Palestinian Wedding

Sabah al Noor everyone,
Quote of the day: Simon (a scottish volunteer): "Tamer, what are all these bugs in our beds?" Tamer (Volunteer coordinator): "Oh those are mosquitos." Simon: "Last time I checked mosquitos don't live on cats."
Apparently some of the previous volunteers felt sorry for all the feral cats so they took it upon themselves to feed them...in our flat. Every night as we go to sleep these mystery bugs start biting us. Last night I got so mad at them I took the can of raid that I purchased and sprayed it on myself. Not a good idea, my throat feels like I swallowed a bag of small nails.

The first night in Nablus we were invited to the wedding of a Palestinian volunteer. We arrived and there was a large crowd of Palestinians mingling. After a few minutes of chatting and introductions we ascended a staircase, everyone was clapping and singing a traditional Palestinian song. At the top of the stairs we all danced into a reception area filled with somber looking women in Hijabs (covers everything but face). We continued singing and clapping for a while until a few guys motioned for us to go into another room. The men sat in a big circle where everyone chainsmoked, drank lemonade, and ate cake. The groom came around and talked to every person, kissing most people on the cheek a number of times. The entire time what sounded like modern Arabic pop songs were playing. I later learned from the female volunteers that when the men left the room, the women absolutely cut loose. The expressionless women we saw just minutes before bellydanced, sprayed foam guns at eachother, and pretty much just went wild. After some time the men were told to re-enter the room, where once again the women sat expressionless. All the men entered the room clapping and dancing. They all danced in line as they waited their turn to pin money on the grooms chest. When they were done pinning money on the groom the men stayed at the front of the room and started dancing. A few of us soon joined them. Some of the dances were really easy to learn, others, like the Palestinian national dance "al dhabka," were more difficult. When I say dance, I don't mean like an awkward sober american, these guys could give J Lo a run for her money. They took turns getting in the middle of a circle we had formed and would stick their arms out and shake thier butts for all they were worth. These guys were grinding on eachother, throwing people into the air, and jumping around in what sometimes felt like a mash pit. I've been to a lot of clubs and never seen anyone dance like the Palestinians. Frankly, I was flabbergasted that this was the norm in a society that is otherwise very conservative. After about an hour of this we retired to the back of the room and once again began to sing and clap. I'm told that usually the dancing lasts much longer but everyone had to make it home before the 11 o'clock curfew imposed by the Israelis.
Maa Salama,
Mike