What's Going On

All sorts of things are going on this month that's worth mentioning . One was the first ever United Nations Hand Washing Day . That was Oct. 15 , 08 . They say that washing your hands is actually more effective than taking vitamin C to ward off the common cold . Imagine that , just by washing your hands . It was predicted that more than 120 million children in 70 countries across five continents participated in this new hygiene campaign sponsored by the UN this year to help combat disease . You think that washing your hands is a basic thing , right ? But just think ... if you don't have access to water or can't afford to the luxury of buying soap then how can you wash your hands ? That's what being poor in a third world country is like for many .

I have asked the neighborhood children if they had any discussions about washing their hands in school and they all looked at me like I was crazy . So , I am assuming this wasn't a teaching opportunity here in Libya .

The Pink Ribbon Day is Oct.27,08 . This day brings Breast Cancer awareness to everyones attention hopefully . The whole month of October is Breast Cancer Month . Great strides have been made in the detection and treatment of this deadly disease that not only strikes women , but men as well . I am sure you have heard it said that it is easily treated if it is caught in time, in most cases . A simple breast exam can be done in the privacy of your own home or if a more detailed exam is needed , a mammography is readily available in most hospitals or wellness clinics . Once again this isn't true here in Libya . I am sure some of the larger hospitals have mammography available if the doctor asks for it , but not at the local clinic level , sad to say . Also sad to say , I haven't met any breast cancer survivors here in Libya either , or heard of any .

October 16 was World Food Day . This was another UN sponsored event world wide to bring hunger into awareness . The 17th of October was End Poverty Day . October is also Dyslexia Awareness month . Dyslexia is one of many learning disorders that can be helped sometimes . October is host to the following celebrations as well ...... the 7th was " My Lucky Day " , on the 10th it was "Tuxedo Day" , wow , we really missed out on that one . I think Libyans celebrate October 23 , "Drive Fast Day " ,and October 25, " Don't Follow Any Rule Day " all the time ! There was even a " Someone Is Waiting For You Day ' on the 5 th . That happens a lot here too . So maybe October is Libya's month? My personal favorite one was on the 3rd ..." Wear Clothes Today Day" LOL !

I have been busy these last few weeks . We have had a whole slew of weddings . I went to a wedding the other night where one of the guest was so bored that she spent the entire time on her cell phone texting a friend . I wonder why she even bothered to come if her companions were so uninteresting . But maybe it was because as usual the music was so loud you couldn't carry on a conversation with the person seated next to you . I did hear some music I never heard before though so that was good . Another wedding I am going to this week will be serving over 1000 men for lunch one day this week .I wonder how many women will be going to the wedding night celebration? Maybe I better go early so I can find a good seat in front of the air conditioner and away from the speakers , lol ! The mother of the groom is a foreigner like me.She has family flying in from as far away as Sydney , Australia to be at the wedding .

Moe and I went to the new mall yesterday . While we were there we had lunch from one of many little restaurants available . You have seating in a main commons area for all the restaurants situated near the children's play arena . It was noisy of course but surprisingly the kids were mostly well behaved and pretty well mannered too . That was so nice to see !

As Moe and I ate we noticed something you don't see very often here in Libya . The women were walking around with smiles on the lips and happy faces . Normally a woman will not show too much emotion in public here , like smiling , since it might be misconstrued as flirting by some males . That in turn leads to unwelcome advances or gossip . So , women just don't walk around smiling here too often . It was so wonderful to see those smiles along with the laughter . I miss seeing happy people . The best part was the men were happy too. They were not busy trying to see who was looking at their women the whole time . They were relaxed too . It was such a normal scene that I completely forgot where I was until we walked outside the mall .