We had a special night dedicated to learning about the wonderful Arab culture!! We learned about the call to prayer, which is part of one of the five pillars of Islam. We had two imams, prayer leaders, come and explain the process of prayer to us. Muslims pray five times a day, always facing Mecca, and recite different verses of the Koran. These imams have the entire Koran MEMORIZED!!! This is their profession. They're singers. Minarets are towers positioned throughout the city in which the voice of an imam can be heard, calling people to come and pray. They did a special performance of some prayer recitation for us. It really was amazing! Hearing the beautiful call to prayer 5 times a day (and at about 4 in the morning) is one of the best things about being here. It's amazing!
Some of the food that our AMAZING chefs prepared for us! We've got some random things here...stuffed zucchini, stuffed carrot, little chickens, rolled grape leaves, hummus, little taquitos, rice, a roll, and then a roasted lamb burrito thing. Wow, it was all very interesting!!
This is the stuffed carrot. It was quite interesting. Very flavorful... :)
There was a costume contest to see who could look the most authentically Arabian!! My roommates and I all entered, and we got a group picture of our costumes! Sara and I were pulling off the Arabian look, while Lindee and Michelle were going with the Bedouin.
Another picture. We take our costumes seriously. No smiling for us. P.S. These are my belly-dancing pants. I didn't wear the top for obvious reasons. Hehe :)
Don't be fooled by Michelle's docile appearance . She is incredibly sassy.
My roommate Sara and I WON THE COSTUME CONTEST!!!! Apparently we looked the most authentically Arabian. We got pop-rock chocolate!!! I love winning costume contests :)
These are some of the service couples here! On the left is Dr. and Sister Bench, and then Dr. and Sister Jackson. I love these wonderful people because they're always nice to me, and they always tease me, and Sister Bench gives me hugs when I miss my mommy!
Some of the "Muslim" boys here...they wanted a picture with the COSTUME CONTEST WINNER!!!! WOOT. I won the costume contest :)
This looks like so much fun! That is what my plate looks like at culture night (just add a bit of Greek food, some spaghetti and South American beans and rice). I love the stuffed grape leaves and tabbouleh--only each country and family does it differently so each time the taste is new and exciting. Congrats on the costume contest winning!
ReplyDelete