Halloween Crafts

With the help of their Activity Days leaders, Lisa and Amanda made a jack-o-lantern melon.  Pumpkins are available here, but they are white, huge, and expensive, so most people who want to cook pumpkin  buy just a slice for their needs.  But melons are still plentiful.  It turned out so cute that we just lost our heads and had a little fun.

 Now for Amanda:

 And Emily's turn:

 On Halloween itself, my friend Elizabeth brought her kids over for dinner and cookie painting.  With cups of runny frosting and clean paintbrushes, the Stratford, Schade, Vogelmann, and Judd kids created delicious little masterpieces.

 Someone was getting fancy with the camera.

 Sweet!

Halloween

While Halloween is not my favorite holiday, it is fun to see the kids all dressed up, and it's a good holiday for including people, as neighbors open their doors and we all take photos of each others' kids.  The Jewish holiday for dressing up is Purim, in the spring,   As you will see below, some of our friends got very creative about making costumes.  

One of the wonderful things being out of the country for Halloween is not having to face the American costume stores.  It always bothered me that my kids and I had to walk past the weapons wall to get to the tiara section.  I mean, what kid needs a plastic machete filled with fake blood?  Sorry for the soapbox, but when I see kids here pointing plastic guns at each other, it gives me the creeps even more than it did back home.

Anyway, back to the Halloween celebration.  This was a little early because the students were in Jordan on Halloween:

We brought Amanda's and Emily's costumes from home, and purchased a shower curtain for Lisa's sari.

Karla went all artistic on Elizabeth's costume.  This is all from scratch!

Ophir Yarden, who teaches modern Israeli history, brought his two youngest sons.  It was great to have them come, and we had the students give out kosher candy.  

 Here you get a glimpse of Wall-e and a white faced mime heading into the spook alley.

 David is radiating creativity.

 I think Isaac dressed up as his dad, the ancient near east history professor.

 Carrie is impersonating Merida, and the lovely unicycle next to her is her friend Emily.

Arab Culture Night

On this gala occasion, students heard the Muslim Call to Prayer performed in person by the official muezzin father and son team from the Al Aksa Mosque, then enjoyed a banquet representing the feat at the end of Ramadan, and to top it all off, they learned Palestinian dances from local instructors. 

The Oasis cafeteria got some extra trimmings for the feast.

 Mr. Ayman Jebara, the Arabic teacher, narrated and translated for the Call to Prayer presentation in the Forum.

 Students were invited to dress in the styles they see in the old city and East Jerusalem.

The student committee decorated one elaborate corner especially for group photos.

Curious about the menu?  We feasted on:

Dilaع Kharuf (Lamb )

Musakhan (Sumac Chicken, wrapped in thin wheat pitas)

Sfihah (meat pies)

Maklube (upside down casserole)

Saniyye (potato, onion, tahini)

Kusa (zucchini, stuffed)

Bagdunsiya (tahini with parsley)

Babaganoush (eggplant)

Tabbouleh (bulgar salad)

Kubbeh (bulgur dumplings stuffed with meat)

Kunafa (cheese pastry)

 Some of our wonderful service couples got into the costumes as well.

The Palestinian dance instructors arrived in time for the sweet Kunafa.  Andrew was practicing his Arabic and welcoming our guests.

The Imams ate and left early; here you can see the rest of the head table: Ayman Jebara, Kent Jackson, Eran Hayet, Tawfic Alawi, Nancy Jackson, and Andrew.