Yesterday was the last day of Eid 2013. In some ways, Eid may continue a few more days for the ladies who will continue visiting each other up to one or two more days. Our friends were relieved to have Ramadan end. This year was one of the hardest for fasting with the warm weather and longer days. So there seemed to be more of a spirit of celebration with more shops closed and those celebrating enjoying the time of eating, feasting and hanging out with friends and family.
The first day of Eid is traditionally when family will visit. My friend Aquilla and her family who we consider our Afghan family invited us over for a lunch of Qabli palau, sabzi and kefta. Qabli palau was a rice dish with carrots, raisins, and some type of meat. Sabzi is a favorite of mine and is a cooked spinach dish. Lastly kefta is a meatball type dish. Since Aquilla and I both moved to different houses this summer and had not seen each other since school was out, we enjoyed getting caught up on each others lives. Our families talked about Ramadan, issues in Afghanistan, family news, and just a little bit about school. It was a great way to start off Eid. Here is a picture of me with the ladies of the house.
The next day, we made our annual visit with some other team members to the house of Koko Niem. He is a guard at the airport who enjoys having the team over to his house. It was a trip across town but it is fun to follow him down the winding alleys with a gutter in between to his house. Inside his house, we were greeted by his wife and daughter and ushered into their saloon or living room. The floor was filled with cookies, fruit, nuts, and other goodies. The little ones with us dug right in knowing that here they can get away with eating more sweets than normal. At first we all talked together and one of our team who was relatively new received a new afghan name. His new name is now Hashmatullah. We will see if the names sticks. As the men talked about guy stuff, my friend Chandra and I slipped over to by the ladies to talk with them a bit. Before we knew it, it was time to go. They asked us to stay for lunch but we politely declined. Here are a few pictures of our visit.
In the afternoon, the boys rested and I headed out with another friend to a party for a one year old girl. The mother is a student of my friend. I met her last summer while substituting for my friend’s English conversation class. It was a interesting taxi ride to the party with the driver getting lost twice but we made it all in one piece. There was dancing, good conversation, and fruits and others treats to eat. The family is well educated with most of them speaking English. They work hard but also love to have fun. They especially love to dance. It was good to get caught up with my friend’s students and also to make a few new friends in the process. I even danced for a just a bit. Here are a few pictures of Athena and her family.
This morning I continued my Eid visits by taking cookies to my new neighbours. I had a nice time chatting with the mother and her two daughters. I look forward to getting to know them better after we return in February. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to visit the neighbors on the other side of us. Less than a week and David and I will be joining Winter in the states. Pray for our last few days here as we pack and say good byes. Pray for Noel who will be here without us and with lots of work to do. He will join us on Sept 12th.