There was no rest for our survivors and after sleeping through the first night even amidst the noise of kukus (chickens) and loud music our neighbors played Rhoda came to a local Maulid celebration with Annikah and I on Saturday. We could not let Bibi miss out of this chance to see the local culture and meet our welcoming and amazing friends. No boys allowed so Jason and Jim stayed home to try to rest which soon proved impossible because of the blaring speakers from our party! Pole Sana!
Rhoda’s challenge: attend local party where no one speaks English, listen to crazy loud music for a few hours, and try to fit in when everything is very different from a party at home. She narrowly survived eating the food since we took the “to-go” bags home where Anni was more than happy to eat both our shares. Bibi passed this challenge with no problems at all and although I do not think she will be searching for a CD of local music to take home she even had fun. Her reward was soon to follow….
Bibi & Anni take it all in!
the marashi (or rose water) they splash on everyone,
the “band”
watu wengi wanacheza dufu
special family announcements, family members names are called and then they get up to tip money
some of the mountain of shoes at the gate
After the party it was time for pictures with EVERYONE! It took forever, I felt like I was back at my wedding š but Bibi and Anni got to head home for this part. a taste of the Par-Tay:
http://i204.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid204.photobucket.com/albums/bb212/roxanne_engstrom/maulidcelebration.flv
Very cool to see the cultural differences in a party! Thank you for sharing, looks like you guys had fun.