News From Home

This post has been removed to protect the identity of a dedicated night hunter.

Fool?

What’s for Breakfast? “Fool”
Steps to making one of our favorite dishes:
1. Buy a bag of fool (some type of bean) at the local dookan (or market) at 10 am (which is breakfast time for all) along with bread all for a total of: $2. (this feeds 4 people… or more)

2. Mash up the beans with a glass or bottom of a coke bottle.

3. Add olive oil, Lawson’s seasoning salt, and garlic salt for taste.
4. Top with tomatoes, onions, and shredded cheese. Enjoy tamea or falafel on the side… you can even mash it up and put it in if you prefer!
5. All can enjoy eating out of one bowl using your hands and bread… and remember, only use your right hand!

Desert Camping...

The last weekend of November we were able take a new adventure into the Sahara Desert with some friends to go camping! On the way there we got to see a herd of camels, crossed the Nile, and saw a random “Coca Cola Plant” in the middle of no where ☺. We enjoyed roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over a camp fire (understand that marshmallows are a big treat for here.) Later as we were falling asleep, we counted over 10 shooting stars! The sand and rocks along with the sunset and sunrise were breathtaking. We are so privileged to live in such a beautiful place.






Desert Sunrise...






Camels wandering in the desert....



Coca Cola Plant... or something like that???

Thanksgiving!!!

We had a wonderful time with our neighbors and an American friend who all came up for a semi-traditional American Thanksgiving Dinner. We enjoyed chicken (turkey was $50/lb) with homemade yeast rolls and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob and pumpkin pie for dessert! We feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends around us! We did miss home and the snow that fell over Boone. We also missed family and family traditions. But, we are truly thankful that we can live out our dreams here, together.

Our Flat

Class is in session...

Micah learns a new talent and Amanda learns to make her own boneless/ skinless chicken!

Getting Acquainted...

We are slowly but surely learning the way around our new city. Whether it be by rickshaw, taxi, or bus, we can get where we need to go with our broken Arabic. We can say basic directions and always try to know where we are going so we can say it in this foreign tongue. We had a time this week when we tried to buy red paint, but instead of saying “red paint” we accidentally said “woman paint.” We didn’t understand why the man looked at us like we were crazy. Again, we confidently said “woman paint” in Arabic, thinking we were saying red paint… But luckily, we were able to point at something red… and we all laughed! We are thankful for these gracious people!

Last week we got to go on a city tour and these are some of the highlights. Museums, historical land marks, and tourist attractions. Our land holds claim to a few smaller pyramids, although more can be found in other places. We are still proud of ours!
This is such an amazing experience and we wish we could fly you all over!

Enjoy our pictures of Stephen by the big blue truck that is permanently parked outside our gate, as well as other sights from our new city!

Our New Home

Here are a few shots of our new place. We are loving our home and getting adjusted to this new place and culture. We are thankful that the "winter season" of mid-90's is approaching! We have great neighbors and are learning our way around our neighborhood. Language school has started and is in full swing! Our time is consumed much more by doing many of the smaller tasks such as getting around on transportation, cooking, cleaning (oh, the never ending cleaning of the dust!!), and trying to use our small and simple Arabic sentences. We are meeting new people every day and hope to impact their lives as they are impacting ours. We consider it a privlidge to be here, as each day holds a new adventure!!!

Our New Place

Sorry we have not posted any new pictures lately, there seems to be a problem with blogger. The system is not letting us upload any pictures for some reason. There will be some new posts as soon as we can figure out the problem. We are doing good here and settling in nicely.

We missed it...

We missed sweet little Tatum's birthday, it looks like it was a blast.

Hangin' with Abe !!

We went to Washington DC this past Friday and had a great time. We went to eat at a African Restraunt and it was delicious! We got to see "Embassy Row" with flags from all over the world as well as the major Monuments! Abe Lincoln was our favorite. Union Station was a hub of activity and a new adventure for us both! We had a great time! We saw people from all over the world and got to talk with several of them.

Amanda's favorite part was the beautiful weather and enjoying a "big city" with all the sights to see. Stephen's least favorite part was the bumpy metro and felt a little queazy a few times... (but so did Amanda!)

Not Gone Yet!!!

We are still here in the States and are getting ready for our big venture across the Atlantic! We leave October 4th! We can't wait to hit the sand and start learning Arabic. We've tried to start learning a little, and are challenged and excited to continue learning the "real stuff" when we get there! Thanks for joining our ride!

We miss you all!! (note in picture)

Boone

We have been here for about 2 weeks helping Amanda’s mom get her house ready to put on the market. We’ve had a great time. We also went to see her grandparents and uncle in Virginia and Greensboro. We celebrated her little sister’s birthday at a great place called Sim’s BBQ. We loved (well, Amanda did) the square dancin’!

Ellerbe

Earlier in the summer we celebrated our nephew Jacob’s birthday as he turned one. He sure did have a wonderful birthday!! Family, friends, cake, and air walks… who could ask for more??

Myrtle Beach

Fun in the sun w/ friends. I took the picture using the timer b/c I don't like asking for help!

What a view from Emerald Isle

Boone

We are currently calling Boone "home" for this week.