TGIF!

So its Thursday evening, and that means only one thing... WEEKEND!!! Ok so its only one day, and I've got a mountain of homeworkfor grammar and study for tajweed to do, but... TGIF! Man do I need to get some serious sleep (to the extent that I randomly found myself singing the national anthem so I could post it to a friend on FB - she was paying out on the Queen's English)! I think I'm beginning to lose it!

We (i.e. my flatties and I) hosted iftar for the girls across the street (and a few extras ;) ) this evening, which means I've been on my feet, cooking, serving and doing more washing up than I've seen in this lifetime since well before 'Asr (the mid-afternoon prayer). I never want to see another dirty dish again - but alas, I know that tomorrow's suhur (pre-dawn meal) will only create more. Subhan'allah. I made my trademark Minestrone Soup - why is it a trademark soup you ask? Well, it was one of the old favourites from the days at Abu Momo that I used to make. Everyone (I'm not exaggerating) said it was really good al-hamdoulillah. Lots of veggies which was good for everyone (but not my wallet) al-hamdoulillah! And I instructed one of my other flatties on making Lebo-style mansaf which turned out really well al-hamdoulillah (nothing like Jordanian mansaf thank God because, well, most of us find that almost completely inedible). The Turkish sisters ( two of my other flatties) made some delicious Turkish-style salads, one potato and the other was pasta, and the last flattie made chocolate chip cookies which were delicious! I'm suffering from big cravings for waraq 'ainab - mmmmmmm..... I really need to make a conscious effort to drink more water, with all the walking I do here I'm getting very dehydrated - my poor lips are cracked to bleeding already.

I paid off my rent today (and my tuition yesterday) which means I'm now out of Aussie dollars and going to go on a serious belt tightening rampage! Al-hamdoulillah it seems that the school overcharged me for my tuition so I'll get back about the equivilent of $120 (60JD - about 3 weeks of food if I scrimp) al-hamdoulillah - food for a little bit.

Have I mentioned how expensive food is here? It seems to have increased by about 50% since I left 2 and a half months ago subhan'allah! It seems we (i.e. the foreigners) are not the only ones to notice - many Palestinians in the camps here are really struggling. Al-hamdoulillah I've had the good fortune of meeting Umm Farooq and getting involved with her work (see here: http://southernmuslimah.blogspot.com/ ).

So back to my studies (facinating as they are to you all)! I started tajweed yesterday, I did a one hour class and seriously I felt like I could not stand up afterwards, subhan'allah I didn't think that using my mouth (i.e. talking) could engender such serious fatigue! It was really tough. I learnt a few new rules and Ustadha Arwa is very strict in correcting me which is really good - lets just say that my pronunciation can be somewhat painful for her ears to cope with lol! After that I had grammar and was completely non-functioning! I could not for the life of me think of a word that began with a "waw" - really, I just starred vacantly at my teacher when he asked. Quite scary. I saw Ustadh Momo today (old skills teacher) - just looking at that man makes you smile, he is such a good bloke masha'allah. I really miss his classes, he was soo funny. He asked me approximately 4 questions in Arabic (all of which began with Kayf - i.e. "how was") on a variety of topics, all of which I think he was amused to see I had to traslate into English first, then check my translation with him, then give him a reply. Subhan'allah I think my brain is on serious walk-a-bout! Top bloke masha'allah!

I'm still to pay my ticket to Egypt, but I did speak to the institute there and they seem very friendly and professional which was nice (and also slightly unexpected - it can be hard to get decent information sometimes).

In addition to my cracked lips and painful feet (too much walking) I think I'm about to be hit with the flu (or some other equally disturbing illness). My throat is agony this evening... Insha'allah I wake up and its gone, a nothing. Insha'allah.

Anyway, its past midnight here - you are all enjoying yet another crisp, fresh Sydney morning. And I will struggle with the monster that is the heat to catch just a few hours of sleep before sahur insha'allah. Tomorrow is call home day - looking forward to it ;)

Much love and ma'a salama.