The Surreality that was this Eid

Maybe it is just a part of getting older, but I have convinced myself that living in Amman that has turned me into a hermit of sorts. (or at least, a hermit wannabe)

Last Thursday, we were all happily fasting, thinking of how nice it would be to visit my mother-in-law on Friday for the final 'iftar' of Ramadan--i.e., the 30th day. My mother in law expects us every Friday for lunch, but especially in Ramadan does she love to prepare food for us and gather the family around her. Did I mention she lives in a bright pink building that can be viewed from outer space? Without GPS?

Anyhow, as we all know, the first day of Eid ul-Fitr was declared to be on Friday, making Ramadan just 29 days long. Alhamdulillah. Plans changed.

There is something about that first morning of Eid that makes me wary of eating or drinking. I believe it is just that my body is so used to fasting in daylight hours. Oh, and child #3 decided it would be an appropriate time to vomit chocolate milk and cookies all over half of the den, so I spent most of the morning trying to clean upholstery. After that, no one really wanted to eat much at all, so we waited until it was time to go for lunch at my mother-in-law's. She had prepared grape leaves and stuffed squash for us. When we arrived, she had a sour look on her face; she had forgotten the grape leaves on the stove and all of the water in the pressure cooker had boiled out. They were burned beyond edibility. In all my years of knowing her, she has never burned a meal.

By that time, we were actually hungry. We left mom-in-law's and went to KFC where we ordered some Zinger sandwiches. I think the bread they used was five or six days old. The sandwiches were terrible, but we ate them anyway. Thus ended Eid, day 1. Someone, please contain my excitement.

On day 2, we decided to go check out the new electronics superstore that opened near the 7th Circle. It's called "Smart Buy," kind of a knock-off of BestBuy I suppose. They had iPod Shuffles for 68 JD, or around $100. This was actually a decent price, considering that taxes on imported electronics are usually through the roof. This price was comparable to US prices. My daughter got one; she deserved it, after working so hard in school and fasting and reading Quran and and and...she's just a good girl, mashaAllah.
Here I caught her examining the new supercool item while we waited for my husband to return to the car with fast-food exhibit B: sandwiches from Hardee's. As much as I'd like to tell you how tasty they were, they were not. Again, it was a case of old bread and dry meat. What's up with this? Within two days we had spent 41 JD on bad sandwiches. That evening we were invited to my brother-in-law's for mansef, which we devoured, thus concluding day 2 of the Eid. Is anyone having fun yet?

On the third day I proclaimed I would not leave my house and throw money away on substandard sammies, but instead would prepare one of my family's favorite Chinese dishes: sesame chicken. I have worked on my recipe since 2002 when we moved here and realized that Chinese food (or any Asian food, really) in Amman is overpriced and not nicely prepared, at least in our opinion. If you've never had Chinese food in Chinatown or in a high quality Chinese restaurant in the West, then you won't know what you are missing here in Amman. But alas, dear friends, we know, and it makes a big difference. So I whipped up a big old batch, but only my 2 little daughters and I were home to eat it. My daughter had spent the night with her cousins and my husband and son were attending a jahha, or engagement party.

We ate.

Yum yum golden chicken sweet-and-spicy goodness.

After finishing dinner, my sister-in-law called to tell me she was taking my daughter and her cousins to "apulebdieh." We had a bad connection on the phone. "Where?" I asked. "What restaurant is that?"

"Abu Lebedeh's," I heard her say.

Abu Lebedeh's? I had not heard of that one. I thought, it must be some mishawee (BBQ) place I am not familiar with.

"Just call me when you get there and I'll come pick her up," I told her.

"People are coming from Duffeh (Palestine)?" she asked.

I gave up on trying to have a clear conversation with her. Twenty or so minutes later, I called her back. This time our connection was good, so I asked her where she was. "We're at Fuddrucker's" she replied. Fuddrucker's just opened next door to Applebee's, the place I had heard as "Abu Lebedeh's," which is not far from where I live. "I'll be right there," I told her.

We entered the restaurant, which was very crowded and smoke-filled. They had ordered five hamburgers and five colas. Still full from my sesame chicken, I watched them eat their meals while listening to Purple Rain and Thriller being blasted from the speakers. I gazed around the room and saw many men, women, and children wearing unfortunately unattractive Eid clothing. I thought about all the dough the Eid must generate in Amman in places like this, how families who can barely afford eating on a regular basis spend way beyond their means to show their families a 'good time.' Honestly, I wasn't having a good time, nor had I since the Eid began. Maybe it's my own cynicism that peaks during this time because I get so frustrated with the mob scenes and the fast track to hedonism the Eid seems to bring out in many folks.

My sister-in-law who lives on 250 JD per month forked out 36 JD for those simple burgers. I felt sick.

I know this: I have to make my own traditions for my family and not let society dictate them. Let the countdown begin until Eid ul-Adha...I have two months to plan.