Ramadam Kareem!

   We decided to go out and try a restaurant other than the Lebanese restaurant that we have been eating at for quite some time(I ate there about five times), and we found a place that said it was an Iraqi restaurant so we decided to go in. It ended up being an Indonesian restaurant, it's relatively new so they haven't had the chance to change the sign yet. It's a really homey place, and the food was great. Some of the food was really spicy, but most of it had a really nice kick. On the plus side there was fresh fruit that really helped cool down everything, and just tasted really good.

They had colorful rice crisp chips, and amazing vegetables. We had some sauteed broccoli with squid and that was great as well.
     Of course we have been going to get juice after dinner each night even though we are completely stuffed. I've really been hoping for some pomegranate juice, but juice man doesn't have pomegranate and he has to make everything fresh. I'm really hoping that I will be able to have some before I leave the hotel. Today was pretty interesting because juice man and his friend that helps with the shop insisted that we take a picture all together, and once that picture was taken he insisted on everyone taking individual pictures.

Juice man is on the left and his friend is on the right

    Also, there is now a game named after me. Today we got to go to access in the morning and we helped the girls come up with game ideas for their iftar party. They decided to name the game I came up with "Stephanie's game" which I thought was pretty funny, but I guess it's a good way to be remembered. I also got to talk to the girls about Ramadan, and I found out that many of the girls had grown up looking forward to fasting when they were younger. My favorite explanation for the reasoning behind fasting is that it's a time for people to humble themselves and live in the simplest way possible. They take the time to focus on growing spiritually and be grateful for everything. During ramadan most Muslims try to read through the Koran. Another very important part about Ramadan is simply achieving equality among everybody by living in the same manner, and focusing on the same thing.

   Tomorrow I will get to sleep in and take a break from school because there's a vacation day! In Oman July 23rd is Renaissance day. It celebrates the day Sultan Qaboos Bin Said became Sultan of Oman. I will definitely be enjoying tomorrow, and in the evening we get to go to the souq!

    Laila Saida!