Things I never anticipated preparing my kids for..

[Kate in Arabia]

So my dh has started going to the palace across the street; the sheikh recently built a masjid there and it is really convenient for him to walk to for prayers. Almost always the sheikh asks him to sit afterwards and have coffee/tea, or dinner if it is the evening prayer. My kids usually go with him, they seem to enjoy themselves hanging out in the majlis (the seating area where the sheikh sits with his "retinue").

So my ds 6 comes home the other night..

"We ate food with the shiekh!"

"Hey, that's great, what'd you have?"

"Well, we had rice and lamb.. but the sheikh cracked open the skull of the lamb with his hands and he ate the tongue and the brain and the eyes!!"

(These are actually considered a delicacy.)

"Umm, did he offer you any?"

"Yeessss." (please, please don't let him have made a terrible face or gagged or worse!)

"Did you make a yucky face?"

"Well, maybe a little then I said 'No thank you'"

I think he gets an A for effort, this is my very expressive child, but we still need to work a bit on controlling our reactions, lol! I must admit, this wasn't on my list of "yucky food" that I usually make my kids taste then say no thanks -- I thought it was bad enough on them to make them try the vegetables! :lol:

[Doran]

...(please, please don't let him have made a terrible face or gagged or worse!)

"Did you make a yucky face?"

"Well, maybe a little then I said 'No thank you'"

I think he gets an A for effort, this is my very expressive child, but we still need to work a bit on controlling our reactions, lol! I must admit, this wasn't on my list of "yucky food" that I usually make my kids taste then say no thanks -- I thought it was bad enough on them to make them try the vegetables! :lol:


I have to believe his little yucky face made the sheikh smile a bit inside! Or is it just not acceptable to be disgusted by the thought of eating the contents of a lamb's head? ::shudder::

I'm pretty easy when it comes to food, but there's not much about that list I wouldn't have made a face about myself! (Although, the importance of eating the whole animal does make sense to me in principle.)

What a great kid he must be! :D

[Kate in Arabia]

Oh, kids are doted on over here almost regardless what they do, so I'm sure it was well received...

I have seen trays of brain, and even tongue, for sale in the grocery store, but haven't seen eyes in a group like that, lol, I think that would really freak me out (what would that be, five dirhams per eye? Or per kg? lol). And it probably isn't helpful that when shopping we like to point out the odd (to us) stuff. It's a throwback, actually, from when I went shopping with my dad when I was young -- he and I did the grocery shopping every Saturday morning and liked to comment on all the weird and wonderful stuff we'd see.

The kids also watched a National Geographic podcast on eating bugs, and they thought that was really gross too (well, I didn't exactly find it appetizing either). But I understand it's all a matter of perspective. My comment to them, "You don't have to like it, but you can't make a face."

[Doran]

Oh, kids are doted on over here almost regardless what they do, so I'm sure it was well received...

...[snip]...My comment to them, "You don't have to like it, but you can't make a face."


Well, shucks, Kate. Where's the fun in that!? ;);)

[Sarah in FL]

Kate, your life sounds so exotic! Living across the street from a real live sheikh who cracks open the skull of lambs? I think you should post a picture of what you see when you look out your front door.
Enjoy your day!

[ThelmaLou]

Too funny! We have an acquaintance that works in Iraq. He was given the same dish for a meal. I think he called it "Pacha." He was mortified, but it was clear to him that the host considered it a delicacy and our friend felt it would be offensive to turn down the opportunity to eat what his Iraqi host was trying to honor him with. So he just turned off his brain and started shoveling in sheep brains. Eeewwww!

[Donna T.]

"Well, maybe a little then I said 'No thank you'"



You're raising a polite child! That's something to be proud of! I wonder what my sons would have said?!

[Angel]

I shared this with my dh and dd (the one who has food sensitivities). Dh said this gives him new ideas for conversation at the dinner table.:lol: I think your ds is a real trooper with great manners!

Thanks for sharing with us and opening a little peep into your side of the world :001_smile:

[JFS in IL]

What? He did not want to eat food that was looking at him? :D This made me think of the end scene in Christmas Story (not as gross as the sheep's head, though).

What a memorable childhood your kidlets are getting!!!

[Michelle T]

I think I would have to draw the line at eating eyeballs! Well, actually I wouldn't eat the brain or tongue either.

What an interesting place to live! Do you have a blog with pictures? I'd love to see what your area looks like.
Michelle T

[DIY-DY]

So my dh has started going to the palace across the street; the sheikh recently built a masjid there and it is really convenient for him to walk to for prayers. Almost always the sheikh asks him to sit afterwards and have coffee/tea, or dinner if it is the evening prayer. My kids usually go with him, they seem to enjoy themselves hanging out in the majlis (the seating area where the sheikh sits with his "retinue").

So my ds 6 comes home the other night..

"We ate food with the shiekh!"

"Hey, that's great, what'd you have?"

"Well, we had rice and lamb.. but the sheikh cracked open the skull of the lamb with his hands and he ate the tongue and the brain and the eyes!!"

(These are actually considered a delicacy.)

"Umm, did he offer you any?"

"Yeessss." (please, please don't let him have made a terrible face or gagged or worse!)

"Did you make a yucky face?"

"Well, maybe a little then I said 'No thank you'"

I think he gets an A for effort, this is my very expressive child, but we still need to work a bit on controlling our reactions, lol! I must admit, this wasn't on my list of "yucky food" that I usually make my kids taste then say no thanks -- I thought it was bad enough on them to make them try the vegetables! :lol:

I think your son did a fine job on the impromptu side-stepping! LOL! It's funny, b/c DH grew up eating all manner of things, and one of his favorites was sheep's brains scrambled w/ eggs for breakfast. Now, our boys will eat *anything*... or, just about. That particular story still makes them squirm a bit. I think they'll get a kick out of hearing about your son's adventure!

Dy

[melissel]

I agree, I think he did great! I can just imagine my DD's reaction if offered that particular combo!

However, I think I'm a little sorry I read this thread now... :blink::smilielol5:

[camibami]

I'd have a hard time not making a yucky face, too!

Kudos to your polite little boy- what a great experience to have!

[Kate in Arabia]

Do you have a blog with pictures?

Well, I tried for a short time but just couldn't keep going with it. I'll try to post a few pics below. I took these from behind the property wall of our villa.. I'm trying to be a little surreptitious, because I'm fairly sure taking pics of his place isn't allowed.. if I get arrested I'm blaming it all on y'all!!

There's a monster hill right across the street from us, and his palace sits on top of the hill. So really, you can't see much more than the gates and front buildings, unless you use a helicopter, lol. The masjid actually sits just inside the main gate.

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Edited to add:

Sorry, I realize you can't really see very much detail here, it's the best I've got! :(

[Jenny in Atl]

Is that Bouganvilla in your yard? So beautiful!

[*anj*]

Is a masjid like a chapel? Is it its own building, or a room inside the palace? How is it different from a regular mosque? :)

[lynn]

So my dh has started going to the palace across the street; the sheikh recently built a masjid there and it is really convenient for him to walk to for prayers. Almost always the sheikh asks him to sit afterwards and have coffee/tea, or dinner if it is the evening prayer. My kids usually go with him, they seem to enjoy themselves hanging out in the majlis (the seating area where the sheikh sits with his "retinue").

So my ds 6 comes home the other night..

"We ate food with the shiekh!"

"Hey, that's great, what'd you have?"

"Well, we had rice and lamb.. but the sheikh cracked open the skull of the lamb with his hands and he ate the tongue and the brain and the eyes!!"

(These are actually considered a delicacy.)

"Umm, did he offer you any?"

"Yeessss." (please, please don't let him have made a terrible face or gagged or worse!)

"Did you make a yucky face?"

"Well, maybe a little then I said 'No thank you'"

I think he gets an A for effort, this is my very expressive child, but we still need to work a bit on controlling our reactions, lol! I must admit, this wasn't on my list of "yucky food" that I usually make my kids taste then say no thanks -- I thought it was bad enough on them to make them try the vegetables! :lol:

That is funny. Atleast he tried it. May I ask if children are expected to try traditional delicacy's and like them or is it okay to say no thank you without tasting?

We have a show here where a guy travels the world and tries different delicacy's around the world. It's quite comical to watch to see how he reacts and his descriptions of the taste and texture are hilarious. Very entertaining to my kids. I must say I can't always watch it though....

[Rich with Kids]

Wow, Kate! Thanks for sharing this with us. Your son sounds like a sweetie! Eyeballs...that is exotic. :eek:

[Kate in Arabia]

Is that Bouganvilla in your yard? So beautiful!

Yes! It is a very popular plant over here, you see it *everywhere*, and yes it is so beautiful! I had never recalled seeing any before in the States, although I have heard it referred to a lot..

Is a masjid like a chapel?

Masjid is simply the Arabic original for "mosque". It's just a personal preference for me, lol, using "masjid" rather than "mosque".. because the Arabic term actually has a meaning. Arabic vocab is built mainly of derivatives.. so, for example, the root word sa-ja-da is a verb meaning "to prostrate", and a masjid is literally a "place where you prostrate". (Similarly, ta-ba-kha means "to cook" and a matbakh is a kitchen.) "Mosque" on it's own doesn't have a meaning beyond a place where Muslims pray that we derived from the Arabic. Not dissing the English language, lol, I just feel more comfortable using masjid.

That's probably a lot more than you wanted to know!

May I ask if children are expected to try traditional delicacy's and like them or is it okay to say no thank you without tasting?

Well I never expect them to like them, lol.. and honestly, I myself wouldn't try, umm, "head organs" unless truly pressed to do so. If it is something close to their realm of experience, I expect them to try it and they usually do. But we still have to have pep talks (especially with my 6 yr old) before going to someone's house for a meal -- "please try the food (we don't force them if they balk), don't make faces, if you don't like it you don't have to eat it, but you can't be rude" etc.

Edited to add:

Atleast he tried it.

Oh, he didn't try it, but at least he mostly politely declined, lol.

[Mamagistra]

What a sweet boy you have, and what lovely pictures. Thank you for sharing a piece of your world today. :)

[*anj*]

Masjid is simply the Arabic original for "mosque". It's just a personal preference for me, lol, using "masjid" rather than "mosque".. because the Arabic term actually has a meaning. Arabic vocab is built mainly of derivatives.. so, for example, the root word sa-ja-da is a verb meaning "to prostrate", and a masjid is literally a "place where you prostrate". (Similarly, ta-ba-kha means "to cook" and a matbakh is a kitchen.) "Mosque" on it's own doesn't have a meaning beyond a place where Muslims pray that we derived from the Arabic. Not dissing the English language, lol, I just feel more comfortable using masjid.

That's probably a lot more than you wanted to know!


Nope. It's more than I expected to learn, but not more than I wanted! I find these kinds of things to be so fascinating. I would've never known the pronunciation and phonetic spellings of two Arabic words otherwise.
Thanks so much for sharing. :001_smile:

[Eliana]

Masjid is simply the Arabic original for "mosque". It's just a personal preference for me, lol, using "masjid" rather than "mosque".. because the Arabic term actually has a meaning. Arabic vocab is built mainly of derivatives.. so, for example, the root word sa-ja-da is a verb meaning "to prostrate", and a masjid is literally a "place where you prostrate". (Similarly, ta-ba-kha means "to cook" and a matbakh is a kitchen.) "Mosque" on it's own doesn't have a meaning beyond a place where Muslims pray that we derived from the Arabic. Not dissing the English language, lol, I just feel more comfortable using masjid.


This is fascinating...

tes- beis- ches (tabach) in Biblical Hebrew is to slaughter/to butcher, though there's a noun from that shoresh for a cook who slaughters and then prepared meat - I think it might be used for cook in modern Hebrew, but I'm not sure.

Is it a general 'cook' work, or a specific one in Arabic? (beis-shin-lamed is the first shoresh I think of for 'cook' .. though, technically, it is more 'boil' and alef-peh-heh for bake...)

..and I don't think we have a related shoresh for prostrate - histachavu is bow down/prostrate... but then I don't know what Hebrew letter would/could correlate to 'j'... is that as in jet? or a softer sound?

But the structure is so familiar! Is that 'm' a participle prefix for you as well? (as in something like 'the cooking one' or, in other contexts, 'cooking')

Someday, G-d willing, I will get to learn Arabic! The similarities and differences fascinate me... and I love the *sound* of Arabic...and, honestly, since there has been so much conflict recently between our peoples, I want to have more ability to communicate - and there are so many flavors and even concepts that just can't be translated... and I always feel I understand another culture/people/country a tiny bit better when I have learned some of the language. [I hope that comes across right, Kate! Affection! Respect! Courteous (I hope!) curiosity! And, as always, excessive enthusiasm! :)]

[Jenny in Atl]

It is sad but true that often those in conflict with each other are far more alike then they see.

[Kate in Arabia]

tes- beis- ches (tabach) in Biblical Hebrew is to slaughter/to butcher, though there's a noun from that shoresh for a cook who slaughters and then prepared meat - I think it might be used for cook in modern Hebrew, but I'm not sure.

I think the related Arabic term is ḏa ba ḫa, which means to slaughter. One derivative is ḏabiḫa, which refers to meat which has been ritually slaughtered according to Islamic law. It can also mean the general "slaughter", like 'the army slaughtered the enemy'..

Is it a general 'cook' work, or a specific one in Arabic? (beis-shin-lamed is the first shoresh I think of for 'cook' .. though, technically, it is more 'boil' and alef-peh-heh for bake...)

It's a general "cook". ġa la ya is to boil, and kha ba za is to bake.

..and I don't think we have a related shoresh for prostrate - histachavu is bow down/prostrate... but then I don't know what Hebrew letter would/could correlate to 'j'... is that as in jet? or a softer sound?

j as in jet. But do you have prostration as part of your religious rituals (I didn't think so)? Maybe that is why the word never developed? Looking at the two alphabets side by side, my guess is that gimel is the correlary. The /j/ sound in Arabic comes from jiim (or giim).

But the structure is so familiar! Is that 'm' a participle prefix for you as well? (as in something like 'the cooking one' or, in other contexts, 'cooking')

Yes, a miim (m) prefix can indicate different derivatives:

ma- often for nouns of place, like a matbakh (kitchen), madrassah (school), majlis (place where you sit), masjid (place where you prostrate)

mi- often for nouns of instrument, like miftah (key, root means 'to open'), miqass (scissors, root means 'to cut')

mu- this is most of the particles, active and passive depending on how the rest of the word is vowellized, like a mudarris (teacher), mu'allim (also teacher), muslim (one who submits)

Gerunds actually have a different structure, many follow a set pattern but some dont ;) Arabic is a very structured/patterned language.. learn the pattern, and you can figure out a lot on your own.

Someday, G-d willing, I will get to learn Arabic! The similarities and differences fascinate me... and I love the *sound* of Arabic...and, honestly, since there has been so much conflict recently between our peoples, I want to have more ability to communicate - and there are so many flavors and even concepts that just can't be translated... and I always feel I understand another culture/people/country a tiny bit better when I have learned some of the language.

I feel the same way about Hebrew! I may actually have a book here somewhere for teaching yourself Hebrew, lol, but I have just an overwhelming amount on my plate.. I've also been amazed at how similar Orthodox Judaism and Orthodox Islam are. Whenever I take one of those online "belief" quizzes, I always get Muslim 100% and Orthodox Jew 98%, lol. And I know this isn't scholarly at all, lol, and maybe she's totally wrong, but I also like to read Faye Kellerman's books and she has a lot of what she says is the Orthodox Jewish lifestyle in her books (maybe she's totally off), and a lot of it looks familiar to me (like ritual baths, etc.).

I did once take an introduction to Judaism class at a local synagogue when I was living in the States, but they really focused on main beliefs and were not Orthodox.. I have several books on Judaism, but don't know if they are accurate or not, could I maybe send you a list of what I have and you could let me know if any are horribly skewed or wrong or something? Like you, I feel like the more we learn about other people the better off we'll be!

Kate

[Eliana]

I think the related Arabic term is ḏa ba ḫa, which means to slaughter. One derivative is ḏabiḫa, which refers to meat which has been ritually slaughtered according to Islamic law. It can also mean the general "slaughter", like 'the army slaughtered the enemy'..

It's a general "cook". ġa la ya is to boil, and kha ba za is to bake.



j as in jet. But do you have prostration as part of your religious rituals (I didn't think so)? Maybe that is why the word never developed? Looking at the two alphabets side by side, my guess is that gimel is the correlary. The /j/ sound in Arabic comes from jiim (or giim).


I wonder if your da ba ha is related to our zevach - the one mizbeach (altar) derives from...

We prostrate ourselves one Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur during the Aleinu prayer (the rest of the year we bow at that point), but you're right prostration (well, for that matter submission too, which is at the core of Islam - that's what that shoresh means, yes? (What is your term for 'shoresh'?)) isn't the way Judaism takes... nor do we kneel... (perhaps I should have taken some comparative religion classes, it is all so fascninating!), so it would make sense that we wouldn't have a word dedicated to it.

You don't have a gimmel? Do you have the 'g' as in goat sound? (The alphabet is clearly where I need to start!)


Yes, a miim (m) prefix can indicate different derivatives:

ma- often for nouns of place, like a matbakh (kitchen), madrassah (school), majlis (place where you sit), masjid (place where you prostrate)

mi- often for nouns of instrument, like miftah (key, root means 'to open'), miqass (scissors, root means 'to cut')

mu- this is most of the particles, active and passive depending on how the rest of the word is vowellized, like a mudarris (teacher), mu'allim (also teacher), muslim (one who submits)

Gerunds actually have a different structure, many follow a set pattern but some dont ;) Arabic is a very structured/patterned language.. learn the pattern, and you can figure out a lot on your own.
Thank you for humoring my curiosity!



I feel the same way about Hebrew! I may actually have a book here somewhere for teaching yourself Hebrew, lol, but I have just an overwhelming amount on my plate..

I know the feeling! Is there a text you'd recommend for beginning to learn Arabic? I haven't even gotten that far yet!

I've also been amazed at how similar Orthodox Judaism and Orthodox Islam are. Whenever I take one of those online "belief" quizzes, I always get Muslim 100% and Orthodox Jew 98%, lol.

It is amazing. When talking with those of other faiths I feel the strongest sense of kinship wish observant Muslim women... and the underlying approach feels the least foreign.

And I know this isn't scholarly at all, lol, and maybe she's totally wrong, but I also like to read Faye Kellerman's books and she has a lot of what she says is the Orthodox Jewish lifestyle in her books (maybe she's totally off), and a lot of it looks familiar to me (like ritual baths, etc.).

I could only read one of her books (I am a complete wimp about violence!), but as I recall, none of the facts jumped out at me as off, but the flavor felt really off.... but I can't think of anything that doesn't. Things are either written from the outside either by folks who left or those who've never been in, or from the inside but trying too hard to make it all right. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I'm not remembering any of them right now!

Is there anything more modern you could suggest that I could read? I was fascinated my Mahfouz's Cairo trilogy (pressed on me by a dear friend and mentor who was distressed that all the things I had read about Arabic and Muslim lands and cultures were written by Westerners. He was so right, and I want to read more.)

I did once take an introduction to Judaism class at a local synagogue when I was living in the States, but they really focused on main beliefs and were not Orthodox.. I have several books on Judaism, but don't know if they are accurate or not, could I maybe send you a list of what I have and you could let me know if any are horribly skewed or wrong or something? Like you, I feel like the more we learn about other people the better off we'll be!

I'd love to look over it and share my thoughts on the list - you can email me, whenever you get a chance: eliana@efn.org. If I don't respond right away, it might get lost in my to-do pile, so, *please* drop me a reminder if I take more than a week to get back to you!

Kate[/quote]

[Kate in Arabia]

Just pulling this up again because someone took a pic at the sheikh's majlis the other evening with his cell phone, thought someone out there might enjoy seeing:

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My dd (3) is in the middle. The man in blue is the sheikh (his father is the official ruler of Ras al-Khaimah, although he is 90+ so the de facto ruler is one of his sons, not this one); the rest around are either extended family members or visitors.

Kate

[Lorna]

What a beautiful photo Kate.

[Brigitte]

That's neat!

[neveryoumindthere]

Yes, a miim (m) prefix can indicate different derivatives:

ma- often for nouns of place, like a matbakh (kitchen), madrassah (school), majlis (place where you sit), masjid (place where you prostrate)

mi- often for nouns of instrument, like miftah (key, root means 'to open'), miqass (scissors, root means 'to cut')

mu- this is most of the particles, active and passive depending on how the rest of the word is vowellized, like a mudarris (teacher), mu'allim (also teacher), muslim (one who submits)



WOW :lol: I can't even tell you how excited I am to read this!!! This is the first time I've ever seen/read this. My parents are arab, my arabic is ok-fluent, not the best, AND I just completed 2 levels of the Madinah Arabic and no one ever told me this! I actually had to run a bunch of words through my head to see how it worked and it does!:lol: Can you tell I'm excited :tongue_smilie:

I was just going to post a thread asking for advice about teaching arabic to my kids. I think I'll have to post and PRAY you share your experience, tips, and expertise!

Thank you for this. Really.