hafla!

(fabric and ottoman purchased in egypt... aren't they lovely?)

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"hafla" or حفله means party. 

and that's what we had. 

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i studied arabic almost everyday for the past 2 months with these girls. 

(kelly and cecily) 

they are awesome. 

we had this little arabic party, well, just us three, and it was just so fun. i sometimes feel like no one understands me, because i'm so obsessed with all things middle eastern, and it's sometimes all i want to talk about, and i sometimes talk about it in arabic, and then people literally just don't understand me. 

these girls get it. 

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we had thai food, which is not middle eastern, but since cecily knows how to make it so well, we made an exception. 

after dinner, i introduced them to these girls:

i found this belly dance workout video on youtube, and i love it. it's so fun. it comes in four parts, and i highly recommend it. the girls that teach it are egyptian, so it's even more fun. i'm always trying to get people into belly dance, and my dear friends were willing. it was so funny.

we danced in the kitchen, milkshakes in hand. 

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it's such a good work out, and it's getting me so excited for the middle eastern dance class that i'm taking in october!

there's a recital in november.

you're all invited.

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