what a week

so, I got my jellaba and wore it to class last week to show my teachers. they were very excited about it! especially the one that helped me get it. i am really happy with how it came out and the sewing was done sooo well. anways, it was a great day all around cause that was my last day of class as i finished that section of my studies--i have crossed the bridge! :)

this past weekend I enjoyed some fun shopping in the m'dina. i went out on the night that is the best night for shopping (in my opinion) and took care of some final shopping for gifts, errands, and such and happened to find some great deals. i came upon this man that had a tarp-full of used scarves. they were priced at about 50 cents and i just dug right in. i got ten! they were so fun and funky it was hard to resist. i also got some fun flats that are stamped with the name Prada which i think is pretty hilarious cause they are soo all about knock-offs here. it was just a fun night all around. below you can check out the fun scarves i snatched up.

so, the plumber came to fix our broken tiles in the tub. and hacked away at them for like 45 minutes. the plumber showed up in a blazer, loafers, and pinstriped slacks. he eve brought his own tools and i have been told that is a big deal! i was also really impressed that the job got finished all in one day! i guess i had preparing myself for the worst and thinking it might be a week-long ordeal. but as you can see below the tiles were replaced and the job is finished! the first guy came in the morning to hack away at the wall and then had to leave and said he would be back in the afternoon. he came back and brought the tile guy along with him. the tile guy was not wearing the same type of attire, but had jeans and a hoodie on. they were nice guys.

i went to the doctor to see about this never-ending cold/sickness i seem to be dealing with. it was a super quick visit as we went to the office and didn't have an appointment and still got in just before her lunch break. i walked into her exam room and it also included her desk and such. it was interesting for sure. she asked me a series of questions and then did an examination. she seemed to think that i am suffering from allergies, so she gave me a prescription for cough medicine and some allergy medicine. i was maybe in there for like 15 minutes. the cost of the visit was like 12 bucks. Wow! and the meds were under 10 bucks total. so, we will see how it goes. so far the cough medicine is sorta working.

and then i had asked my roomie if i could make cinnamon rolls for our weekly breakfast night and so, i whipped them up from scratch. i got the recipe from a friend and they turned out okay. the presentation wasn't the best (i said they were rustic looking:), but she claims they were delish. i liked them, too. i am hoping to deliver them to some local friends when i go to say goodbye to them this week before i leave for my trip. i packed up my other bag today and think that i will be okay with the weight. i am excited about handing out everyone's gifts!!

well, hope you are having a great week.

food, packing, and people

well, another week is upon us and i have to say that it has passed quickly, yet slowly. i am about to head to my last class for a while ( i will be traveling and we have folks coming to visit after i return). we have been listening to a series about making good decisions and it has been really challenging, yet full of good wisdom. it is now a matter of application. so, today has been an experiment of sorts for me. i have to say that i am really thankful for some sunshine after what felt like months of rain. in the next 10 days we have just one day that has a below 50% chance of rain. what a welcome forecast for sure. as i look out my window now i see a couple gathering clothes from the line that is hung on the roof of the building across the way. finally we can dry our clothes, too! :) so, here are some fun photos from this past week. hope you enjoy them!

i got a recipe from a friend for this really great dish: General Tsao's Chicken. I had it at a friend's house and it was just so good and reminded me of some good American Chines food back home that I had to make it for myself. nothing may smell (or even taste) sweeter than friiiiied chicken. oh yeah!
here is the final product. it was steaming with goodness. i was really excited (as you maybe can tell).

i have started packing for my trip home and decided to take an evening to figure out what all i actually had and make sure that i had what i wanted for everyone. it has been fun to shop for friends and family for sure. after packing up the suitcase and adding some more things that i needed to get for friends and family, my gift suitcase weighs in 14 lbs over the limit. so, i will have to readjust some of the heavier things to my carry-on to help even out the weight! i am definitely looking forward to going home. it is still kind of surreal and i am also trying to not check out early, ya know?

below shows the first stage of packing up....

my roommate and i went for a walk on Sunday afternoon as i have been battling this insistent cold and needed to take in some sunshine and move about some. she decided to take along her really snazzy camera and capture some shots of the city and people. since we have had a lot of rain and the sun was finally shining many people were out and about (plus Sunday afternoons walks here are like Sunday afternoon drives in the States). so, here are some shots from my roommate of our Sunday afternoon walk.

i haven't figured out the actual name for this stuff below yet, but it resembles taffy. these guys walk around with these huge clubs of the stuff. i will have to try and tell you guys all about it.

this is a very, very common site on sunny Sunday afternoons in the winter and just about any afternoon/evening in the summer. these folks love to sit, talk, watch, and socialize. this shot definitely captures a lot!

well, i hope you are having a great week. i am trying to think of any other things that have happened, but it is life as usual i guess. i am looking forward to this Saturday! not necessarily because it is V-day, but because my friend is going to help me make up some sweets that are local neccessities so i can take them back with me to the States! lots of fun photos to come:)

oh! and i did go and get my jellaba (all by myself:). a photo to come for sure!

into Feb 2009

so, i have wanted to get a jellaba (local one-piece oufit that both women and men wear here) made with some fabric i purchased. turns out it has been harder than i thought to actually get this thing to a trust-worthy tailor and in the works. thankfully i have great local friends that are willing to help make things happen. we searched around a bit here in the city i live in for a tailor and found the price too high for what i wanted (i want really simple details). so, my other friend offered to take me across the river to check out some places there. it seems that we always seem to try and go on Fridays (which are considered by some the holy day, so they will not work) and the tailors' shops are either closed for the day or for the extended lunchtime. but we did find a place at first. we finally were able to talk to a guy about what i wanted and everything. well, it was interesting and funny to say the least! normally i would want to walk in there and first thing ask what the price is, but they just don't deal that way here. turns out we walk through everything that i want, take measurements and everything, to then settle on a price. well, i also tried on a jellaba to compare it to what i would want. what was so funny about this part was that the jellaba actually fit really, really well. my friend even said, "oh, this was made just for you. you should buy it." well, it just so happened to be fuschia and that flowy velvet. and then the very loud detail had purple and fuschia running through it. a far cray from my very simple, very understated jellaba i had envisioned. in my mind i thought, "wow, i already get enough attention as it is. this would only bring on even more comments!" thankfully, i had already brought my own fabric, so i simply claimed that i wanted my jellaba with the fabric i had purchased. i really appreciated her thinking of me so nicely, but it just wasn't my taste. so, then after all that...the price. well, turns out it was too high and the man wasn't budging. so, we left. my friend said that she would send her aunts there (to scold him maybe) as she couldn't believe the man wouldn't come down on the price. so, we rounded the corner and came to another tailor's shop. this man was really nice and calm and very helpful. and the price was right on point! and not only was the price great, but it would be ready in a week! other places said at least two. i was so happy to get the receipt pictured below! so, i plan to go this weekend to see if it is ready to pick up. this past weekend i had the opportunity to go visit some friends that are studying language in another city. the family has two boys and i hadn't seen them since the summer--how they have grown! it was a really great and refreshing visit. one night some of the young ladies got together and had a spa night. they invited me and i enjoyed getting to soak my feet and then dip my hands in some soothing warm wax. fun! lots of good food and conversation for sure:)

during the day my friend and i went to their m'dina to see what kinds of steals and deals we could find. much like our city right now, it rained on and off most of the day, but there it was colder as they are further inland. it was quite a difference from here. you can see how winter here is so green! we have had an incredible amount of rain this winter! behind me there is a nice plot of crops and then some of the city beyond that. i was all bundled up for our shopping trip. it was fun to be with her and get to walk around their city some.

i came back to a super bowl party with my friends here. my roomie grilled up burgers and made one for me, too! it was delish! and they even made up some cheese dip with rotel. it was quite the par-tay! we stayed up to watch the entire game...it was a good one!

then it was one of our gal's birthday. she wanted to go bowling and to TGIFriday's to celebrate. i met them at the bowling alley, but didn't bowl as i wasn't feeling great. this picture captures some fun cultural mixes, right? his friend bowling with a pretty western outfit going and he's even wearing an ipod, too. then there is the guy with the man-dress, sandals, jacket, scarf, and Yankees cap on. it was fun! oh the sights we see:)

well, hope that you are staying warm. we have this up down thing going with our temperature here. right now it is pretty cool, but yesterday i wasn't even wearing a jacket. then it seems to be raining, raining, raining! oh the fun. wishing you a great weekend!