Birthday Fun and Wedding Ring Drama

Monday was Cody's 26th birthday. We went to his favorite restaurant, a sushi place here in town, and then came back to our house for some chocolate soufflé and games.

Cody's new (used) bike he got for his birthday. I added a seat to the back so he could pump me around town. We went down to the beach today!

While I was at the wedding last week Cody went down south to an international music festival. Think Woodstock, only with Arabs and mystical tribal music. They stayed out all night and slept on a bus with a 30 nationals and no bathroom.

We went surfing on Tuesday and it was so much fun. I guess because I snowboard I caught on pretty quick and was able to stand up on the third try! Unfortunately this is also the time Cody lost his wedding ring. There is a before photo and he has it on and this is the after photo and it's gone. Well it had a good 3 1/2 year run.

"With THIS ring, I thee wed...again." We went to the market and bought this silver ring for about $5. We will buy another titanium ring when we go to Europe or America.

Wedding Time

This was the wedding I went to on Saturday. Our friend told us to arrive at 8:30, so we did of course. Only, we were the first ones there. Before the family, the band, the photographers, everyone! People trickled in and the party finally got started at 11:30 p.m. when the bride showed up.

Mint tea anyone?

At least we got to watch them set up, right? There was lots of room for dancing too so that was fun.

Here is my henna work from the party the night before (see next post for pictures from that)

They had some dancers performing and several different bands throughout the night.

Here are the six outfits the bride wore. The last one is the modern, western looking dress that some brides choose to wear.

Food of the evening: Shrimp bastilla, a sheep, ice cream and fruit platter. While we were gone to the bathroom this adorable little 13 year old girl decided to take off all the toppings to the ice cream and eat them herself. The same little girl who tore apart our table bouquet and put the trash in our only water cup. (isn't she just precious?)

I actually managed to stay for the whole wedding. This is my fourth wedding and I have never stuck around until the bride left. They left at 6:00 a.m. and it was very strange to leave a wedding and it be daylight!

Parading the bride around. These is when we throw flowers and the groom kisses her on the forehead (oohhh scandalous!)

Henna Party

The day before the wedding, friends and family gather for the Henna Party. Everyone dresses up and the bride gets henna done on her hands and feet. The rest of the party eats snacks and dances and watches the bride. When she is finished the ladies take turn getting henna done too. Usually just one hand and something simple. These are the gifts, or dowries that the groom presents to the bride on this day. It includes fancy clothes, jewelry, and sweets.

We all ate cous cous and got ready together at my friends house. We were ready first so we just sat around and took photos and talked.

These are some fancy stuffed dates.

Then we (everyone from the groom's side) hit the streets to parade through the neighborhood showing off the gifts. The band is following us and we are singing and dancing, all the while stopping traffic and people hanging out their windows to watch.

The gifts on display.

The bride already in the middle of her henna when we arrived.

My turn!!! After I got my henna, these kids kept wanting to play and dance and were accidentally grabbing it.

The do the actual ring exchange and feeding of the dates and milk at this party. It was really sweet.

The Countryside

This weekend I went home with one of my friends to the "countryside." I borrowed my friend's camera so I was able to take pics! This is just after we arrived and we are getting vegetables at this small market. This is the Grandma, she is SO adorable and sweet. The actual home of my friend is several kilometers away from here. We had to hitch a ride to and from this village. On the way back some nice dumptruck men let us pile in with them.

We arrived at their house set up on the hills with a few neighbors scattered around. This is where they wash the dishes and store the water that they bring from the well. (No running water people!) See the jug next to the blue barrels, that's the "refrigerator," it's basically a clay jug that keeps the water cool.

Fresh milk anyone? They had chickens, goats, and cows that lived off of. In the morning we had fresh milk and butter and fresh bread.

This is where they eat, sleep, and watch TV.

An adjoining room with a place to entertain guests. Everyone sits on the floor on these mats. I slept in a room with eight people!

Climbing around the hillside.

This is the oven. It is a big clay pit and after the branches are burned and make the coal the bread is placed inside and covered up. I was surprised to learn it only takes about 15 minutes to cook!

To make the butter they churn the milk in this thing for really long time and then they pour it out in the strainer and the clumps are the butter. They harden up. The rest is buttermilk they drink, me no likey.

We are off to the well with the donkeys to get some water.

This girl is gorgeous!

We climbed down into the the valley with this amazing river. The views were incredible.


Enjoying the view with my sweet friends! :)

Try not to be too disappointed

So our camera is broken and we haven't been able to take any pictures since our Spain trip :( So these funny stick figures drawing will have to suffice until we figure out what to do. Enjoy!!!