Annada Marie Vergo

A picture from the hippy restaurant - it was beautiful. Those are grape vines growing on the canopy.

When we left for Africa I expected to be completely outside my culture. And at first it did feel like a new world where 99% of the people don’t speak English (or more accurately, I don’t speak Arabic).

After a while, feeling out of place began to feel normal. Pretty much everywhere we go, we entertain people by bumbling around or just plain sticking out. This culture loves to laugh, so I’ve learned to laugh with the people doubled over watching us or the children mimicking us. Pretty quickly that tactic means I have new friends.

(To prevent a misapplied stereotype, most of the time this laughter is very kind. The people here look up to Americans and the children mimic us because they want to try doing it the way we do – not to be mean. I am humbled by their attitude toward us. They are kinder to us then they would probably be treated in America. I will never look at an international visitor to America the same way again.)

What really throws me now is when I encounter something that would be normal in America with an African flair.

Here are some examples:

African Goths

A couple of nights ago I met two university students for dinner. One of the women was covered from head to toe in black. It is over 100 degrees outside and I thought, “This poor woman, forced to be covered from head to toe in black in this heat.” (I don’t say that proudly, I am being honest. I realize some people do choose to dress that way and I respect that even if I do think it looks extremely uncomfortable.)

During dinner, this woman and new friend asked me if I like heavy metal music. I said, “Not really, do you?”

“Oh yes! Can’t you tell? That is why I wear all black.”

I asked her how her parents feel about it and she told me, with some glee, that they worry about the way she dresses and the music she listens to.

I felt like I was in some strange plane – here was a Muslim university student acting exactly like millions of goths around the world. Of course… but still…. who knew?

African Hippies

Another time I was surprised by something too normal was during our trip to the waterfall (pictures coming).

After we had driven past nomadic sheep herders and made our way down a mountain we suddenly came across a series of restaurants and camp grounds. The first one we came to urged us to stay and relax a while. All four of us had the same thought – for how much? Making a living is hard here and if you even look at people for too long they want money this far outside the city.

But really, he didn’t want money. “Please, relax. Come enjoy life with us,” he urged.

About then I realized the walls had paintings of Bob Marley, the guy inviting us had dreads and a rainbow hat and there were candle stubs everywhere.

Yep, we had found a enclave of African hippies.

They were wonderful hosts and looked out for us when we jumped off the waterfall. But again… hippies in a Muslim country? Of course. I just never guessed.

There are a few other things that have made me laugh:

I saw a shirt that said “FBI: Federal Bank Investigators”

A man tried to sell me a Nike bag that declared under the logo “Authenlic and Orgininal” (sic).

If you want to insult someone you call them “Dar Boosh.” As is President Bush. (President Obama is pretty popular.)

Sometimes the women’s restroom is labeled “Femmes” and the men’s is labeled “Hommes.” (I get it – it is French, but still, now we know where the gangstas got the hommie idea from.)

On the less funny side:

Cigarettes are cool, especially for men. So they scatter them on men’s jeans or shirts in store displays. And smoke is in every restaurant and cafe.

Someone convinced some of the people Coke a Cola has nutrients. So one family I know mixes Coke with orange soda so that their young son will “get all of his nutrients” each day.

Instead of children’s vitamins, they sell milk with a lot of sugar and the vitamins added. One cup has all the vitamins a children’s multivitamin would have, including iron. I was very grateful a friend told me because iron poisoning is common cause of infant and child death and this milk is super sweet. Meaning, the kids LOVE it and Annada was going from person to person in the house asking for more. The milk does not have any warnings on it.

I took this picture because I thought it would make an amazing prom dress for Erica... then found out the fabric (or tissues as they would say) is worth thousands!

Once I told my friends why I took a picture of the purple dress, they wanted me to see this one too.

I know it is cheesy, but I thought this was funny.

Presents given as wedding/engagement gifts. Weddings here are HUGE affairs.

Riding in a cart attached to a scoter to back to Sanaa's house. The cars behind us would laugh when they saw us in there.

We stick out and provide entertainment everywhere we go ;).

Today we are heading to another city. I am excited to see a new place and Annada is excited to ride the train. Marc is excited to see the magicians and snake charmers. We come back Sunday.

Annada playing doctor with Grace. Annada says she is “fixing Grace” and that Grace is sleeping in her “crib” (note the toys Annada kindly added to Grace’s crib around her head so she won’t be lonely when she wakes up).

Marc bought me roses while I was recovering :).

He wanted to buy something small, but somehow in bartering without being able to speak Arabic he ended up with this beautiful bouquet for about $6. It was a sweet surprise because flowers are not particularly cheap here.

(Sometimes not being able to speak or understand helps in bartering. We just stand there with the amount we want to spend in our hand and look blankly until they throw their hands up and give us what we want. Or shoo us away empty handed. In Marc’s case, he expected to be handed a few roses and was handed this arrangement instead!)

Everyone is starting to feel better. I even walked 20 minutes to a friends house today when we had trouble getting a taxi. A couple of days ago I felt like I was on a boat in choppy water whenever I stood up. Antibiotics and bananas are wonderful things (I learned something: according to the nurse I talked to, when Gatorade or Pedialyte is not an option, bananas and water along with some salt can go a long way toward restoring your electrolytes). Annada is perking up and becoming destructively active in our apartment and even my mom’s cold is gone. Humdoolillah! (Praise be to God.)

I am hoping to wake up tomorrow with plenty of energy because I am meeting friends from lunch until late at night. It’s a major change considering I spent almost the whole weekend in bed. :).

Wednesday we visited one of the few mosques non-believers can tour. It is the tallest religious building in the world.

The mosque is partly over the ocean because the Koran says the throne of God is on the water.

The arch shows the direction of Mecca.

Almost all the materials are from this country. When the building was started everyone was required to give to pay for it. It cost over $2 billion.

I love this picture. I am proud of our little family.

Reading together before bed.

Well, we are right on track ;). It’s two weeks in and everyone is sick. Okay, not everyone, but most of us.

Meme has a bad cold. Marc and I have stomach issues. Annada has a mild cold and mild stomach issues. Annada and I are running low grade fevers. My stomach is pretty bad – I just started antibiotics. The nurse thought I should feel better in 3 days. I hope so. It is a real bummer to be here, have amazing people to spend time with and lay in bed instead. But I have to laugh – it’s two weeks! Right on schedule.

2 weeks means that we are starting to be comfortable. I know where I am going when I walk to the store, speak some basic words without stumbling and have quit running into people when we walk (there is a different pace or rhythm – it took me forever to figure it out).

We are also starting to be more realistic. We’ve had some things stolen and realize that while most people want to welcome us, a few know we are easy targets. A good tip: always have the exact amount for taxis.

I think Annada summed it up best. While she was “not napping” in her pack n play this afternoon she started a monologue on what she misses from our Orlando home. And then what she likes about her Africa home. She misses friends, her sand box, running outside, her toys and not being sick. “We can fly home, Mommy! We can.” She yelled. But then, all by herself, she started saying. “Our Africa home means Meme, lots of gum and cheese, the rocking horse and tea.” We miss home, feel sick and love being here all at the same time.

PS: My mom, Susan (AKA Meme), found out late last night her mother fell down and broke several bones. She is in surgery today. Please pray for my Grandma to heal well and for my mom as she worries about Grandma from a distance.

At the beach.

One of Sana's friends got engagd (the women in red). She wanted to show me what the party was like.

Annada is making friends everywhere she goes.

Ibtissam's family

Last week I met Ibtissam, an economics student (the degree is close to an MBA). She invited Marc, Annada and I to her home for dinner Monday. It was such a treat! Her mother made breads for us to eat at the 5 pm snack before dinner (with mint tea, of course!). Every thing we ate she cooked from scratch. I wish I could explain the work that goes into these breads – they kneed them on the floor into many flat layers.

Ibtissam is the oldest and has 2 brothers and a sister, just like me. She showed me pictures of her hometown in the countryside.

Ibtissam’s brother had a few soccer medals that hung in the salon (like a living room). He proudly showed them to Marc. Then… he gave one to Marc! Ibtissam’s family gave us many beautiful gifts. We are humbled by all of them and particularly humbled by this medal. It is a very special treasure.

I enjoyed her family so much. They were welcoming and gracious even when Annada had a melt down. (She has been running a fever the last 3 days, please pray with me that she will feel better soon.)

Ibtissam’s aunt heard that I had tried on Sana’s wedding dress. The brides here wear 7 dresses – one for each region in the country. She wanted me to wear one of hers too and then she and Ibtissam put one on too. She also let me look through her wedding photos. Then we talked for hours. I am amazed at how quickly I am coming to love the people I meet.

While most of the food here is awesome… there are a few exceptions.

Notably sheep brain and snail soup.

First (and last) bite of brain

Sheep brain is delicacy often reserved at restaurants for friends of the owners. Marc and his friends wanted to try it, so they found a grill that would serve it to them. It was gelatinous, Marc explained. And though they did manage to eat it all (it would have been very rude not to) none of them are interested in more! Now I tease them that they are zombies.

Between 5-6 pm people here normally eat a significant snack. Dinner is then served around 8:30 or 9 pm. One favorite snack is snail soup. Right around 5, almost every street corner has someone selling snail soup. They fill cups and have bent safety pins laying out for people to dig the snails out of the shells. Both the cups and the pins go directly from one customer to the next.

When I first heard about snail soup, I thought I would be willing to try. I’ve had escargot. Brains aside, I’ll try most things once. But the smell!!! Oh wow. I was almost grateful for whatever has been making me sick to my stomach the last couple of days. It gave me an excuse not to eat when my friends tried to buy me a cup of snail soup yesterday. I don’t think I am off the hook though, they made sure I knew that the offer stood for a day I was feeling better.

Braiding Annada and I’s hair, narrowing avoiding being electrocuted by the washing machine, holding my hand when the cab ride gets dicey, accepting kisses from friends and strangers, running through traffic, building sand castles, roasting chick peas, charming toddlers without speaking their language, conquering the bathroom fungus, talking with new friends in cafes, negotiating all kinds of new bathrooms and listening to Annada’s songs about them, battling the bra thief, feeding 20 people with $60 in a mini-crisis, sharing a bathroom with 4 people and helping us all laugh about it… it’s got to be SUPER MEME!

Yesterday, Meme, Marc, Annada and I went to a friend’s home for couscous. Couscous is the traditional meal every Friday afternoon (Friday is the holy day). It was amazing! We had so much fun laughing together, learning to eat with our hands and, of course, drinking mint tea.

After lunch was over, Sana invited me to wear her wedding dress. I had been admiring the dresses when we had been shopping together. She offered to dress me up so we could take pictures.

It quickly went from dress up to a mini-wedding!

Sana and I

Our friends acted out different parts of a wedding with Marc and I. There was a lot of singing and calls.

We cut the cake, fed the cake to each other, put on rings and even had our “first kiss.”

Annada wanted to be a part of the wedding so we dressed her up in a caftan they gave us as a gift. She calls it her princess dress.

I am growing to really love these people.

They also sang Meme happy birthday.

And then on the way home we fit 9 people in the car. It quickly turned into a dance a party.

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from this week.

We have officially been here one week!

On Tuesday we went to a market and then walked around downtown. It was quite an experience! After being urged to buy “real” designer goods all day I laughed out loud when a man stopped me on the way out of the market holding a pair of sunglasses, “High quality imitation!” he declared. I thanked him for his honesty.

My highlight was finally getting a cup of the famous mint tea. We found a very nice cafe. I love the cafes! They serve only drinks and sometimes light food, like toast or cookies. So for a couple of dollars I can spend an hour or two talking in a nice place. It is just like restaurants at home, but without the food ;).

Since then I have had about a dozen cups of mint tea. My favorite cup was not even mine: Annada and this beautiful girl shared a cup at lunch today. They were so kind. They had a piece of bread and one cup. Each would take a bite/sip and then pass it back.

I am so proud of Annada. She is making friends, speaking Arabic and putting up with probably a hundred kisses a day from strangers. As we drove home, these two sweet angels even slept side by side in our laps. There is something deeply good about how 2-year-olds from across the world can bond.

Happy birthday Meme! Thank you for coming on this adventure with us. You are amazing.