Friends and Neighbors

I am rejoicing as I think of all the friends that we have made so soon after arriving here. Tomorrow we will have been here for 3 weeks, and I cannot think of any other place I’ve lived where I have had so many friends so soon.

This afternoon I spent with my friend Kate. Their whole family was welcoming and fun to be around. Kate and I enjoyed the nice big pool in her front yard and spent hours floating around and talking. The water may have been 95 degrees, but it was refreshing compared to the humidity outside. It is so muggy and nasty here, just miserable to be outside. Kate’s mom made us a delicious fruit salad and we all commented on the amazing selection of fresh fruits they have here. Our favorite grocery is the Carrefour. They have everything from exotic dragonfruits to enormous grapes and mangoes imported from Egypt. Fruit here is plentiful and delicious, but we’ve noticed that lettuce is harder to find because it is more difficult to grow in the Middle East. The groceries that do sell it have it for marked up prices, and Ethan was disappointed that a restaurant did not have it for his burgers. But yes, Kate and I had a lovely afternoon and I think I found a fantastic new friend. It was so nice to hang with her today because I’ve been hanging out with guys all week. In fact, the other thing I could have done today was help one of the guys with a project on his roof. He got all the other guys to assist him with his little farm on his roof. Apparently he has chickens, ducks, peacocks, and is growing corn and other things. The guys asked if I was going to go help, but I said I’d just let the guys do all the dirty work and go check it out later.

Yesterday we joined Nathan’s family at his church. Nathan and I had been talking about churches at lunch earlier this week and he invited us to join them, so before I knew it our dads had talked and gotten directions and arranged to meet up to go to church. I really enjoyed church yesterday. It was the first time in weeks that I had felt at home somewhere. Sure, it was spirited and I had to assist dad in clapping during the worship, but I loved it. Mom and I were in heaven when the worship started because we knew all of the music for once. The worship alone will draw me back to church each week. It was a small congregation, but we were assured that the basement room is normally overflowing when everyone gets back from their summer vacations. I look forward to returning when the teen programs are running because we’re told they may be small but are fantastic.

After church we went with our friends to an amazing Lebanese restaurant along the Gulf. The view of the beach was beautiful, and the restaurant was decorated so elaborately with colorful lamps and arches looking very Middle Eastern. The food and fellowship was fantastic. Nathan’s dad ordered a sampling of their favorite dishes and we enjoyed everything from the Arabic bread with hummus and garlic to the unique salads, meats, and the falafels dipped in a creamy sauce. We will definitely be making regular trips to this restaurant.

Once we were stuffed with fantastic food everyone went home to rest because the humidity just zaps all of our energy. Mom and dad baked some cookies and platters of goodies to take over to our neighbors to wish them “Ramadan Kareem.” I made cards with the little scrapbooking supplies I happened to have, and dad delivered them and visited with our neighbors.

Once it had cooled off outside we went to the Movenpick Resort to enjoy their beach and hang out with Nathan’s family again. It was low tide, and though there was little water to enjoy it was fun to walk along the beach admiring the hermit crabs, sea anemones, and blobs of jellyfish. Ethan and Nathan’s brother Ethan began to create mud balls and prepare for war. Soon they were pelting us girls with mud and we retaliated and ran shrieking along the beach. I was just happy that we could be as crazy as we wanted because there was no one else on the beach or in the pools. That also meant that the volleyball court was free, and we were dragged into a game of beach volleyball. Now I am horrible at volleyball, but we all had fun attempting to hit the ball and just laughing at each other and having fun as the stars began to come out. Soon we were covered with sand and decided to enjoy the pool to get a break from the humidity. The “hot tub” is actually the “cool tub” with bubbles. And the swimming pool is warmer than the “hot tub.” I don’t know if that’s intentional or what, but we all piled into the cool tub to visit and relax. Our whole family was happy to have found some good friends and thankful that the entire families got along. Hopefully we will be able to enjoy many more fun outings together.

My favorite part of my work days are the crazy lunches that I have with the guys. I don’t know how I happen to be the only girl working as a summer hire, but I enjoy the company of the 5 guys. Sure, it proves for some random conversations, but they are so funny. I can be tired and ready to fall asleep in my office, but the moment I’m at lunch I’m awake and laughing all afternoon. I’m sure we all stay way too long on our lunch breaks, but each of us is either known for working hard and thus given grace or has nothing to do and milks the freedom.

Happy Hour on Thursday was fantastic because I had friends to hang out with this time. I honestly couldn’t even tell you what special restaurant came because I was too busy having fun to pause to eat. I spent the earlier part of the evening hiding out in the kiddy room and talking with Quentin because it was one of the cool indoor places with AC where you could actually breathe. Eventually though I was convinced to join the guys in game of volleyball and happened to be positioned near the kiddy slide that sloshed water everywhere. So my jeans were covered in mud and I was sweating in the unbearable humidity but for once I was having too much fun to care.

Besides making all these new embassy friends I’ve also enjoyed getting to know our next door neighbors. Last Sunday we were coming back from the mall and greeted their dad as he was about ready to go inside. He immediately requested that we come inside and meet his family. It turned into visiting for a couple hours and being pampered. He had his maids prepare Arabic coffee, mango juice, custards, mini pizzas, chocolates, sweets, rolls… a delicious tray of things to sample. His family came down to visit and we met his daughters who are 14, 18, and 22. Ethan disappeared shortly after arriving with Ali who is the 12 year old boy. I was told that rather than enjoying the Xbox and range of game stations Ali had the boys decided to play with the chickens. Yes, I guess they have chickens as pets and the boys took turns tossing them into the air and laughing at their attempts to fly. How is this entertainment?

The women told us about Ramadan and began talking about head coverings. The mother told us that they wore theirs only for the sake of tradition and insured that they dressed stylishly and in bright colors. The women definitely did. On the topic of the burqua the mother began ranting about how it was all the crazy Bedouins who wore them and she would never ever cover herself like that. She laughed at how some women wear gloves and called all the women who wore burquas silly ninjas. It was impossible not to laugh along with her and her daughters at this tale.

We were amazed at the hospitality we received. They told us that their home is now our home. We are supposed to visit anytime and help ourselves to anything that we might need. The mother told us that if we needed an appliance or anything and she wasn’t home that we should simply walk on through their front door and take whatever we needed. Mom was laughing and said that the maids would surely call the police. All of our neighbors laughed at this and she said “who would they call? My husband is the chief of police!” The father elaborated and mentioned that the first year he lived in this area he kept his police car parked out front so everyone knew he lived there. Now he claims the entire neighborhood knows about him and there is never any crime in the area. Everyone was happy to be assured of the fantastic area we live in.

Apparently the father was a very successful chief of police because he is retired and his daughters said he now relaxes and enjoys life and goes to Starbucks with his friends every morning. His eldest daughter Zahara told us that she tried to work this summer, but her father refused to let her because he instead took the entire family to Munich, Paris and Italy for the summer. They told us about shopping at Gucci, Prada, Armani and Dolce and Gabana … It was obvious that our neighbors are enjoying the life of luxury.

As we left they told us they would call and we could all go to the movies and hang out. At first we thought they were merely being polite, but sure enough the very next day they called and asked us to go to the movies with them that night. So we met them at the Avenues Mall and they paid for us to see GI Joe. I sat in the family section with the older sisters, but Emily, the other daughter and the boys had to sit in the bachelor section because there were no other seats. They sat in the corner and the boys sat on the end and I guess all was good, but we were just marveling at the fact they try and separate people even in the theaters. The movie was okay, but I enjoyed the experience more. The seats were luxurious and actually comfy. The movie was in English with Arabic subtitles, but anytime you thought a potential for a kiss was arising the movie quickly jumped to the next scene. It was nicely cut and chopped, but occasionally it got a bit confusing. At the end of the movie the girls were telling us how much they hated this and that they love to go to the movies in Dubai because there they can watch the films without anything being tampered with.

I think during this month of Ramadan I need to sit back and count my blessings because right now I have so much to be thankful for. This whole experience of living in the Middle East is big enough, but our amazing house, the car, my job, our neighbors, new friends, great church… Though my world is spinning so fast I just need to sit back and appreciate it all.