Arabs

Ive had the opportunity to hang out with a couple of guys from United Arab Emirates and guys from Oman these last couple of months. And i encountered some really interesting and different stuff about them which i thought of sharing. when i came here in 2005, i had two friends from Oman. This time theres a new guy from Oman and three guys from UAE. Obviously ive been spending more time with them than the aussie guys.....even though they talk in arabic most of the time and have no idea what the hell they are saying.hehe. But atleast they try to talk in English whenever im there.

During ramadan we had a little break fasting the five of us at one of their place. and they had this drink which was a substitute for the watermelon drinks we have back at home. the first time i drank it i didnt hesitate to try n gulp it all down as it looked like milk. wrong move! you shouldve seen the look on my face. The drink was creamy and yet spicy as well and to me it jes tasted aweful. apparently it was made of yogurt and they do mix some stuff in it. Apparently this was a traditional drink they had right after they broke their fast with dates. But all the maldivians say that its a "firihen beys".hehe. And they have a coffee of some sort. it was good i must say. but damn its so strong. they even serve it in these tiny little cups which look even smaller than those 'shot' glasses. maybe cos its strong. and it seems u shud have atleast three cups and when ur done, ur supposed to give the cup back to the person who served it to you while shaking the cup in ur hand which is a sign that ur done.

The most interesting thing i found is when they eat they put on this huge plastic sheet or sometimes newspaper on the floor(by floor i mean the rug or tiles ofcourse). They would then bring this huge tray filled with rice usually with the meat or curry poured on top in the centre. Then the guys would sit around it and go at it in the same tray while sitting on the floor. It seems thats how they eat even back at home with their families. everyone eating from the same tray.Like there'll be an area on the tray for each person and once uve emptied that bit u can bring in more from the centre.

I went to this gathering quite recently. it was actually a celebration. three of them had passed their final exams and had gotten their engineer certificates so they had made lamb for everyone and invited them over. Coincidentally i was doing group studies with two of them that day. so they dragged me along for this meal. There's this square shaped block of flats where all the arabs had rented apartments from. so the meal was at two adjoining apartments. most of them came wearing that arab outfit we usually see on the tellie. excluding the turban ofcourse. Here is the best thing ive seen among these guys. they were from both UAE and Oman, same region but different countries. and they had all met up only a day back at friday prayers. but when we went there, the hosts were standing outside and they were greeting everyone that came. the look on their faces. it seemed as if they hadnt met each other for ages. i felt as if they were all brothers from the same family who had met after a long gap in between. and its like this whenever they run into each other. i could pick up few of the stuff they were saying. and it wasnt like those usual greetings u get from the aussie folk where everyone merely asks "hey! hows it going?". they had these huge smiles and kept asking each other what they had been upto, laughing and really enjoying the conversations. some of them teasing the others.

The group of about 20guys were divided into the two apartments which had two trays each. so five guys for each tray. they were all laughing, teasing andd having a great time even while eating. when we were done we all moved into one apartment where we had dessert. even for dessert, spoons were handed out and the sweets or trays of pudding or so were kept at the centre and each one would take a spoonful each time while chatting away. What came next was pretty interesting as well. There was this vase shaped thing which had a burning piece of coal or sumthing in it. they poured some powder onto it and this smoke started rising from it continuously. Reminded me of the prophets's series they show during ramadan where Abrahama's grandfather was in his chamber praying.hehe. anyways it seems this was some kind of perfume. it was passed around the room like the red indians passed the pipe. and each one would coat himself with the fumes and pass it to the next. seems it was a traditional thing. Then came that coffee.hehe. and loads of those small cups passed around and one guy pouring coffee for everyone. it was fun considering the fact that i didnt understand 95% of the conversations they had when they spoke arabic.

Later on most of us went to the cinema to watch "Body of lies". nice movie i must say. so overall, i think they are pretty interesting people, even the way they uphold their traditions. Most of it was really different from ours but the most wonderful thing i found was the brotherhood they had among themselves. It was the whole "my muslim brother" thing. i even had a few conversations with them about how their life is back in their countries. it was really interesting and different. but thats for some other post.