NOTE: Old pictures are going to stay on Flickr, but since they don't offer enough memory to host all the photos, I'm switching to Photobucket, to host our videos AND pictures.
Arabic lessons are coming along I suppose. We're learning more basic phrases, but as of now I can't remember many, which COULD be bad since we have a lesson in 45 minutes. But, hey. So the only things that have happened in this... week or so have been: going to Bukhara (yum) with our friends, going iceskating in the mall, getting some shoes, and going to Muscat, Oman (but that's for another post). Howeeeever, yesterday was a fun day. We actually did something! We went to the Islamic Center. Which, perhaps, if any of you end up in Doha, I advise you visit. It was big room sort of thing where we learned the basics of the Islamic religion: such as the pillars of faith, the prophets, the Qur'an, the miracles of the Qur'an and such. Then we went to enter the Mosque. Which involved taking off our shoes and putting on abayas & shalya. And let me tell you, I was an utter disgrace. First I couldn't figure out how to put on the shayla (the head scarf thing) and then when i finally got it on, it fell off. Great. Then I could not figure how to put on the abaya, which should have been fairly easy. It's like a great big Hogwarts' robe with big arm holes and snaps from neck to stomach, but we wore our clothes underneath. I looked so silly. Then we had to take our shoes off, and let me tell you, my shoes were NOT fit for quick on and off-ing. They have these ribbons that tie around your ankles and I couldn't get the knot off! Then as I was bending over my shayla blocked my vision. It was horrific. And everyone was just chilling there waiting for me, and I was like AGHHH. And then we finally entered the mosque once deficient Catharine got her shoes off. Inside was sort of a blase big room with red carpet and a pulpit sort of thing in the direction of Mecca. There were prayer thingys and a red rug. And overhead there was a balcony with a big grate in front of it where the women prayed since women and men pray separately. Then we left the mosque and went into the "library" where you could just take books for free, and keep them. Then we separated and the women went one way and the men went the other. However, I have no idea where my brother went, so refer to his post. First we went to the top of the mosque to the women's section during prayer time. It was a new experience to watch prayer. Then we went to this room with cushions on the ground, and food! And the food was really good. There were lots of vegetables and rice and the rice had really interesting spices. Then we got henna on our hands. It's so sweet, it's a design of flowers and vines and its still on my hand three days later. (pictures on Photobucket). So, then we all shuffled out of the center and met up with the guys and went home. And that was all for that day, really. Next post is about Oman.
Feral Cat Count: 7
Catharine ♥
No comments:
Post a Comment