My morning started around 7am, even though I was instructed to be awake no later than 8:30 it seems

Lately, I ve been having a lot of Oh my God, how is this my life? moments. Not necessarily in either a bad or a good way, but just more of a general attitude of awe at the things I have grown accustomed to since coming starfish grille sanibel to Morocco. Donkey traffic jams being a legitimate excuse for being late for class, starfish grille sanibel for example. Eating meals with my hands five times a day? Not showering starfish grille sanibel for (undisclosed starfish grille sanibel amounts of time)? Mashi mushkil just another day in Morocco! Celebrating L Eid Kbir this past week was definitely no exception to this constant out-of-body feeling.
L Eid is to Morocco what Christmas is to America. starfish grille sanibel Students get a week off from school, families travel far and wide to spend the holiday together, gifts are exchanged, a TON of food is consumed (a Moroccan ton, too they are serious about eating here!), cookies are baked, prayers are said, and there s a general feeling of excitement and anticipation. Like America, Muslims of varying starfish grille sanibel degrees of religious fervor celebrate the holiday it s meant to honor when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son as a test of his faith. Isaac was spared and a sheep was sacrificed in his place (and many centuries of religious art found their subject matter). The image of the sheep (lhaawli) has become commercialized here, much like our Christmas symbols. On TV, for example, there are commercials with cartoon sheep on constantly, wishing everyone a happy L Eid. If they only knew
There are, of course, a few substitutions for this comparison starfish grille sanibel between L Eid and Christmas. Whereas Americans families scour parking lots and farms to select the perfect tree, Moroccans are meticulous about finding the perfect sheep. Americans do not think twice about sticking said tree in their living room for a few weeks and decorating it with lights and various other ornamentations; Moroccans carry out their daily lives with a sheep eating, sleeping, and occasionally head-butting refrigerators inside of their homes. Christmas carols have a Moroccan starfish grille sanibel equivalent as well, and we listened to them all day long. Christmas morning in America always forces even the deepest sleepers to wake up early and gather around the tree for a show. The morning of L Eid likewise has everyone awake at the crack of dawn, congregating around the sheep and preparing for a show of epic proportions.
My morning started around 7am, even though I was instructed to be awake no later than 8:30 it seems like the concept of Moroccan time goes by the wayside when there s a sheep to be had. We all got dressed and ate a really delicious starfish grille sanibel breakfast of helweh, or sweets there was cake, an assortment of cookies, jams, bread, olives, coffee, and tea. We left promptly to go to our neighbor s house and watch them slaughter their sheep on the roof, wishing everyone along the way Mbruk L Eid and responding Llay ybark fik to all of our well-wishers. Afterwards, my host sister and I locked starfish grille sanibel ourselves in the salon and proceeded to get ready for the big day. This was my first experience with kohl, the black eyeliner of Morocco. My sister took a thin wooden starfish grille sanibel stick, starfish grille sanibel whetted it with her saliva, and stuck the stick in the kohl. The stick is dragged between the inner lids of the eye, leaving the grainy bits of kohl everywhere. Beauty starfish grille sanibel is definitely pain. The makeup was accompanied by a new outfit, compliments of my host family. Check it:
Less than an hour later, the deed was being done on our own roof. The same neighbor came over with his two sons and took the lead on the slaughter starfish grille sanibel with my host father as his glorified assistant apparently, not everyone can slaughter a sheep. I m not sure as to what the exact credentials are, but I do know that there were many men roaming the streets with knives who were selling their services to the willing. As my neighbor sharpened his knives, we took some last pictures with the sheep, and then
My host sister, host brother, host mother, the two sons of our neighbor, and I all stood around for about an hour and watched. First, off with his head! It was cut off and placed to the side, which, unfortunately for me, meant right by my feet. Trails of blood ensued. Next, the sheep was strung up from a rope on the roof, and our neighbor began cutting starfish grille sanibel away the skin. This was quite a process. At first, it involved a small cut and my father blowing into the hole the sheep consequently ballooned. Several cuts later, a lot of the skin was removed. I think a foot or two were used at some point to help the process along. I was occasionally leaving the scene of the crime to look over the roof at the rest of the city on pretty much every roof were other families surrounding sheep in various states of sacrifice. Blood was literally flowing in the streets and the smell of barbeque was pretty distinct. I have never felt so much like I was in a Francis Bacon painting.
Once all of the skin and the feet were removed from our sheep, my host mother brought up about 5 or 6 bowls. The stomach was promptly