Daraja Oolah!

We've been out furniture shopping... At first it was exciting and fun but now it's just tiring. There is a range of furniture out there and of course in every shop they tell you 'It's daraja oola' or first class stuff no matter what it is.

One shop we went to had furniture that was so ridiculous and over the top that they had it all displayed in areas closed off with golden satin ropes in order to protect it from possible customers. They had a white velvet sofa in there for 18,000 dinars that was so hideous we were nearly falling on the floor laughing. If someone had the money to buy that they most certainly would just travel abroad to buy the furnishings for their house. The guy working there looked like he spent a lot of time twiddling his thumbs.

We've also looked at the shops that custom design and make furniture to your specifications. There's a whole range of quality to look at there too, and of course they all claim to be 'the best'. For the most part the furniture in those shops looks like it will last about two years tops. Which is the time most Libyan women expect to have a complete redecoration of their houses anyway so that they can have a house with the latest 'style' - At least this is my sisters-in-law's approach. Some shop keepers have even told us that their furniture comes with a ten-year guarantee. I've lived here long enough to know that most shops here don't stay in business for ten years!

Furniture is just one of the things I am doing lately. We still have a list longer than my arm of other things to do before the house is ready. But I am getting excited because I can almost see the end.

Getting more done

I've been busy, busy, busy.... Lately we've been shopping for all kinds of things for the house. We still need to pick out the granite for the kitchen counters. Hubby came home with a selection of handles for the cabinets and drawer pulls and I wasn't happy with any of them so I sent him back to look again (I had no time in my schedule to go with).

This time he came home with handles shaped like leaves. Oh! Oh! Oh! I just held one in my hand and tears started to roll down my cheeks. They are perfect. Ah... he knows how much I love leaves!

I found something to keep me and the kids busy at the weekend... and it involves leaves. Something for the garden.

Make way for the kitchen!

Cabinets are being installed in the kitchen... work is in progress!

On another note... some one, anonymous, has mostly figured out the answer to the "Where is This?" that I posted last week. Have a look and read my explanation.

Where is this?

If you know, just say so... click on comments.

___________________

I don't know who guessed because they posted as anonymous... the picture was taken in Florida, near Seminole.

In my 20 years of living in Libya and my 27 years of being married to a Libyan, and the two years we were engaged... That's a lot of years! And a lot of chances to get to know the Libyan mentality and culture.

One of the things that I found surprising came about while I was visiting a Libyan woman who was potty training her toddler. Anyone that has any experience with that knows that you spend a lot of time standing next to a kid that is sitting on a toilet. But to my surprise this woman had her child standing on the seat, legs wide apart, squatting. When I asked her why on earth she was having the child stand on the seat she looked at me strangely and said that this was how she had been taught. I asked if she still stood on the seat and she said 'Of course.' Later I found that this was not uncommon among Libyans who were used to using Turkish style 'hole in the floor' toilets. I often find foot prints on the seat of bathrooms I've been in in Libya. I probably would have just thought the seat was dirty but ever since seeing that kid standing there I look for footprints... lolol...and wonder why on earth they can't figure out that you are supposed to sit on the seat, not stand on it.

While I was in the US my sister took me to have a pedicure. Knowing that I'd be sitting for a while I decided to visit the bathroom first. It was located in the back of the salon and was used mainly by the staff, all of whom were Vietnamese. I sometimes wonder if the entire female population of Vietnamese in the US are working as manicurists. Anyway, I walked into the door and was confronted by the sign. I read it and started to laugh and decided I'd better take a picture because no one would believe me.

I don't think I've ever heard of an American standing on a toilet seat. Standing on the toilet seat must be a third world kind of thing. The sign was posted for the Vietnamese employees.

Culture even finds it's way into the bathroom...lolol

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A commenter pointed out Baba Gannouj's blog. He posted this image of a sign from Syria:

Special wishes

Happy birthday to Adam my # 1 son!

Posted from moBlog – mobile blogging tool for Windows Mobile

Criticism

All of us should take a lesson from the weather:

It pays no attention to criticism.

Care to comment?

In my last post I wrote about how I felt on the first day of my arrival back to Libya after a month's absence. I said it was dirtier and stinkier than I remembered and that Libyans smell like Libyan food (onions and spices). I wrote that the streets were lined with trash and rubble.

Lots of people agreed with me but some accused me of being everything from racist to suffering a mid life crisis. One commenter even threatened me: 'and be sure you will be treated so badly soon when i meet u'. There were a few comments that I didn't post because they were vulgar in the extreme.

I said Libyans smell like Libyan food.... well guess what? Indians smell like Indian food, Ukrainians smell like Ukrainian food, Chinese smell like their food and so on. The saying 'You are what you eat.' means just that. And don't forget that old people have a specific smell and babies most certainly have their own special odor. Does this mean that I hate them? Any of them? No! Of course not. How ridiculous!

And for the people that didn't like the fact that I pointed out the trash and rubble - OH PLEASE! Go outside and open your eyes for God's sake. There is garbage all over the place and you have no one but yourselves to blame for that. Probably you have gotten so used to the mess that you don't even see it anymore.

There are plenty of Libyans who care about their surroundings and try to keep things clean and make a difference. There are lots of Libyans who have lived abroad and have learned how other people and cultures feel about keeping their country clean (my husband for instance). They come back wanting to clean, save and protect Libya's environment.

For those that accused me of hating Libyans... I have watched Libyans throw trash on the roads and beaches for the past twenty years. Lazy Libyans who think that someone will follow them around and pick up after them. Oh yes... I hate THOSE Libyans. Wouldn't you?

Jet lag... and other things

I made it home in one piece and with all the luggage.

It's amazing what a month away will do. Libya is stinkier and dirtier than I remembered. Libyans smell like Libyan food - even when they aren't eating, so I'm surrounded by the odor of onions (basla), and the spices used in Libyan cuisine. ... sigh... I will become used to the aroma after a while. Plastic bags float through the air and rubble and trash line the streets. In a few days it will all look normal to me but now it all seems to attack my senses in a violent kind of way.

I'm adjusting to the difference in time and jet lag too. During the day I feel fine and then all of a sudden I feel like I must get sleep immediately, then I find myself wide awake in the middle of the night. It will probably take me a good five days to get back to normal. Just in time to go back to work.

As I had been gone for a month, the Internet expired on my mobile and needed to be recharged. I sent Jenna to buy a top-up card and sent a text to renew the Internet... uuughhh... Almadar ripped me off! They deducted ten dinars from my phone but didn't give me Internet service. How do you get them to sort it out? Welcome to Libya..... sigh...

Wrapping things up

This morning Adam presented me with a beautiful magnolia while I was having breakfast...sigh.. I'm getting ready to head for 'home'. Trying to squish as much as I can in a suitcase and not be over the weight limit is almost as difficult as trying to thread a sewing needle with a piece of yarn!

I miss ... I don't miss

It's been nearly a month since I've been anywhere in the vicinity of an open can of tuna. I haven't eaten anything even remotely resembling Libyan food. And guess what?

I don't miss it one bit! There are a lot of things that I love about Libya and I miss when I am away... but I don't think I could ever miss Libyan food!

There are lot's of Libyans that live abroad... What do you miss most?

Memorial Day

Ibrahim and I went with my mom and my nephew Jeremiah to the cemetary to visit my dad's grave. Then we stopped at the park and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was the first time I've had a chance to see the cemetary on Memorial Day - the only day of the year that the flags are displayed on each of the veteran's graves. There were thousands of flags!

Magnolia

Has anyone ever seen a magnolia tree in Libya? Why is it that some things remind you so much of a place? The trees, flowers, smells, sounds.... and you just want to have that sense with you wherever you are? Why?

Old Photo

I've been poking around at my mom's house and found this old photo of my father. He must have been about three years old. I can see that my kids look a lot like their grandfather!

My brother Tony.... a memorial

Wifi hotspot

Free wifi.....Yeee Ha!!

Thanks to all

Thanks to all who offered their condolences and well wishes. I'm with my family in sunny (and hot and humid) Florida. The birds sing, the flowers bloom, the sun rises and sets, and life goes on. I'm going to try to relax and enjoy the rest of my time here. I'll be back soon.

Sunset on the beach two days ago.

Ibrahim feeding the seagulls.

Palmetto and oak trees with moss.

A break

My brother passed away suddenly last night. Tragic circumstances mean I'm taking some time away from blogging because my 'real life' needs me 100% right now. I'll be back when I get things sorted out.

He's really wow!

I bought Ibrahim a kids dart board to see how he'd like it. It's the kind that has magnets instead of needle sharp darts. Ibrahim has taken to darts like a fish to water! He's good... really good... it's actually kind of scary even. I'm going to have to get him a real dart board and darts and let him loose.

What is this?

I noticed this new building in Tripoli, near Alhani. When I asked what it was, my kids said it's got signs for four new educational television stations on it. Hmmm.... call me pessimistic if you want... but has education in Libya improved so much that we want to flout it on TV?

Can anyone fill me please?

A new toy!

I found a new search tool from Google that will let you search all kinds of information as a timeline. You can search all kinds of things; news, art, music, blogs, magazines and all kinds of other stuff. I especially like the way it displays the search results - you can see all the news in the window and then easily slide backwards or forwards in time. Very nice!

Click here to give it a whirl!