Hippies!

First off, my Mom reminded me that when I ended the Canada blog, I had actually forgotten something pretty important: On our second to last day, we went with my brother and (almost all) his family on a Jet boat in the Niagara River. It's actually really cool - one of the highlights of our Niagara experience, and yes you do get 100% soaked. If you've ever ridden a jetski, it's the same principle - just a million times bigger, in huge rapids. Really fun, and no, the photos do not do it justice!

Last week, I promised more updates. I know that you are curious to know what, exactly, we do for fun out here. Well, we've recently started learning how to play doumbek (traditional Arabic drums). After only 2 weeks, we can do a baladi and a chiftatelli - um, well, slowly and with plenty of stopping and starting. It's quite fun, especially for someone like me who has zero rhythm.

My drum is the prettiest drum in the world, and I'm being rather cheeky in this photo as I am looking at the photographer (Our friend Ridwan's wife, Yanti. Ridwan is responsible for bringing all of us together to play drums) on purpose and not being all "in the moment, with eyes closed". Actually, I do find it much easier to play with my eyes closed, since any stray thoughts or distractions generally mean I lose the beat completely.

You can find quite a few videos on youtube of doumbek players, usually accompanying bellydancers (makes me wonder how they can possibly play with their eyes open and not get distracted!), and it's pretty neat!