No Longer a Tourist in Libya

I have survived one year of living here and to commence life as a stranger - almost ignorant, tourist wannabe, foreigner wife half-localized- in Libya, i attended the Janzour Tourism Festival and caught a glimpse (it is still not Libya in her entirety) of the beauty of this country...

It is my prayer as part of this nation and as a mother raising children who will be partakers of life here, ishallah, that the future generation will make their country even more beautiful and not taint its glory. I hope that the young children now will value education and hard work for it is a sad sight to see the young people, teen agers so well-dressed but with bad manners. I hope and pray that these young men will soon realize that image is not everything and that they don\t have to be like someody else nor everyone else in order to feel good. Feeling good about oneself is not everything either. It is in knowing that one is loved and accepted and that one knows the wisdom of self-discipline. I also hope that we, the mothers will live the kind of life that goes beyond the "natural order"--realizing and living out our purpose of raising truly godly and not just "religious" children, helping them realize their individual purposes as well, and teaching them to dream and pursue the good their heart desires. I pray we plant this seed in the hearts of other mothers as well, give them hope of something that will grow out of their sacrifices..that, if they dare to sacrifice.

Allah bless Libya, her children, her future, and most of all, her mothers.

Wondering, Thanking

Today is a fine day.
Sam is sitting at my right and Leaf at my left. We are on the floor, as i write and as they both try to cuddle with me. I thank God for their good-just-woke-up-mood.

Two days ago i went to another Ob-gyn of another hospital where i decided to give birth since it's closer to our house. I was suffering from a terrible, griping abdominal pain it was almost like labor pain. After some lab tests we found out it was some infection in my UT and the griping pain was actually gas pains or "gazad" according to my mama in law.
The ob was a woman and she's good.

today we are going as usual to Janzour for a weekend at tito Dan's. im excited because there's a Tourism Festival going on there and Sami will get to ride a camel, inshallah.

now for my wonderings....

The Week in Review

my week so far...from saturday march 7 to saturday, march 14...

7th -bday, happy, fun, insightful, blessed

8th- went home to welcome in-laws coming from medical check -up in Tunis
9th-hubby bought lappy (notebook) which i think is his gift for me
10th-mama called with the news that lola (grandmother, my maternal grandma's sister) who is almost 90, still beautiful, looks 60, went to a fortune teller to ask where's the land title that she had misplaced. The FT told her that it is with a chinky eyed, pretty girl who is now abroad and concluded that it's me because there\s no other chinese looking girl in her side of the family who is based abroad...the FT told her the girl (i) did not do it on purpose because the paper happened to be inside the bag that she lent/gave us.

facts: we checked the bag (of course) before we packed the clothes in...three months after we arrived here we sent it back since we know that Lola is almost-borderline-senile-but still physically strong and might "change" her mind about "having given" us her travelling bag and would say she only lent it to us or worse, we stole it, lol.

now she doesn't know where her bag is (which tito brought with him back home) which contains her land title, according to the fortune teller. (sigh)

11th- made list of tugon from the Philippines and left the section "for coming baby" blank
- organized closets and made a mental list of new essetials needed for the bedroom/baby's area

12th- went to janzour for a weekend at tito dan's

- removed my wedding ring from my finger which is getting chubbier and wore the ring as a pendant

13th- got a call from sis in Dubai in need of immediate financial assistance (issued a check for apartment rental due on sunday march 15 and found out that the signatory of the company check they are supposed to encash earlier is in Jordan)

- ever thoughtful, kind and concerned husband of mine secured the cash 12 midnight

14th - 12 noon Tito and husband sent money through Western Union but it was closed already.
- 5pm, dropped tito at Grand Hotel branch and went to my Ob Gynie for my pre natal
- while waiting at the clinic, tito called and asked us to go back to Grand hotel for they only accept 1 thou USD and we are sending 1,500.
- had ultra sound...Sami and Leaf watched the "tv" to see the baby and found out they are going to have a baby sister. I wept with joy...
-went straight to see tito at Grand Hotel so hubby can send the 500...
-news from tito when we arrived: his 500USD was pick-pocketed while waiting in line. second news: he saw the clerk wrote the recipient address: Philippines, assuming that Tito is sending for the Phils.

- for Tito and my hubby it was a very stressful 3-hour journey complaining, reporting the error and going from this branch to the main branch and thinking about the money lost...
-

deep inside i was peaceful, quiet, and happy at the backseat just thinking about the baby in my tummy, despite Leaf's tantrums in the car and that Sami was having diarrhea and was getting car sick...

later on, tito asked about the baby and i think their mood changed as i kept on ranting about the baby...the preparations we need and the blessings knowing that she's going to have a lot of beautiful hand me downs from her cousin KZ in Dubai and the decors for the bedroom, etc.

still it was a blessed day. just as my husband said "money can always be found for it is just money."

The week was basically the usual...events were trivial but oh the insights it brought.