Class, Ramadan, and other random things

Hi There,

So I've never been so aware of class as I am here, in the US there are some seperation but most are taught that regarding people to be of a certain class and treating them differently is NOT ok, in fact I think most would say you have no class by marking the difference.

However here is different, and it is hard to realize that by treating everyone the same is foundation shaking. It's had for me not to smile and greet everyone, (I know, I know the men thing is duely noted, side note I really dislike the phrase duely noted!) But at the school there are guards and maintainance workers that you can greet but at a distance, a demure wave and Bonjour. Nothing too friendly ever, and I have to keep reminding myself that it's how I can show respect to them is by maintaining their culture...

Ramadan has been interesting, eating in private, or just going to lots of western restaurants. However, on Sunday TGIFridays did something here that would never happen back home. After church we went to TGIF and unfortunately they were closed until 8pm (during Ramadan you can only eat during the dark hours, you are even discouraged from swallowing your own spit) so there isn't much business during the day, but for us they opened the restaurant! So during their prep hours they served a group of 50+ people. Other than that and McDonalds, we've been eating in private since they eat lunch here 2ish and dinner 8-10ish... yeah that part once Ramadan is over may take some time to acclimate. Things I won't miss from Ramadan is the 9 o'clock service on the outdoor PA system for an hour of chanting, along with the 3 am ( yes that's right in the middle of the night) there is another hour long service that is broadcasted.

We did a scavanger hunt on Monday, and I had a blast, exploring the city with others, learning how to hail a taxi, and just buy things was fun. I still need to learn my neighborhood. I'm looking forward to doing that, my downstairs neighbor has been great and we're going to check some things out this week.

The coolest thing that I did today was having tea as a co-workers house and going to this store in Dar Baouzza called Natty Natty (said Naughty Naughty I think that my been a freudian cue) they sell the best ice cream, chorizo, and french cheeses, oh and the best mustard! The ice cream I bought today was creme brulee... I let you know how it is :) People have been great, I've equated it to the fact humans when they are about 6months on discovering the world with their mouths, and a lot of the people helping us aclimate are in that stage and I'm glad to reap the benefits.

I love you all and will continue to keep you posted :)