to pick me up. :)

Fashion Show. Oh goodness my life here is quite different. I was invited to attend a Turkish Fashion Show with a few of my cousins and while attending a fashion show isn't super high on my to do list, I went because really what else was I going to do? After the Baby Shower event, I was worried about what the dress code was going to be (the fashion show was taking place in a big wedding hall). I went to my cousin's house prepared with normal clothes and wedding clothes and was excited to hear that you wear normal clothes. Really, I would have been shocked to hear that you were supposed to wear fancy dresses to watch a fashion show...but who knows. The fashion show seemed exactly like what I had seen on T.V. There was the long run way for the models to walk down and chairs and chairs of people on either side (my guess is there were at least 1,000 people there because the wedding hall was packed). We had front row seats, I think we had special seats because my aunt's husband is friends with the Turkish Ambassador, so we had a good view. One of the students I work with at the European school was one of the models, so it was fun to see someone I know.

Although the title of my blog makes it appear as though I am going to talk about Weddings again, I am not. The title just seemed to sum up my life this past month. :)

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There was another holiday celebration called Ashura (which means "Ten" in Arabic), although I also heard a lot of people refer to it as Kabira (which means "Big"). My Aunt was explaining to me what the day was and I kept hearing her say "Namoosa" which in Arabic means Mosquito...I was really confused about why there was a holiday about a mosquito and finally I said "Namoosa??" and my cousin said "No, Moosa" and started explaining to me about how Moosa crossed the Red Sea, etc. etc, and I realized that "Moosa" is Moses in Arabic and the "Na" I kepts hearing before the name was part of another word...oh gosh. :) Anyway, some people fast on the day, some don't, but I guess it is because it is believed that Prophet Moses and Prophet Mohammed fasted on this day in order to demonstrate brotherhood (or something like this). The day is also in honor of God saving the Israelites and Moses as they crossed the Red Sea. In Libya, on this day, everyone eats Hummus (chick peas) and Foul (Fava beans) and gives plates of Hummus and Foul to neighbors, friends, and family. It was kind of a nice day because we got to go to various people's houses and hand them plates of foul and hummus and they would give us the same in return.

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Other than that, not much is new. I have a 3-week break from work right now, so I am spending lots of time in the kitchen learning how to cook from my Aunt. haha I kind of think my cooking is going to improve more than my Arabic while here. :) I decided to take some time off from my Arabic teacher...I get really frustrated with him for various reasons and decided that I needed to take a break. I am in the process of trying to see if I can get a teacher who speaks English because I feel like my Arabic would improve a lot more if I could actually ask questions and communicate effectively with my teacher. I am almost approaching my half-way mark which is weird and am trying to come to terms with the fact that my Arabic is not going to be where I would like it to be by the time I leave. I knew I wouldn't be speaking fluently or anything (that hasn't even happened with Spanish and I've been studying it most my life), but I thought I would improve more than I have I think.

Well, let me know how you all are doing when you get the chance, I've been missing having friends lately :)

Happy Christmas!