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Published: July 19th 2012
The Party (Thursday Night) Thursday is the arab worlds "Friday". The last day of the week so after class it was finally time to relax and do something fun. Laila, her sister, and I ended up going to one of her friends parties where we met a lot of people from Laila's highschool and I got to see how arabs party.
First thing I noticed was there was a ton of food. Plenty for everyone. Outside where it was quieter people talked and smoked, while inside arab pop music shook the building and people were up and dancing to the beat for hours at a time. There were tables to sit and eat or have a drink, but Laila and I opted for dancing most of the time.
The dancing was fun, but not someting I'm used to. The girls mostly bellydanced while the guys did simpler stuff with their arms and moving left to right. One of Laila's best friends helped me get used to the way guys dance though and it turned out to be a lot of fun. I met a lot of new people so I've now officially
met all of her close friends as well.
Picnic in the Hills (Friday) Friday we went to the hills of FuHais to an area called Suwaysa for a family BBQ outdoors! We found a great spot in the shade in a wooded area and cooked lamb, beef, and chicken to have with arabic salads and bread. We picnicked right in the hills of Suwaysa, where the hills look like they came straight out of a scene in a picture book book. The hills appeared neverending and rise and fall all the way to the horizon. Green trees were located in patches all over and big villas and apartment buildings as well. I was surprised these trees were able to grow considering the soil is mostly sand and hard dirt.
The BBQ'd food was delicious. We had a two different styles of lamb, beef, with salad and bread on the side. The more foods I try here, the more I love arab food!
Laila got to drive there, which was her first time driving after getting her license and she did great! Today was also the
first day I drove in Jordan too! The traffic here is on a whole new level of "hectic" from the United States' but it was fine and actually enjoyable driving up the hilly roads of FuHais.
My Birthday My birthday was last week and I share the same birthday as one of Laila's cousins so we had a dual birthday party for the two of us. Her family sang to both of us in English and Arabic and then we cut the cakes and opened gifts. Laila's family bought me my own argeeleh!!! I was so surprised they got me a gift, let alone such a thoughtful and useful one! I had told them earlier in the summer that I wanted to find a place that sells them so I could take one back to the states and they remembered! I still have yet to try it out, but I will for sure 😊
Then the day after my birthday I was in for a surprise... Laila, her sister, one of her friends and I made plans to go out to dinner at a cafe in Abdoun, just the four of
us. I was exhausted getting into the car after a week of classes and not sleeping much but I rested in the car and waited as her friend drove us to the restaurant. We had called ahead before to try to get a table on the upstairs balcony but we were told it was full. When we got the restaurant Laila suggested we go up and see anyways. I felt Laila pulling me up the stairs more firmly, we were speeding up. And I wasn't paying attention to the music playing but I was told later that the birthday song was starting to play.
As soon as we reached the top of the stairs I saw something that completely threw me off, her friend Qais. His head was sticking up over a table looking at us. My mind stopped for a second and I thought "what the heck? what is he doing here?" Then I saw who he was sitting with, about 15 of Laila's closest friends who I had met here in Jordan. All of them stood up around a cake and started singing happy birthday. Needless to say I was completely surprised, but it was
great. Laila went on to surprise me further by asking me to smell the piece of cake she was holding. I guess I was still off guard because I foolishly obliged and ended up with my face in cake! Everyone even signed a huge card for me too 😊
We had a great night at the cafe with argeeleh, food, and a specialty smoothie from the restaurant that was lemon mint flavored. I can't believe I didn't see it coming!
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anonymous
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I love this girl!
Cake in the face....what a great birthday. Sounds like you are having a grand time. You certainly are eating a lot of great food. They must eat small portions otherwise they would be bigger. Keep the info coming. I'd like to hear a bit more about your classes. How is it going? Happy Birthday.