Dieting over here is almost impossible...

So, I am trying to eat really healthy these days since I feel nauseous most of the time (we are currently trying to decide whether or not I should get my gall bladder removed, if you're wondering). It seems to work when I can get some good fruits and veggies in, and stay away from oily, fatty, greasy foods. Those make me the most nauseous! However, we visited two North African homes this week, and it is pretty much impossible to eat healthy during these visits, because they are so hospitable that they want you (and almost force you!) too eat until you are overly stuffed. Needless to say, one day after a visit, I wasn't feeling so hot - but part of my thinks it was worth it, because the food was so good!


This family had a newborn - she was so cute! I really enjoyed holding her.


Karl pouring tea - its all about trying to get as much height as possible!


This family was so nice - they gave me a new pair of shoes and the robe I am wearing. They must know I'm a hokie, with the maroon and all.


We have been buying a lot of fruit lately - this is the first time I've seen a conjoined grape! Two months ago we bought a dozen eggs - all of the yolks (except for maybe 1 or 2 eggs) were twins.


We visited a neighboring city on Saturday. The weather was nice, and we enjoyed looking around. This was on the roof of a SUPER old mosque and Islamic school.


This is a fountain in the middle of the old mosque. People used to use it to do the ritual washing before prayer time.

More city pictures:

And we're back!

Karl coaching basketball... He has stayed busy with it lately because we are doing two leagues in different parts of the city now. Its been fun to watch the kids make improvement.


This little boy wanted to play, but he needs to wait about 5 more years.


Keep your head up! These kids have hardly touched a basketball before, so its fun for the coaches to get to teach them the BASICS. Last week there was a scrimmage, and if fouls were being counted, every kid would have been out of the game after about 5 minutes!


Dribble dribble dribble! Its tough laying down!


We were near the big mosque the other day. You've seen this before, but it was covered in clouds. It was weird to look up at it and not see anything at all!


Karl and I went ice skating this weekend! It was a bit pricey (who ice skates in North Africa anyway?!?), but a friend gave us a buy one get one free coupon! We had fun skating. Karl especially enjoyed it - he's pretty good!


These kids were so cute! They were dancing to "technophonic" music which is really popular here. All of the kids love to try and do their own version of the robot. I tried to post video of it up, but it wouldn't work! Just imagine them dancing.


We walked through an old market place (called a medina) this weekend. I liked the way this entry way looked.

Refreshing...

We spent the last two weeks in Spain trying to figure out my stomach issues/ possible gall bladder problem. However, the time wasn't all in hospitals and doctor's offices. We did get to enjoy it some and have returned home refreshed!



The view was amazing from our bedroom window!


We had some time to spend on the beach! The water was FREEZING, but super clear and really fun to swim in.


Beautiful sunsets


We visited a botanical garden. It was just nice to sit and enjoy all of the green!

More pics:






And its nice to be back home... hope the cow doesn't fall onto the highway!


How much hay can you get on your truck?!

A little bit of everything

Well, its been a week of Arabic, basketball and hanging out with friends. We have been spending our time speaking Arabic, eating and working as well:)

Karl is continuing to coach twice a week. He does a great job coaching in Arabic!





These ladies were teaching me how to many some local desserts and pastries. I really need to try to make this on my own now, since everyone has shown me! Its delicious, but full of butter and oil. No exactly what I should be eating these days.


A page from my Arabic notebook... We're in class about 8 hours each week now. Its been fun learning how to speak another language. Especially one so different from English!

Quietness is nice

We went out of the city with some friends this weekend. It was so quiet! We hear horns honking, mopeds, buses and other city noises all the time, so quiet is something I appreciate more these days!


Karl didn't want me to take a picture of him because of his choice of attire, but I thought he looked cute with his fleece jacket and swim trunks.





The beach was empty! We were totally by ourselves except for two little boys that came and sat about 6 feet away from us. They kept inching closer and closer, and wanted to play with our football. It was fun watching Karl and our friend try to teach them how to throw a football.


On the way back we saw this kid jump on the truck in front of us, and hold on for dear life for free transportation. Apparently, the truck went to far, and when it finally stopped the kid had to walk back. Sometimes we see kids with roller blades attach themselves to vehicles. I'm thankful we haven't seen anyone die that way yet!

Football at it's finest (in Africa - I can't go against American football)

We went to a football (soccer) game last night, and it was crazy! It cost about $4.50 to get in, and a lot of young dudes didn't want to pay. There was a mob of thousands trying to decide the best time to run in together, past the security guards with sticks. A few of them would go, and then get caught...some of them getting beat with the sticks and kicked! It was actually somewhat funny. They wanted in so bad! We purchased our tickets, and proceeded to the door. After all the ruckus, they let me in for free! There were rumors spreading that women might get in for free - which really didn't cost them a lot of money. Out of 50,000 people, I think there were about 20 of us!


And we're in! Things are seeming pretty normal, like an American football game.


This was the semi-final game, and the other team had to beat us by 2 goals in order to move on.


Okay, so you know how in America people get really excited when we actually score touchdowns at football games?! Well, let me tell you... the people here get excited for an "almost goal." That's right, the score to this game was 0-0, but the crowd went wild when the players almost scored a goal.


And then, they ALMOST scored again! No, the stadium wasn't on fire. These hooligans managed to sneak flares into the stadium. I will say that it looked cool from afar, but I am glad I was not over there! The poor police officers were dodging flares as the fans through them on the field. A few of them actually landed on the grass.


And the game is over with a score of 0-0. The good news is our team is advancing to the next round!

Spring is here!

The weather is always nice here, but it's starting to warm up some and is really feeling like spring! We've been spending a lot of our time working on language this week, and resting from the busy basketball times.



BEFORE
Okay, so I knew I needed my haircut... but seriously, I REALLY needed a haircut. It's been since July, and I was nervous to get my hair cut here, and it got out of control. I was told that even if you can communicate what you want, they will still cut it as they like! Yikes! Well, it wasn't so bad, and I was happy with the outcome!


AFTER


I took a short trip to another city this weekend with some ladies. I thought these men looked so cute sitting on the steps of the mosque.


One of the king's palace's. This part of the city is kept nice and clean for when the king comes!


This is one of the leather tanneries in the old city. This job beats all other "dirtiest jobs." These hard-working men spend their days in the HOT sun knee high in pigeon dung as they work the skin to make beautiful leather. The smell is so strong that the shop owners give tourists fresh mint leaves to sniff as we view the work. It was in the mid 90's while we were there, I can't imagine what its like to work there in the summer!


Doors are a huge symbol of this city.


Beautiful landscape


These men spend their days dying material that is used for curtains, blankets, etc. We spent about 3 hours walking through this old city, which consists of little shops and narrow streets.