Time Change

I didn't realize until mid-afternoon, but apparently Thursday night the time changed here for Daylight Savings. So, now, instead of 8 hours difference to Iowa it is now 7 hours, and 6 hours to the East Coast. For any of you who happen to keep track of the time here, I wanted to make sure that you changed along with me. :)

Sunset...

I have enjoyed a very low-key weekend, although I wasn't feeling the best health-wise. Yesterday my roommate and I went out on the roof again to enjoy the chilly weather and the gorgeous sunset. I am finally able to wear my fleece and be comfortable which is wonderful feeling after the heat of earlier. It is supposed to rain today, and the breeze coming in my bedroom window makes my room almost cold. :) Anyway, here are some pictures I took from the roof last night. Enjoy!

Early Start to the Weekend

Today I woke up before my alarm and realized that I would starting my weekend early. It seems I caught the flu-like bug that has been going around and so I'm staying close to home today. I don't feel that bad necessarily, but being across the city at school sounded not so fun so I skipped out on review and listening lab. I'm not too sorry to miss listening lab, but I was planning to see some Arab friends today so that is a bummer.

Maybe later I'll think of something to update this with and I can write more.

Friends, Cookies, Water Heaters, Bracelets & Cooler Weather

These things may seem very unrelated, but they are the big events in my life in the past few days. :)

First, friends...on Friday night we hosted a few women here at our apartment and it was a wonderful time of sharing, laughter and blessing. It was fun to help host here for the first time.

Second, cookies...Friday afternoon I attempted for the first time to bake here. I made chocolate chip cookies and they turned out pretty well, and seemed to be a hit with my roommates. :) They tasted a bit different from when Mom makes them, but I think it was because the vanilla was different.

Third, water heaters...this is one of the most exciting events, to be honest. :) We didn't have any hot water for showering and such, which wasn't a big deal since it has been so hot, but to be perfectly honest I'm not a fan of cold (or even cool) showers. So, it was wonderful yesterday when a couple of men came and installed a hot water heater in our bathroom. And it even can be used in the rest of the house, so we can wash the dishes in hot water as well. :) It was with a great deal of joy that I took a hot shower yesterday afternoon.

Fourth, bracelets...today in class I commented on a classmate's bracelet, not realizing the murky water I had just gotten into. :) She is Turkish, and I forgot that in this part of the world if you complement something you might end up owning it. So, after class she comes up to me and hands over the bracelet! A good lesson in humility and culture. :)

Fifth, cooler weather...no joke, this weekend I think the heat finally broke and is gone for awhile! It is still warm in the day, don't get me wrong, but this morning I was actually cold in a thin sweater when I was walking towards the language center. It is a relief to not sit on the bus and have sweat dripping down my back. I said this in an earlier post, but I want to say again, I have a lot of admiration for the women here who cover themselves completely, or even just wearing the hijab (scarf to cover their hair). I cannot imagine how hot they must have been during the summer.

Taxi Drivers and Scarves

I have a feeling tonight is going to be another random post. :) I am sitting out on our balcony enjoying the refreshing breeze, looking up at the moon as night overtakes the city below me. It is too nice to not enjoy it while I can.

Today it was still hot out in the sun, but not as hot as the days before, and the breeze is cooler. Finally, finally, finally we might see cooler temperatures set in.

So first of all, taxi drivers. The past few days I have gotten two different taxi drivers who took it upon themselves to teach me a bit of Arabic. The first one made sure I knew straight, right, left....important words for giving directions. :) This morning my taxi driver spent most of the drive to the university teaching me and then quizzing me on the words for traffic, car, plane, hospital and I forget what else. :) It was good practice, but I feel so inept at the lack of useable language skills that I have at this point.

Secondly, scarves. :) Now some of you may find this really silly, but those of you who love scarves can identify with me. I could buy so many scarves here...there are shops full of them! It has taken a lot of self-control not to buy them whenever I see some. :) However, I have bought a couple since I've arrived. One I bought in Turkey, actually, and I got it because I hadn't seen the design here at all. The second one I bought this evening at a souk (marketplace) near the house of a friend. Anyway, there's not much more to the story...I am just excited by having new scarves, even though with the weather at 90+ degrees there is no way I'm wearing them any time soon. :)

Oh, and since I'm excited about them, I took a picture of my new scarves to share with you all. :) The black and green scarf is from Turkey and the purple and white one is the one I bought this evening.

I hope you all have a great weekend...I know I'm planning on it. :)

Election Time

It is election time here and there are posters and banners everywhere. I haven't been brave enough to pull out my camera on the way to and from school yet, but I found a picture in one of the English papers that gives you a good idea of what the streets look like here.

The elections are November 9th, and they are for the Lower House of Parliament. Other than that, I don't know a whole lot about why they're having the elections, and who the popular candidates are. I think they are trying to fill all 120 seats in the House. 

I'm not expecting the elections to be anything other than just that, and I really don't think they will affect me much, since in reality the King carries the weight of the power here (and his power is pretty secure), but I'll let you know if anything exciting happens. :)

My First Shwerma

Tonight I had my first official shwerma here. What is shwerma, you may ask? Well, shwerma is delicious, that's what. :) Shwerma is a wrap-type of sandwich, similar to a gyro. They put the meat (lamb, beef or chicken) on a huge upright spit and as it turns the meat is cooked. Then they shave the meat off so that it is in smaller pieces and wrap it with tomatoes and onions and other various condiments into a thin wrap and it's ready to go. :) And the best part, it is super cheap. As in, half a dinar kind of cheap. (1 dinar = 1.30 dollars) Even better than the dollar menu at McDonald's and much tastier. I was going to take a picture, but when I remembered I was already halfway into it, and my hands were a bit messy, so no picture of this first taste. However, I do have a picture from Turkey of basically the same thing, although it's called by a different name there.

As you can see, there are two spits with two different kinds of meat. I wouldn't be able to tell you what the meats are though. :)

Anyway, maybe next time I get shwerma I'll take a picture.