Day 11 & 12 & 13 - Ramadan continues

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Friday 12th - day eleven

Same routine, nothing to report.

Why does orange come out pink?
I remembered a little story I can tell you about to bulk out this non event day a little. Remember the other day when I told you about the flash hail storm we had and I mentioned that I had just put in a load of washing, and then I got drenched closing the wooden shutters to prevent the window panes from being broken by the hail? Well since I was so wet from the rain anyway, I decided to go and have a hot shower.
In the little blue room is also the water outlet for the washing machine so as I stood there shampooing my hair I was suddenly startled by a burst of water being emptied into the dreaded 'hole'. This was ok except that the water was a deep maroon colour! Now this struck me as odd as I did not remember putting anything into the machine that was vaguely this colour. I did however, remember that at the last minute I had added to the load a pair of Zak's white trousers (yes I know what hetero man wears white trousers) but that's beside the point. These trousers had been soaking in a bucket of water after I had spilled (accidentally) a glass of black coffee on them the night before at the cafe. An accident of course - like I said what hetero man wears white trousers?
I could not for the life of me think what could be in the machine to cause this coloured water, but I was pretty sure that by the end of it I would not have to worry about Zak wearing white trousers in public again!
Finally, the cycle come to an end and I was eager to see the outcome - see how bored I have become!
Anyway the culprit was narrowed down to a bright orange skirt I have that perhaps had only previously been hand washed via the old bucket and hand method of last year.
So now the trousers have a nice pinkish tint to them. When I explained to Zak he just laughed, but assured me he would not be seen dead in trousers that resemble any shade of pink - albeit very pale pink. He didn't understand when I tried to explain that this pale tinge of colour is no worse than wearing white trousers in the first place!
For the record, the skirt did not suffer in any way during this event and remains the bright orange it started out at!!!

Saturday 13th - day twelve

Today I slept until 4 pm!!! Granted I did not go to bed until 9 am - but this routine is uninspiring! Am I just going to sleep the whole month away? Seems my only option as there is not much else to do. For days I have not been counting down the hours to when we eat, but I now am counting down the day until it's all over.

I have become addicted to late night TV which thank god we have channels in English and the programs are not too bad. I have renewed my interest in programs like CSI and NCIS or sometimes opt for a movie on a different channel.

I'm almost praying for an irresistible email from Ryan Air that will offer me a irresistibly cheap flight to anywhere in Europe so I can plan my escape!! But that would be a cop out, wouldn't it? Wouldn't it??? I dare not open my email in case of temptation! lol

Sunday 14th - day thirteen

Oskar, it's a full moon, wahooooooooooooo!

We had a bit of a change of routine this evening. Each night we have been sharing a table at the cafe with 2 of Zak's male married on cousins. Nice blokes, who don't speak a word of English, but I don't speak a word of Arabic so we are even. Anyway they invited us to have breakfast with them and their family, so we did today. Wow what a change of atmosphere compared to Zak's parents. We walked to Zak's Aunt's house (his father's sister) who has 4 daughters - 2 of which are married to the 2 gentlemen we have been sitting with for the last 2 weeks. All four sisters were there, as well as a niece and 2 small children belonging to one of the cousins and of course the old aunt. They welcomed us with open arms and by the time all the kissing and greeting was finished we heard the call to break the fast and we sat down to eat.


We all sat around a food laden table in a salon, 3 of the women choosing to sit on the floor, including the old aunt who put me to shame the way she was able to easily get up from a seated position on the floor to standing. For me to attempt this would involve a lot of moaning and difficulty. All these women made for a happy and laughter filled room and although I did not understand the conversations or jokes the room was charged with happiness. Unlike most evening at Zak's parents where the testosterone level is much higher due to the higher male attendance and usually the brothers are bickering and arguing about something. Usually aimed at the youngest brother Lurch. I don't understand what they are saying and don't really want to, but it usually makes for an unpleasantness in the air. But not tonight, it was lovely.

The food was the same old fare, but that did not matter as it seemed to be enjoyed more as this large group sat eating, drinking and breaking the fast. One of the unmarried sisters was telling me (via Zak translating) about a town in the very south of Morocco where she goes to work in the winter months. It sounded beautiful, on the coast and as yet unspoilt by tourists. And she said because of this it is very cheap to live there. She gets a job in a tomato packing factory or in one of the places dealing with fish, which are in abundance there and very nice eating. That was enough to make me want to visit, so it's now on my list. But it is a very long way away and in the Western Sahara region close to the Mauritanian border.

After we'd had our fill of food, it was time for the men to vacate the premises and adjourn to the cafe as they did every night leaving the women at home to continue eating and their female conversations. The women invited me to stay and I really did want to as I was feeling very happy inside after sharing time with them. But it would be a pointless exercise as we would not be able to communicate.

Another 5 minutes to farewell them all and I walked out into the street with a smile on my face and realized I really miss the company of women and tonight was a just the tonic that I needed. Even though we had a language barrier I was filled with happy female vibes.

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Photos

moon and mosque
full moon peaking out from the mosque