Countdown to Eid Al-Kabir!

Fall is slowly arriving here.  Too slowly.  But we are grateful for the cool nights that lead to brisk mornings, and we savor the fall feeling with cups of pumpkin spice coffee (thank you Jen!) and wait in dread for the sun to shine and make our lives hot and sweaty.

Enough complaining about the sun, though.  I wanted to show you what fall in our town looks like.  More specifically, what this week in our town looks like.  We are in the final countdown to a very large holiday, and our town is brimming with energy.

If you'd like a soundtrack to accompany you as you continue reading, be sure and click this link and you'll hear what the weekly souk (market) in our town sounds like.  

Why are market sounds so important?  Imagine it's a few days before Thanksgiving, and you have to run out to the grocery store to buy everything you need for the big feast.  The store is crowded, of course, as it always is before a big holiday.  Then imagine that your grocery store is outside.  So there are cars driving through it while people chitchat and argue over prices.  And then, imagine that you actually have to buy a live turkey, bring it home, care for it for a few days, and then slaughter it yourself.  Now, imagine that every other family is doing that, too.

Except, swap out the turkey for a live sheep.  Because it's Eid Al-Kabir, y'all, and our town is almost ready to celebrate.  So, when you see this outside:

It's safe to assume that this hay is not actually going to a hay ride.  Instead, it's going to feed the sheep until it's time for the sheep to meet his maker.  In fact, this sheep and his goat friend are actually right on top of the van, too.

And when you see something like this:

Rest assured that these boys aren't going to the local petting zoo.  They are making their way to families eager to grill some boulfaf.

And, lastly, when you see something like this:

Know that it's not as innocent as it looks.  I'm scoping out Wednesday's lunch.  Am I heartless?  Maybe.  Am I protein-deprived?  That's more likely.

Every Monday, our town has an animal souk.  People from the small villages surrounding our town come down to sell and purchase livestock.  Today's animal souk was the largest I've ever seen, and the animal exchanging spread into the streets. How many sheep can you spot?

Every Moroccan we ask claims that Eid Al-Kabir is their favorite holiday.  The excitement in the air is palpable, and our friends keep asking if we are going to buy our own sheep (the answer is "no."  I thought the giant hook placed precisely over the floor drain in our courtyard was for flowers).  Our host family is excited for us to spend the day with them, and we're grateful to be spending this special holiday with people who have cared for us so kindly.  

We'll be sure to share more stories and photos once the big day passes.  In the meantime, know that we miss you.  A lot.