One Year and My Meeting with the King

On Tuesday we celebrated on our one year anniversary in North Africa. To celebrate our group went out to dinner and played a game to reminisce on our past year here. Ahh...seems like only yesterday we were packing up our eight ginormous bags and heading over here.

I had an important meeting with the King this week. As you can see he is a large man and he stood very still for our photo. I have been wondering when he was finally gonna ask me over!

Here is my feeble attempt at sugar cookies, and I use the term "cookies" loosely. I think I mixed up the baking powder and baking soda. The label is in French and I can never remember when to use which one. I was too embarrassed to take them to my neighbors, which would have been impossible anyway seeing as how I when I tried to lift them off the pan they crumbled into pieces. You see, it's not only that I CAN'T cook, I really SHOULDN'T cook!

City Scenes and New Hairdo's

This video was taking last Friday at the call to prayer and the biggest mosque in the city was overflowing with people. Watch to see the different postures Muslims use to pray.



Here is the market where I do my shopping. You see the scarves on the left hand side? You can't get those for as cheap as $3!



In other news we both changed our hair the same day. Cody got an expensive haircut at a French salon. Normally he pays $3 to go to the barber shop but this day we paid $13! And then Cody dyed my hair because it's fall and it's time to go dark again. You know he's the perfect type of person to dye hair. He's very meticulous in reading directions and making sure to get all the roots. The first night we tried to do it we were unsuccessful because the plastic gloves that came in the box were too small for his hands (somehow I don't think they were designed for men). So I had to buy rubber kitchen gloves in size "grande."

I'm Shocked!!

No, literally today I shocked the heck out of myself with 220 volts of electricity. I had wet hair and was standing barefoot when I grabbed a cord that goes to our transformer (it's a blow-dryer brush from America) from the wall. Well I grabbed it and it shocked me and threw me flying backwards on the ground and I was SCREAMING and CRYING like a mad lady!

Here are the burn marks from the prongs. (See the two holes below the thumb) Now I have been zapped many a times before here, but never where it burned my flesh!

The rest of day I have been apprehensive to unplug or touch anything electrical. Hey, I have been traumatized!


On a good note, we just a got a microwave from some friends who just left! The microwave is also from America, notice the large transformer on top. We used it for the first time this morning to heat up some old cinnamon roles for breakfast. It's been a year since we last used a microwave...oh the possibilities are endless!

I am not promising you anything!

Not too much was happening this week so here is some photos taken throughout the week. Now I never said ALL my posts had to be winners...cut me some slack!

This is what traditional Ramadan sweets look like. They sells these EVERYWHERE! Even places that were not in the sweets business before are selling this stuff now.

Obviously I don't know how to make these highly involved delectable goodies, so here's what I made for Ramadan...oatmeal balls!!! No baking required. I took them to a few of my neighbors, and yes I got some weird looks, but they hadn't tried them yet. I am sure pretty soon they will be banging down my door for more!


We got a new fountain in front of the old city walls where the market is. The old city is where I do most of my shopping and language practice. It's about 10 minutes from my house.


Cody and I had parties for friends on Friday and Saturday night that were both in a nearby city. Both nights we took the last train home and we were exhausted! Good times, and no this photo is SO not posed!


And finally I would like to present my new kaftan I had made. Remember seeing pictures from previous parties where I had to borrow my friends clothes that were way too big? Well now I have my own! The material costs about $8 for three meters (I had a matching scarf and head band made too). Then I took it to a tailor (who is man who specializes in these things) and told him how I wanted it and he made it for $30! I could never find one in the market that fits me so I asked my friends was the style was right now. Notices the flared sleeves and then it comes in at the waist an flares back out. (click on the photo to see it bigger) I am a fashionable North African! Oh, and I did get my haircut, thanks for noticing :)