Nathan has made quite the impression in our neighborhood. We like to call him the Pied Piper of Sana'a. Every time he steps outside, about 20 to 30 small kids swarm my tall, blond husband and follow him around as he smokes, goes to the store to buy water, or heads to school, practicing their English the entire time: "Hello! I love you! What's your name? F--- You!" This odd assortment of nice (and the occasional naughty) words is learned, we think, from the odd assortment of old American movies that are constantly shown on (free) satellite t.v. here. Nate now has his own self-titled "personal assistant," who also likes to aid as a translator; however, as he speaks little to no English, he translates Arabic-to-Arabic, repeating verbatim Nate's Arabic requests for, say, 5 bottles of water and a pack of Karaman smokes, in Arabic to the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper already handing the requested items to Nate.
Although the kids know that it is forbidden to knock on our door, they frequently test our limits and come pounding late at night (as it's Ramadan, most kids stay up until at least 4:30 a.m.) So the other night, when we heard a rapping on our door, Nate jumped up, ready to pounce on one of the tykes for disturbing our peace. Throwing open the door he found, indeed, one of the neighbor kids, but Mohammad was not at our house to request that Nate buy him a "Bebsi" (no "p" sound in Arabic) or fireworks; instead, Mohammad came with an armload of treats for us to "break our fast" (during Ramadan everyone fasts during the day....except naughty Americans). His mother had prepared a small feast for us, as pictured below: mashed potatoes fried in filo dough, spicy bean & scallion cakes, and a bowl of dates.
Although the kids know that it is forbidden to knock on our door, they frequently test our limits and come pounding late at night (as it's Ramadan, most kids stay up until at least 4:30 a.m.) So the other night, when we heard a rapping on our door, Nate jumped up, ready to pounce on one of the tykes for disturbing our peace. Throwing open the door he found, indeed, one of the neighbor kids, but Mohammad was not at our house to request that Nate buy him a "Bebsi" (no "p" sound in Arabic) or fireworks; instead, Mohammad came with an armload of treats for us to "break our fast" (during Ramadan everyone fasts during the day....except naughty Americans). His mother had prepared a small feast for us, as pictured below: mashed potatoes fried in filo dough, spicy bean & scallion cakes, and a bowl of dates.
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