so for those of you who dont know this about me are about to find out; i LOVE the olympics. love.... obsessed... cant get enough of them. i dont know how it all started because i definitely find no pleasure in watching any other sporting events more or less ever but theres something about the olympics that really gets me going. dont judge me but the olympics can consistently make me cry. whether its a powerful win (kerri strug) or a saddening loss (michelle kwan) or the opening ceremonies im a little bit of a wreck. sometimes i get all choked up just talking about the olympics. i am one hot mess.
i remember my first opening ceremonies when i was maybe in 2nd or 3rd grade in norway; i remember so much of those opening ceremonies and have been hooked ever since. being in morocco makes my olympic obsession difficult. i decided to write this entry because im so frustrated that i cant find a full video of the opening ceremonies that im almost about to cry so i decided to channel those feelings here. and seriously if youve taped it or know of some black market back alley video of the ceremonies i can watch i will be forever in your debt. one of the most annoying things is that my host family has a tv with 500 or so channels and i was really optimistic that i was going to find the ceremonies while i was over at their house; and tio be fair i did. but only in time for the parade of athletes which we all know is the most boring part of all (and to add insult to injury they were only at cambodia so i was maybe 40minutes too late tops): AAAARGGGGHHHH. this frustration is; i feel a very peace corps experience for me.
well now that ive got that out of the way i thought id actualy leave you with an update that doesnt make me sound like a totally obsessive crazy person.
for those of you who do not know it is currently the holy month of ramadan for muslims. ramadan involves fasting from sun up to sun down (approx 4am until 7:30pm). there are calls to prayer from the mosque to let us all know when we can stop and start eating and drinking water. fasting involves not only abstaiinng from food during the day but also not cursing, nt gossiping or backstabbing, being charitous; praying, reading the koran and essentially keeping all your senses as pure as possible. my site is a little more conservative religiouisly then some in morocco so its a lot more simple then the nighttime feasts i had heard about. Ive chosen to fast and its turning out to be not only a great diet regimen but a lot easier then i anticipated. ive essentially just turned my day around. i go over to my host families for lftur or breakfast where we eat bread and dates and drink lots of cold water followed by traditional hrira or soup. then i watch some islamic talk television with my host sisters then head back to my house where i eat something light and drink a lot of water before i fall asleep under the stars as the last call to prayer echoes through my town.
as my host sister put it the weather here has been a mercy. i was expecting merciless dry waves of heat that drove me to sit in a bucket of water all day but instead have been faced with hot but not miserable days and cool perfect summer nights. its actually a lot nicer to be up all night and try to sleep as much as i can during the day.
without my bounty of tv shows and movies on my computer my life can be pretty boring. ive finally begun to figure out how to take a nap, ive been reading a lot and also working on craft projects. im sure my neighbors think im nutso because i like to listen to books on tape or sing along to my music which im sure they can hear in the still of the nighttime. oh well.
just around 2 weeks until im home in america! mark your calendars. i cannot wait. im both nervous and excited for many reasons. its actually sort of surreal the idea of going home because of how at ease i feel here. itll be a nice break from the summer and long layers i have to wear in the heat but to me its important that i know that as much as im excited about going home i dont need it. i feel no overwhelming desire to be back in the states. yes i get homesick and you bet your ass im excited to see my family and friends and indulge in all things food and drink that i miss here but i dont NEED it. im happy to be going home and i cant wait for the adventure of it.
that is all for now because im really hot and i think the cyber cafes computer is beginning to melt with exertion. so ta ta for now and someone for the love of all things holy get me a copy of those opening ceremonies!
i remember my first opening ceremonies when i was maybe in 2nd or 3rd grade in norway; i remember so much of those opening ceremonies and have been hooked ever since. being in morocco makes my olympic obsession difficult. i decided to write this entry because im so frustrated that i cant find a full video of the opening ceremonies that im almost about to cry so i decided to channel those feelings here. and seriously if youve taped it or know of some black market back alley video of the ceremonies i can watch i will be forever in your debt. one of the most annoying things is that my host family has a tv with 500 or so channels and i was really optimistic that i was going to find the ceremonies while i was over at their house; and tio be fair i did. but only in time for the parade of athletes which we all know is the most boring part of all (and to add insult to injury they were only at cambodia so i was maybe 40minutes too late tops): AAAARGGGGHHHH. this frustration is; i feel a very peace corps experience for me.
well now that ive got that out of the way i thought id actualy leave you with an update that doesnt make me sound like a totally obsessive crazy person.
for those of you who do not know it is currently the holy month of ramadan for muslims. ramadan involves fasting from sun up to sun down (approx 4am until 7:30pm). there are calls to prayer from the mosque to let us all know when we can stop and start eating and drinking water. fasting involves not only abstaiinng from food during the day but also not cursing, nt gossiping or backstabbing, being charitous; praying, reading the koran and essentially keeping all your senses as pure as possible. my site is a little more conservative religiouisly then some in morocco so its a lot more simple then the nighttime feasts i had heard about. Ive chosen to fast and its turning out to be not only a great diet regimen but a lot easier then i anticipated. ive essentially just turned my day around. i go over to my host families for lftur or breakfast where we eat bread and dates and drink lots of cold water followed by traditional hrira or soup. then i watch some islamic talk television with my host sisters then head back to my house where i eat something light and drink a lot of water before i fall asleep under the stars as the last call to prayer echoes through my town.
as my host sister put it the weather here has been a mercy. i was expecting merciless dry waves of heat that drove me to sit in a bucket of water all day but instead have been faced with hot but not miserable days and cool perfect summer nights. its actually a lot nicer to be up all night and try to sleep as much as i can during the day.
without my bounty of tv shows and movies on my computer my life can be pretty boring. ive finally begun to figure out how to take a nap, ive been reading a lot and also working on craft projects. im sure my neighbors think im nutso because i like to listen to books on tape or sing along to my music which im sure they can hear in the still of the nighttime. oh well.
just around 2 weeks until im home in america! mark your calendars. i cannot wait. im both nervous and excited for many reasons. its actually sort of surreal the idea of going home because of how at ease i feel here. itll be a nice break from the summer and long layers i have to wear in the heat but to me its important that i know that as much as im excited about going home i dont need it. i feel no overwhelming desire to be back in the states. yes i get homesick and you bet your ass im excited to see my family and friends and indulge in all things food and drink that i miss here but i dont NEED it. im happy to be going home and i cant wait for the adventure of it.
that is all for now because im really hot and i think the cyber cafes computer is beginning to melt with exertion. so ta ta for now and someone for the love of all things holy get me a copy of those opening ceremonies!
2 comments:
You're napping!? Crazy! So glad to hear you're finding ways to deal with the heat and the lack of a computer. I so can't WAIT to have you back here for a bit!
SO - as another crazy obsessed Olympics person to another - I'm totally getting choked up like every third second! I missed having you here during the opening ceremonies (Jon is in tech so I actually watched by myself). It was a good opening ceremony in my opinion. They couldn't top Beijing so they went a completely different way and I liked it (some people didn't so much). But it focused on Britain and their cool things (music, health care, children's lit, etc). I think you'd have liked. We can watch YouTube videos if you don't get to see it before you come home.
It's a huge pain to be 1) 8hrs behind London and 2) 3hrs behind the East coast. I keep having to ignore Facebook and news updates so I don't see what happened! (I know, first world problem...). Anyway - I wish you were here to watch with me!
I'll try to give you a call soon - I'd love to chat. Wedding planning is craziness but today I got a veil, headpiece, and bra for $50 at a wedding consignment shop whose proceeds go to human trafficking victims. Major win!!
I miss you and can't wait to talk soon!
<3 <3 <3 you and miss you terribly!!
it is weird to be napping im not going to lie. some days a nap is an absolute necessity the on days like today everytime i closed my eyes to try and nap i got too fidgety and just read instead.
i liked the things ive seen about the ceremony. its so funny how beijing has and probably will continue to steal the show from here on out. what a magical opening ceremonies though. i wish i had a recording.
because i dont have a tv or computer and msnbc has a choke hold on video rights for the games i havent seen a single win for us. at my host fams sometimes theyll humor me and put on the cnn channel but they dont show anything and just loop the same pictures over and over again while talking about who won what. totally dissapointing. sometimes theres stuff live bc im on the right time zone but boxing and soccer arent my cup of tea.
have you seen any of the kayaking i have wanted to see the kayaking stuff since college but they never air it. sad times
sorry i couldnt talk last night! i had stood my landlord up the night previous for lftur or breakfast and didnt want to ditch him again. it was a great evening tho ill tell you all about it when we talk next.
congrats on the wedding consignment stuff thats awesome and totally a double win. im going to have to do some serious bra and shoe shopping when i get home. oy vey.
anyways miss you loads and hopefully talk to you soon!
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