no return to sender here

so, today we are going to continue with the series of what life is like here even in the day to day happenings. i happened to be getting some stuff ready online for my email update and my roommate came in and said that i had a notice to pick up a package at the main post office! i was really excited as it came quite sooner than i had expected. i had been to the main post office downtown with my friend before, so i had an idea of what to expect. i immediately got my things together as the lunch hours (yes, hours:) were quickly approaching and i wouldn't be able to go by there that afternoon. as you can see above, my nice golden ticket and my passport in hand on the way to the post office. these are necessary to acquire a package. you can also see how excited i was enroute to the post office--i looked like a little kid on Christmas morning!

so, i got to the room/office where one picks up imported packages. it was quite busy, so i gave my ticket (yes, the golden ticket!) to the man my friend likes to call Santa Claus (cause he's the man with our packages). he said it would be a little while. there were probably six or seven people still waiting for their packages to come out from the back. so, i stood around for a while, then took a seat to wait for my package to arrive on the counter. i was unable to take a photo inside as that is illegal. so, i whipped up this quick artwork to illustrate what it was like. i knew ahead of time that the poste workers can and will open packages. it is interesting--sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. also the poste folks can even charge one to actually get their package (like if you have a lot of expensive things in there, they may charge a percentage). so, i realized that since there were so many people and they were opening everyone's boxes, that mine would most likely get opened as well. finally my box came out, along with several others and was opened. they briefly looked through it, but then wrote up something on my ticket and i just had to show my passport and sign off that i received the package and i was on my merry way! above you can see the illustration of the boxes sitting and open. this process alone took about an hour. i got back to my place and reopened (they are so nice and retape up your box for you) my first package! my mom did an incredible job of cramming as many goodies in the box as possible. i am really thankful and have been sharing some of the goodies i got. i am also enjoying my world map and fun little games. yeah mom!!
well, hope you enjoyed another look into the day to day excitement here:)

oh so thankful!

greetings friends! just had a great last few days, actually a great last week. had some friends come in town to visit and i got to play hostess with the mostess:) here are some photos from our time down by the water. it was really a nice day and the water was nice and relatively warm. this was my first time to actually step foot in the water since i have been here. above you can the fisherman battling the waves! also above is my friend and one of her boys. it took him a bit to get a feel for the water. it was his first time to water like this!

i had to get a shot of my feet in the water:) by the end of our time there we were all pretty wet from the calves down. the water kept creeping up on us. the little guy finally decided to take the risk and get into the water. he loved it! i was honored to be a part of his first time in this kind of water! he kept stomping up and down in delight. it was hard not to follow suit. i jumped up and down a bit myself. :) it was also fun to watch the local families play near the water and take photos of each other. what a wonderful gift from Him.

another one bites the dust

hey friends! well, another week bites the dust. time seems to be flying these days. i think it may be because i have gotten a bit more responsibility, can actually do a bit more, and can even talk a bit more, too. this week has definitely been full of some good surprises, has been challenging, and allowed for some good language practice. i thought you guys might enjoy another round of photos with this post as well. so, to the right here you can check out my office space-not really, but looks pretty snazzy, aye? i really enjoy working at my desk and have realized in the lack of a public library here just how much i am grateful for free public libraries to go and study at. what a good investment with the tax dollars. in the past i have done best at studying outside of my home, but here i have tried to balance my trips out (as it usually will cost) with staying in to get good homework/study time in.


to the right here you can see a snazzy lunch that my roomie hooked us up with. one of our friend's house helper makes homemade bagels and our friend is gracious enough to share in the goodness. so, we made deli sandwiches on the bagels added pringles, a banana, and juice and had ourselves a pretty fun lunch. it felt like i was back in high school cafeteria.
still though on Fridays we try to go out and have the traditional Friday lunch. we just went this week and it was especially good. mmmm good food. :)

here you can see a now unused fountain washing area outside of a mosque. i hadn't seen this one before as it was on the other side of the grounds that i had not explored until just this week. i have doing a bit more walking and trying to get the lay of the land still and am feeling a bit more grounded in my cardinal directions to think in my mind, "Okay, where am I at?". and even the other day i had some folks ask me how to get somewhere and i could help them out. it was fun...leaving visitor status and actually feeling like i am a NA-an!
but back to this fountain/washing area, isn't it incredible? these colors, the handcut tile, and craftsmenship amaze me.






here you can catch a view of our version of W*M. there is even a pizza hut attached to this one. i also really enjoyed the gigantic pam that you see on the right. this is not actually a palm, but some kind of tower. i was thinking it would be rad if all the cell towers in the States looked like palm trees--maybe everyone wouldn't be so against the towers going up in prominent places, like the top of mountains and such--hehehe:)

anyways, just a glimpse into life here. i have a few little things that were on my mind to share about day to day life here:
*just the other day i seemed to be consistly seeing guys use the restroom on the side of the m'dina wall--one guy was even using it on the wall right beside a water closet
*to follow that morning of men taking caring of business, later that evening i was walking along another wall to a popular site here and it seemed like there were little boys taking care of business all over the place--that's just the way it is:)
*i have made a few new friends, which is really exciting! my language is definitely growing and i am grateful
*now when i go to my regular fruit/veggie stand they know exactly what i want: 2 bananas :)

knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

so, you may be curious as to why i have this title? just maybe? well, when i went to another neighborhood's starbuck's knockoff earlier, this is one of the songs i heard. actually i heard about 3 Guns 'n Roses songs. it was quite fun. i always seem to get a kick out of hearing english language songs in taxis, restaurants, and out in public. so, i thought i would recap the last several days with a list of highlights:

• i passed a man the other day while walking and he was carrying two dead (at least i am pretty sure they were dead) chickens by their feet. they still had feathers and still had their heads. i think he was carrying a basket of eggs in the other hand.
• we have one of the most progressive neighborhoods in the country in our city. it kind of catches me off guard when i am over there.
• i really like walking around the city. it has helped me in getting my bearings of the layout and it is great exercise (i try to get in hour walks everyday).
• by ignoring people or situations, you really aren't dealing with people or situations--you are simply not taking initiative or making a decision
• there are some decisions i need to make soon
• i got to meet a lady in the train station and it was neat. i got to practice language and i actually understood some of what she said. i was limited in what i could say back, but it is progress.
• there are lots of concerts going on around town this week. it is fun to see that folks all over the world like to have fun and celebrate music (i haven't gone to any of the concerts yet, but maybe will one night)
• i have finally seen people around town more than once. it is starting to feel more and more like home. having a taxi driver for the second time made me think of this.
• oh, i got stopped the other early evening by some university students doing a project on the renovations being done to a nearby river. they wanted my opinion on the matter--whether or not it was good for the city/country. it was quite funny as they video-ed my response and everything. they were very nice.
• i have grown more sensitive than i think i ever have in my life--this has been a suprising development
• i totally saw a toyota old school landcruiser here with razorback stickers on each side of it! not the hogs kind, but a really good depiction of a wild razorback. it made me really happy
• i am actually craving olives! this is a seriously new development. i think the olives seem to counter the sweetness here.
• each day i feel more and more at home.
• so, cat calls are universal--in their logic, not neccesarily their sound. see, the noise that guys make at ladies here is the same noise that folks use to solicit cats here. interesting, huh? who knew it really was a cat call?
• there is word of labor strikes happening this week--exciting!
• that it is important to be the person G created me to be

TGIF...really

so, today is Friday and what better way to celebrate than by going to T.G.I.Friday's? there is one here and it was quite an experience. my excited friend took me there to step back into the Western world. here you can see the outside of it! pretty snazzy, aye?

i had to laugh when we got up to the entrance and ladies with huge smiles opened the doors for us and welcomed us into the fine establishment. we were given english/french menus and had quite a time. i had a chicken finger BLT (with real bacon), fries, and a strawberry lemonade. for dessert, we split an oreo sandwich ice cream dessert. we even got to see some flair! it was fun and kind of odd at the same time--just being amongst locals that were relatively westernized. a much different neighborhood than ours.

so, onto this past week's exciting cultural revelations:

• it is best to just look straight ahead and to not make eye contact
• there are Wrangler jeans here (which i guess could mean Wrangler rear ends:)
• bread is a sacred thing here
• as is water
• the first car at a stoplight really doesn't have to worry themselves with watching for the light to change as all cars behind him/her will honk profusely to let them know that the light has changed to green
• sometimes the stoplights have no authority over traffic
• that kids on rollerblades love to grab ahold of bumpers to catch free rides up hills
• the locals don't like the diesel fumes much either
• the more bees surrounding a sweets shop, the sweeter their pastries (this is quite a compliment)

today i realized just how content i am...being here, right now and still so thankful to be here learning the language, about the people and about the culture. i have been suprised i think in some ways how things that would plague my heart and mind in the States haven't even been much of a thought or heartbreak here. i really can't imagine being anywhere else. and wow--does that make me joyful. don't get me wrong, life is different and has its own set of challenges, but i am taking them one day at a time.

so, TGIF, cause i am going to play a game (maybe scrabble!) with my friend. :) until next time...

airing out my dirty laundry

so, i decided it might be interesting to give you a glimpse into the day to day life here. laundry is one of those things that we all get to do, so why not start here with day to day life topics.
to start the process, one must clean off the line in which the clothes will be hung on to dry with a napkin(as pictured). we especially have to do this task, as our street is frequented by every single city bus (and it just so happens that they emit an immense amount of diesel fumes). if one does not clean off the line, you can see the nice black layer that will promise a new black stripe on one's clothes.
then the clothes go into the front-loading washer. it is probably 2/3 the size of washers in the States. loads are smaller and we seem to have an abundance of warm to hot water--only. this part of the process takes about one and a half hours, so one knows their clothes are squeaky clean.
after one's line is free of the black soot, one is free to arrange clothes on the line to dry. drying takes from one half a day to a good 24 hours. sometimes it can be advantageous to move items around to give them maximum drying power. it is also very wise to take dry clothes off the line as soon as possbile to not take away air-time from those clothes that are still wet.
when clothes are dry, one takes them off the line and folds them to then put into storage. in the folding process, one can spy a hole. these holes come from clothes bugs. these bugs eat holes into one's clothes for a tasty snack. grrrrr.





i hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into the day to day life...stay tuned for more exciting adventures!

from pine trees to palms

i just wanted to give a quick look at some fun observations in my time here thus far:

• palm trees are all over the place here and that just makes me happy. there are some types of evergreens and hardwoods as well, but i love to just take in all the palms (i actually want to do some research on them to answer my many questions about them)
• some taxi drivers like to put on music with English lyrics when we get into their rides. here is a sampling of what we have heard: Pink Floyd, Kenny Rogers, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye
• when you watch folks play American baseball--only here can the players have names like: Muhammad, Ibrahim, Belinda (a young man), Saul, Hans, Frans (just kidding on that one), and Soffa
• smoking is still allowed inside the airport here and in many other public places
• there aren't any capitol/lower case letters in Arabic--just one version
• one night we were out to eat and our server said that we would need to wait on getting our change as the cashier went to go pray, so we waited about five minutes for them to finish their prayers to get our change and leave (oddly enough it was a woman that was the cashier--the majority of women here do not stop and pray at the observed times)
• i have decided that ramen noodles are available in just about any location on the planet, including here
• they offer birthday parties in McDonald's for kiddos all around the world as well
• and you can also hear fun music ranging from Shakira to The Wedding March in the McDonald's
• i really think that the majority of little girls all over the world wear the colour pink, wear ribbons, bows, tights, and skirts
• little boys all over the world wear clothes with animals, trucks, and sports on them
• babies are babies all over the world, too :)
• that i really like it here and am thankful to be learning the language, the culture, and how others live even though it may seem hard at times

كاليفورنيا الحب

check out the sweet school buses that cruise around my city. they are usually way packed with kiddos, which isn't real safe. i just think they are fun looking and that is why you are looking at this photo right now.

so, i bet you are curious as to what my post title reads? well, it makes me laugh as quite a few of the words i am learning in school that are common names for things all over the world are very similiar here. in some of the dialogues in my curriculum the people we impersonate are from California and as I have walked through the older part of a couple of cities here now, one can find posters with the (supposedly) late rapper, Tupac.

so, just the other night we watched a youtube video of "California Love" by Tupac and his posse. so, hence the tile of my post...

the last few days have been up and down. but i am encouraged that i have been able to make it through the rough and rad experiences here. cause, they both will be happening during my time here, so i best be ready for them as they come.

language has been coming along. i think it would come along even more if i studied more, so ask me about how my study time is coming along. i am actually remembering phrases, words, etc. and this is exciting! i have been frustrated with my lack of memory in the past and am hopeful toward the future. a few days ago i had some good interactions with folks out and about, but then i hit a wall i think. i think my cultural honeymoon was over. i am really here. really. :)

but i am encouraged and have been able to learn from the hard times. and learn what i can do to help me through them: music, rest, reflection.

and since then i have been having more encounters and interactions with folks in my 'hood. i bought my first produce on my own and got some of the local bread as well. check out what i made with the successful purchases:

so, it has been a fun week. lots to process, but glad to be here. i am really starting to enjoy language a lot, which i am ultra grateful for!

so, i just finished the last project runway season and i cannot believe that christian won! just had to throw that in there:)

until next time friends...

oh the places we go

so, another nice few days have passed and i feel like a breakthrough or two have taken place here. i think language has gotten a little better after a nice chunk of homework to help me out. i have realized that i like homework as it challenges me to use the stuff i am learning--which makes sense, right.

also, i have learned more about other friends' experiences here and that has helped me keep a good perspective on what to expect during my time here immersed in this incredible place. also i am realizing more and more what it is about living here. that may seem really elementary, but it is funny how your expectations can be rattled and then be suprised by what is actually happening. we travelled to a nearby beach the other day and on the way there and back we drove past some shanty towns. these are low, low income neighborhoods, if you will. it didn't look like some folks had electricity and/or running water. i had seen another area similiar a few days before. that really struck me. even today on my walk home from some study time, i noticed how some of the abandoned buildings reminded me of sights/places i had seen when working down in New Orleans post-Katrina. there is such a dynamic here that is hard for me to fully understand. of course i want it all to be rationalized, but life doesn't seem to work that way here in this place. i am starting to see the local people here through different Eyes. and i am grateful.

i am also grateful for my roommate/friend. she has done a great job of getting to know me and today i finally thanked her for that. sometimes i feel i can be hard to get to know.

well, i leave you with a couple of photos from the last few days...

fun day at the beach--i was really excited!

mmm good--my first NA fish tacos!

oh chihuahua

starting with the recent holiday here...

life here has proven to be full of so many smiles, laughs, smells, questions, and greetings. i am really thankful for the opportunity to be here and experience life here in NA. language is coming along and i have been given more and more homework, which i think has been extra helpful in getting me moving in the right direction. i was out of class a day this week in observance of a local holiday and the day proved to be full of exciting events. my friend and i started the morning out by taking a nice long walk through the local forest that serves as a really nice retreat from the city noise. in trying to get to the fish market, our taxi driver was rerouted several times due to closed off streets (due to possible protests). the driver was great and tried to get us as close to our destination as possible. we ended up opting for veggies and beef for lunch instead which actually turned out well as i got to prepare my first actual meal since being here. check out this fun video to see how this all goes down:

then from there, we went to go meet up with a friend and as we were walking to our meeting spot we saw a lady come out of this dome/triangle sort of thing that sits close to the sidewalk with her pants down! she i guess couldn't want to go to the bathroom until she got home. that was very suprising to see, especially since she was giggling about it. i guess when you get older, you have the right to do those kinds of things?

later that afternoon we went on to walk through the older part of the city and then decided to make our way back home. on the way we found ourselves drawn to a park that had music blarring from within. to our surprise there was a fun gathering to celebrate the local holiday. what was even more fun was that what we were hearing was the chicken dance in French, then we heard the hokie pokie in French, then the macarena in French as well. i got some video of a song that was really hilarious:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-314521148426509729&hl=en
sorry, to have to give you a link--for some reason it would not embed

just the other night i was invited to join a friend that was going to a local family's celebration that takes place seven days after the baby's birth. it was really nice and we got all dressed up for the late night/early morning party:

top left: me before going out; top center: the happy parents being surrounded by belly-dancers; center: the band with the blue drum; bottom left: just before dinner which was served just after midnight; bottom right: they got me up to stomp on the barrel drum

here is a link to a video with the evening's events:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7750360720898841037