New Experiences!

Here's what I've done over the last two days:

-crossed the Tigris river
-Saw both Syria and Turkey and could have thrown a rock at either one if I so chose
-ate sheep brains
-ate Pasha (traditional Kurdish dish of rice and sheep liver stuffed into a sheep stomach and boiled)
-stayed in a traditional Kurdish village and was treated like a Queen
-was offered several husbands
-drank more tea and had more candy than I ever have previously in my life combined


Why did I do all of these things?

The past few days and ongoing now is Eid al Fitr, which is the end of Ramadan (the Muslim month of fasting) and it is kind of like a mix of our Halloween and Thanksgiving. There is a responsibility to go visit EVERYONE you know and every time you visit you have to eat some of their candy, cookies, nuts, seeds, bakhlava, etc and drink their tea, sometimes two or three cups of tea. And if you're there around a meal time... then prepare yourself for even more food! (Lamb, rice, chicken, soup, veggies, salad, bread, etc) I feel like after their celebration of ending their fast has caused me to need to fast!

I will post some pictures from these few days on my picassa. On the way back from the village we took the "long way" which was 6 or so hours, as opposed to 3, but had great views of the mountains and allowed us to go to Amadia, which is a town built completely on a freestanding rock, surrouned by even higher mountains. Gorgeous views! Again photos will be posted!

Now I'm back in Erbil for the rest of the holiday, which is another few days. I have plenty of actual work to do which will keep me busy.