Monthly Reading

As mentioned in the previous post, I'm reading the Book of Mormon this month, in its entirety. I thought, since I wouldn't have time to go through footnotes and cross-references, that it might be fun to try reading it in a way that I had never tried before. When I was in Palmyra, NY maybe 7 or 8 years ago, I was at the little bookstore/publishing house where the Book of Mormon was printed for the first time. They sell copies of the Book of Mormon that are replicas of that first set of 500 books that were published in 1830. They have no verses, no footnotes, no cross references, and the chapters are even organized differently. It reads almost like a novel. I bought on, and it has been sitting on my shelf ever since. I decided that I'd use it for this month's  Book of Mormon challenge.

It's been so interesting to me to read it, and to internalize the things I've read so many times in such a different way. It feels so much more continuous, and it flows together so well. It's also been interesting to read it as the early Saints read it. This is the way that my ancestors learned the gospel!

It's good for reading it quickly, but it's also making me seriously appreciate all the work that went into adding footnotes etc, and matching verses that match up to doctrine found in the Bible. I'm so impressed with the effort, work, and time it must have taken some very patient and well-read people. It's kind of amazing, actually. I've been loving my hour with the Book of Mormon every day, and I may just keep that up, as long as I have the time. I'll probably go back to reading my modern copy, as it has its pros, but  I recommend trying out the old format if you haven't!

*Here it is on Amazon

August

This month a few members of my family and I are doing a 30-day challenge of sorts. We all get to choose our own goals, but we being held accountable to one another, and encouraging each other to do what we've committed to do. My goals include drinking more water (3 liters/day), working out regularly, and more intensely (my new favorite app = Nike Training Club), getting all my thank you notes written (I'm overwhelmed with everyone's generosity, and because you were all so generous, it's going to take forever to write these all!*), going to bed and waking up earlier, writing in my journal, or blogging, recording my calorie intake and being more aware of what I'm putting in my body, reading at least a page of The Hobbit in Arabic (if I do that, I'll have finished it by the time the film comes out in December 2012... I know, it's slow) and, last but not least, reading the Book of Mormon before the month is out. That's 18 pages a day. A few of us are doing the Book of Mormon, and it was my sister's idea. I'm loving it so far! I just have to make sure I don't get behind... Luckily, I finished The Count of Monte Cristo last week, so I won't have anything pulling my attention away. I think this 30-day challenge will be a monthly thing, and I can't wait to come up with new goals for myself in the coming months. Suggestions?



*Some one gave us the most adorable gift. It's a pretty apron and some seashell measuring spoons from Anthropologie. Either there was no card, or it got lost. If you gave us this pretty little gift, thank you! Please identify yourself! If you know who it was from, please let me know. Thanks!

Raqas al-Beladi

رقص البلدي

A little piece of history:

The origin of the term belly dance comes from the Arabic term: Raqas al-Beladi which means "dance of my country." Westerners, sadly, have taken that phrase and mushed it up to be beladi dance, which then morphed into belly dance. Hollywood got it's filthy paws on it, it became westernized, glamorized, and is now looked down upon by most conservative folk. I have taken it upon myself to reverse the trend, support Arab culture, and promulgate the beauty (and intense fun) that is...

The Belly Dance.

It all began in a Persian restaurant called Sholeh in Los Angeles. I was a missionary with only a few weeks remaining before the end of my mission. My Persian friend took us out to dinner and was humiliated when suddenly, the lights dimmed, and the delicate clamor of finger-symbols could be heard in the distance... I turned to see a woman clad in gold (though scantily) perform an amzing belly dance routine. I'd never seen a belly dancer before, and although she was the type of belly dancer that many of us would disapprove of (including our poor friend that had brought us there... she really felt like she was corrupting our missionary minds) I could help but be impressed. I didn't know people could move like that, and I determined right then and there that I would learn how.

I started that night in my apartment, trying moves I could remember, but it was so hard. I decided to wait till I got home.

I got home. I went to the public library and found a DVD, it was a weird DVD. It was a workout / tribal fusion / belly dance dvd... not exactly what I was looking for, but it was all they had. Not a huge selection... Imagine that.

I practiced every day throughout the summer, and I found it to be so stress-relieving, such a good work out, and a really good excuse to listen to my collection of Persian songs all day.

I went to the middle east, where I learned that belly dancing's origins lie in Egypt. There are even carvings of some of the first belly dancers on some of the walls of the ancient Luxor Temple, as seen below...

(photographed by me)

and here they are up close:

It was here that I also found out that belly dancing is one of the highest paid professions in Egypt, and Egypt is very proud of it's heritage. Our tour guide talked a lot about belly dancing, telling us that everyone in Egypt belly dances: men, women, children and even grandmas. You don't need to show your belly, or any skin at all for that matter. He said his little three-year-old daughter is already learning how. (One day I will teach my babies).

If anything, this intensified my desire to learn.

A) I wanted to assimilate more and more into arab culture, and

B) I could make some seriously good money...

One of the highlights of my time in the Holy Land, and even in my life, I dare say, was the night before we hiked Mount Sinai.

I belly danced around a fire by a beduin tent.

It was so amazing. Probably a once in a life-time experience... well, actually, not if I can help it.

I stocked up on jangles and bangles and sorts of lovely things in Egypt, as I knew I'd need them one day, and I am certainly glad I did...

*

a little unexpected romance...

yesterday my roommate (ginny) and i went to the library to study.

on the way there i started saying, "ok ginny, our goal tonight is to study very diligently for two hours straight." but instead i decided to be so funny and say "ok ginny, our goal tonight is to get asked on a date."

she laughed (i succeeded in being so funny) and we continued up the hill. we went to the infamous "no shhh! zone" which is a section of the library where you can talk, listen to music, and even socialize if you're bold. we found an empty table and sat down.

behind us was the most interesting thing. there were two boys and two girls sitting at the table which was covered in a lovely, lacy tablecloth, with a candle in its center (the battery operated sort). the candle was surrounded by chocolate kisses, and romantic music floated around them all. it made our table look so lame.

before we could get our books our of our over-stuffed bags, shawn (as i later learned he was called) came up to us and asked if one of us would be willing to be his friend's date for the night, as his had left. ginny didn't want to, but since i hate to turn down the opportunity to serve, i said i would. i went and sat with them. shawn felt bad for ginny, so he went and found her a date too.

there we all were. three dates. it was oh so romantic. shawn and his date (maddie) had been friends for a while, but this was their first date. they were studying together. they had sat at a table already occupied by nathan (my date) and had subsequently found him two other dates before me... they apparently didn't enjoy it. ginny's date was a boy named john, who i think was just 19.

it was all very random, and luckily ginny and i got a ton of chocolate out of it. none of us got a ton of homework done, but we all quickly became (facebook) friends (where we made all sorts of connections through the "friends in common" feature) and had a lot of fun trying to make each other feel awkward.

(yes, we are all holding hands. we had to.)

all in all, it was a good date. i'd do it again.

ginny and i are about to head back up to the library... and what shall i set as my goal this time...?

LA - the last of it.

my last two days in LA were lovely. 

when i started packing up to leave on wednesday morning, i felt like i had done everything i wanted to do, and seen everyone i wanted to see... and then some. it was perfect. such a good feeling. 

monday was super relaxed. i went shopping with my friend kelly in camarillo. she found some shoes, but i came away with nothing. we drove home on the PCH through malibu, and it brought back many great memories of my mission. that's my favorite drive... when there's no traffic. 

that night kelly and brooke (the lovely ladies that i stayed with) took me out for dinner at the Gypsy Cafe on westwood. i loved it so much! they told me it was mediterranean food, but it was just completely middle eastern! they had falafel, shawarma, baba ghanoush, even hookahs! they also had the most amazing tomato soup ever. they were playing arabic music too, which made me so happy, and to my joy and surprise, one of my favorite songs (Nour el-Ain) came on halfway through dinner. i couldn't have asked for anything greater. it was so fun being back on westwood, where there's so much middle eastern culture, especially now that i understand it so much better. 

so much of what's written on the buildings is in farsi script, and since it's just about the same as arabic script, i could finally read it! what a great feeling. 

*

the next day i went downtown where i met up with some of my favorite people, morena and gilmar. they took me out for lunch at a little el salvadorian restaurant (that's where they're from). it was so good! i had forgotten how awesome pupusas, empanitas and empanadas are. 

about an hour later, even though i was so full, my friend jose (as seen in previous post) insisted on taking me out for lunch again. this time the food was honduran, like jose. he's such a sweetheart. he gave me a little english-spanish picture dictionary, so i can improve... yeah, it's gotten that bad. it was funny trying to communicate. my spanish got increasingly better as the day went on, but it seems to have gotten much worse. thank goodness for my new dictionary. he also gave me these pictures: 

he had them taken to send back to his family in hondruras, so he made copies for me and the other sister i taught him with. i think they're awesome. 

*

that night i met up with jonas. he's awesome. we went out for ice cream and he told me all the latest ideas he's come up with. he graduated from film school a few years back, and now at the tender young age of 25, he's already writing scripts. he's got 2 or 3 completed, or nearly completed i think. they're all pretty good too. he's just writing and researching, and will make it big in no time i'm sure. he told me he'll take me to the oscars one day. and i made him promise to include me in his thank you speech when he wins one day. 

*

well, it was sad to say goodbye to LA.

it was so nice though, to feel like i had had such a perfect trip. nothing went wrong, and all i had to be frustrated with was the horrible traffic on the I-10 as a result of the victory parade for the lakers on wednesday morning... i was a little sad to return to provo, but as i came into utah county, i was welcomed with beautiful rainy weather, and such a lovely rainbow. that made me happy to be home. 

i love that my mission is so accessible. i plan on taking advantage of that for the rest of my life. 

*