ankle splashers and The Giant Tea

A word on the accursed Ankle Splashers mentioned in the previous entry. So I told you the medina is paved, right? Well, the whole thing is kind of tiled with stones blocks. The streets are anti-crowned so there’s a low spot in the middle for all the water to flow down. It’s like an open sewer but don’t think about it too much. I don’t know what the surface is like underneath these paving stones, but it is obviously not level because the stones crack sometimes. When the stones or mortar around then crack, water gets under them and when you step on the paving stone it spews water. Thus, the accursed Ankle Splashers. Constant vigilance is the only way to avoid damp pants, but even then the lurkers may get you. I try and keep an eye out for the loose mortar, but even I don’t stay dry all the time.

The situation is reminiscent of “Indiana Jones and the...” ( I forget, but it was the one with Sean Connery) and Indy has to cross the room on stones that spell out God’ name in Hebrew and he dithers over how to spell it and has to choose the right stones or risk certain death when he falls through the floor. Yes, so that is like walking around the medina after it rains. It’s like looking for some kind of sacred sign in the paving stones that tells you where not to step. Although wet pantlegs aren’t as bad as almost certain death, but then the Indiana Jones movies give people false idea about archaeology. I definitely recall telling people that I study archaeology and they respond “Oh, like Indiana Jones?” and I have to say no, because my idea of a future does not, in fact, involve stealing sacred golden monkeys from unidentified ruins deep in the jungle, retrieving large pieces of jewelry from old flames who live in the Himalaya, witnessing human sacrifice, snakes, the Holy Grail, or Sean Connery. But I don’t mind snakes that much. So yes, paving stones.

Jesse and Allison came over for tea today, which was epic. I think Hajja or Souakina actually baked something for the occasion, and all the sweets were brought out, in addition to two little bowls of my favorite olives, popcorn, and hubs of course. So much tasty food. Gods, I am going to gain so much weight here. But after having read Fatima Mernessi’s book “Scheherezade Goes West”, I don’t feel that bad about it. You should read it too (especially you, mom).

So while we are eating all this tasty food, we start talking about dancing and eventually we all end up dancing around the living room (TV salon) to Egyptian music with scarves ties around our hips. Soukaina always leaves a scarf lying around the living room in case company comes and she needs to veil. It’s like relay race sometimes if one of Amine’s friends shows up: somebody gets up and tosses the scarf to Soukaina who throws it around her head with practiced ease and is really to receive the visitor in seconds flat. I digress; we were dancing around the living room. Hajja closed all the windows, and anytime we heard anything in the vestibule we paused to see what it was. Al-Hajj was also closed into his room after tea so he couldn’t see us.

I don’t think I have any room for dinner after all the tasty sweets…