Ramadan

It's obviously been a very long time since I've last posted, but things have been pretty quiet around here.  I'm attributing this to a few things.  One, it's Ramadan.  Two, Ryan is buckling down to finish his training and has been studying like crazy.

I've been hearing about Ramadan since I've moved here and was pretty curious about the whole thing.  I still don't know a ton about it, but what I do know is that it's a really holy month where Muslims fast from sun rise to sun down.  Like, no food or water of any kind.  They can't even chew gum.  Which means, out of respect, non Muslims are required to abstain from eating or drinking in public during this month.  I went to the mall last week and it was kind of eery to see all the food places closed down.  What was really strange was going to see a matinee and not being able to get popcorn and a soda.  Of course, the entire theater still smelled like popcorn, which made it even more difficult.  Many expats choose to leave the country during this time and go on holiday.  Not knowing any better, Ryan and I chose to stick it out.  Really, it hasn't been that bad, just very quiet.  There are a few restaurants that are open during the day, they just have the blinds drawn or screens up to hide people eating.  You can still find some bars that are open in the evening (Longs Bar!) but the music is really quiet and it just feels a bit different.  On the up side, all the malls are super quiet so I've been able to get some good shopping done without having to fight the crowds.

One thing you seriously want to avoid is being on the roads any time near sundown.  People are hauling butt to get home as fast as possible to eat.  It obviously takes some serious religious dedication to go without food or water until sundown.  I mean, I'm a cranky mess if I don't eat by 10 am.

Once sundown hits, everyone gathers to break the fast for an Iftar dinner.  I have not been to one yet, but from what I understand they are large, super delicious and awesome buffet dinners.  I'm hoping to attend one at some point this month, so I'll report back on that.

Tomorrow I'm going with the AWA to a Hindu Temple in town.  I'm looking forward to it!

4th of July

Well, we've had our first 4th of July away from the USA.  The day itself was pretty uneventful.  Ryan didn't get home until 7am or so from a work trip so he slept a good portion of the day.  I did a little bit of shopping (surprise, surprise) and then we had tacos for dinner.  I can't tell if that's very American or not American at all?

A week or two ago we did buy a grill.  Both of us missed the one we left with my parents back in Omaha.  It would have been expensive to ship and we weren't sure if we'd even have anywhere here to put it.  But two months into the summer without any grilled food was too long so Ryan headed to Ace Hardware and bought us a new one.  Other than the tacos we made on the 4th, we've pretty much grilled any meal we can since our purchase.

We didn't let America's birthday pass without any celebration, though.  My new friend, Valerie, invited us to her 4th of July and co-birthday party on the 5th.  It was in their super swanky 21st-floor apartment in the Marina.  They went all out with some really delicious food, awesome cakes that Valerie made herself (she's a really talented baker!) and tons of patriotic decorations.  One of their guests even brought face painting gear and painted people's faces.  It was really cool.

British cake (though it had a secret US flag on the inside)

USA!

My USA nails

Terrifying face paint.  His eyes are closed.

I have to say, though, the highlight of the evening is where my fellow American, Megan, and I beat out two Brits for the beer pong championship.  USA!  USA!

The Blue Souk

On Wednesday the AWA ladies loaded up another Zara bus and headed out for a trip.  This time we went to the Blue Souk.  The Blue Souk is an old-world style shopping center located in Sharjah, which is another Emirate about 45 minutes from Dubai.  It's a big blue tiled building, which is where it gets its name.  It holds a bunch of little one-room shops which are each run by a different shop owner.  Their goods range from pashminas and scarves, carpets, antiques, jewelry, pottery, and other Middle Eastern items.  My favorite shop was Sorma Novelties, a pashmina shop run by a man named Naveed.  We spent a good amount of time in this shop listening to Naveed teach us about the craftsmanship that went into the different scarves and pashminas - which ones were more mass produced and which ones were made by hand in Kashmir, his home town.  He was not only an interesting person, but extremely nice and well spoken.  I highly recommend his shop if you ever end up in the Blue Souk.  He had some really beautiful pieces.

Part of the souk shopping experience is haggling with the sellers to bring down the price.  I was told to always counter offer at half of where they start their price.  And use phrases like, "I live here, I'm not a tourist" or "Give me your best price and I'll bring my friends back next time."  I was super nervous about haggling, but did OK.  I walked away from a few things, got my way once, and once or twice didn't haggle at all because the shop owner came recommended and their prices were already fair.  I totally need to go back before my next trip home.  

Here's what I came back with:

A necklace made out of old coins.

A scarf (not pictured)

A coffe table mat set.  I'm using the longer piece for decoration on our dining room table.

After our shopping adventure we headed to nearby Pizzaro Pizza.  We were all starving at this point and hoping for some good food.  We weren't disappointed.  I had the best Margherita pizza I've probably ever had in my life.  And the restaurant gave us each our own much with our Zodiac sign on it to take home!  The hospitality here can be amazing.

I put an embarrassing dent in this pizza all by myself

My only other update is that Renard has a girlfriend.  Our neighbors also have a rescue dog with separation anxiety and we watched her the other day while they were out.  In return they took Renard to a horse farm!  Their dog's name is  Maggie and she's a total sweetheart.  Plus, she looks like Falcor, the Luck Dragon from The Never Ending Story!  Here are some pictures from their "date."