Friday, December 23, 2005

Its raining men...

Well, not really. But it is raining. And what do you do on a rainy day in Gaza with a 21 month old stir-crazy boy? NOTHING. People are too scared to go anywhere after dark here, and they get lazy in the winter ("winter" meaning a very temperate 17 degrees) even lazier when its raining, so we were stuck indoors.

I tried and tried of thinking of interesting things to do (climbing on mommy's desk and destroying her cd-drive is not one of them), and exhausted what little creative cells I had left in my brain. We danced, we fingerpainted, we coloured (the couches, inadvertantly) with crayons, we watched Finding Nemo (in Arabic, Egyptian dialect) 5 times ( If I see that little wide-eyed clown fish one more time today I think I'll fry him for dinner), we made castles out of the couch cushions, we took pictures, we even watched a Hamas rally go by (well, its hard to avoid, living on the main street and all can be very strategic for a journalist, and somewhat annoying for a family), and of course, we drank coffee. Needless to say, Yousuf was bouncing of the walls for a good 2 hours (quite literally).

Here's to more rainy days alone with Yousuf.

12 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Laila, your little boy is adorable, and i love those pics you posted...
I started reading your blog exactly one week ago, and I was so impressed by the previous posts, but I did not dare to write a comment, i am very shy... But seeing how cute Yousuf is, I just could not resist :). Keep up the good work!

10:15 PM  
Blogger lisoosh said...

Off politics completely - that is one serious haircut.
By the way, how did the toilet training go?

11:21 PM  
Blogger Laila said...

haha, the haircut was an accident. He was too terrified of the barber so we decided to cut his hair at home, with my father's assistance...oops. A little of the right, a little of the left, and next thing you know he had a bald spot, so we had to take it all off! As for toilet training-well, it isn't really going anywhere! I just don'g know how to do it-i put him on the potty, but now he refuses to tell me if he want to do a kaka, he just does it, and its too cold to try my grandparents' strategy ("take of his diapers and let him run nude for a week").

10:46 AM  
Blogger lisoosh said...

You can wait. Boys take longer anyway. Once they are trained they are constantly asking to go to the bathroom and that is just as annoying.

5:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very cute photos, and I'm amazed at all those creative things you did with him. You must be a very patient and imaginative mother.

I know I'm supposed to be happy that it's raining, because it means we have water, but I can't help but think "Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day . . . "

I'm curious to know exactly what people are afraid of after dark.

7:46 PM  
Blogger أبو سنان said...

Cute pictures, Masha'Allah. We have a six month old causing cuteness here, with another on the way! Alhamdulillah!

12:59 AM  
Blogger Laila said...

I do have cornstarch (although I am envisioning all sorts of not-so-pleasant possibilities, and my mom screaming..), but I also know how to make playdough at home, which also keeps him occupied for a while.

Abu Sinan-6 months apart!! I'm impressed-I don't even think I can manage another baby 2 years apart.

12:22 PM  
Blogger Laila said...

Hi Sarah- people are mostly afraid of two things-either an Israeli raid of some kind, or Palestinian gunmen on the streets in some brawl (and the occasional bullet ricocheting the wrong way).

12:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, Laila. Thanks for answering my question. I now have another set of questions, which I hope you'll take in the spirit of sincere curiosity in which it is meant:

Do the raids and brawls truly happen only after dark? If so, why? And if not, why would going out at night be more frightening than the day?

And in terms of Israeli raids, if they are going to, say, enter your apartment building to search for someone in particular, isn't it just as scary inside as outside, unless they've set a curfew?

(And am I right in assuming that, since the disengagement, there are no more curfews?)

I try to keep up on the news on the neighborhoods next door, but for these day-to-day details, bloggers are much better.

1:58 PM  
Blogger Anne Rettenberg LCSW said...

I'm wondering if Gaza has deteriorated since a year ago when I was there...I remember taking a walk after dark and going shopping...

2:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Five Times?! Lord.

Can't help but wonder how Bruce The Shark came across in Egyptian dialect!

12:31 PM  
Blogger Laila said...

I LOVE Bruce the Shark, lol. He becomes "Bashoosh"-or "Happy/Smily" (a play on his teeth). He comes out quite funny, hehe.

Sarah-no more curfews, nor are there soldiers IN gaza (just above). Its mainly psychological, people associate night with fear and attacks.

11:55 AM  

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