Party Time!

I slept in today, knowing that I didn't have anything to do and that we wouldn't leave for the party until early evening. When I finally emerged from my room around 10am, Fatima was dressed like she was going somewhere and there was a flurry of activity in the house. The whole family was going to nearby Tighsline, which has souk on Saturdays. Fatima told me to stay home and relax and that I could eat lunch down the street at Mouna's house. WOW, could today get any better? I get the whole house to myself for some much needed and appreciated alone time.

I read, I watched TV in English, I read some more. It was downright heavenly! About the TV, most families have a satellite dish and get more channels than I could possibly imagine and there are a handful in English. My personal favorite for news is Al-Jazeera International, which provides some of the best world news coverage I have seen and produces some amazing specials about issues in the news. A recent one was about the U.S.'s ethanol policy and the impact it could/is having on world food prices and availability. There is also a series of MBC channels that show movies, old and new American TV shows and cartoons. Tom and Jerry and Looney Toons are wildly popular – I never fully appreciated these cartoons as a kid. They seemed so silly, but seeing Zuhir and Jalil crack up over and over at these classic cartoons has helped me develop an appreciation for them. I haven't figured out the schedule, but Oprah, Days of Our Lives and several other American shows are shown in prime time.

Back to my really amazing day, I took my usual afternoon nap and fell asleep to the sounds of American TV. My family returned home around 4pm and we had tea. They showed off their new purchases – mostly new clothes for all of the kids to wear to the party. Everyone changed into their party clothes and piled into my Haddou's car. We drove to “T” the nearby village my host mom is from and hung out at her parents house for a while. The kids ran around in the fields, trying to knock the ripe plums from the trees.

The party was next door and was a relatively quiet affair. The men hung out in separate rooms from the women and children, although, the boys are allowed in both rooms. Most of the time was spent chit-chatting and taking care of the small children. I don't think we ate until midnight and it was close to 2am by the time we got home. I was surprised there wasn't music or dancing, but there was still a festive feel to the evening. As far as I could tell, they didn't do anything special for the woman who is leaving.

I give her a lot of credit. Her husband has been working and living in France for a while and they finally saved enough money for her to join him. She doesn't speak any French and is leaving behind her family, friends and everything she knows.