May 26, 2001 — Mudeif Productions

Ilhamdillah 'al-salaami (roughly, "thank God you made it back safely")! This chorus greeted us as we returned to school. That, and numerous questions about our trip to Iraq. Everyone wanted an update, a story.

*Celebrating a fellow ex-pat’s birthday!*

We brought back a famous Iraqi desert called manu salwah, which is corn syrup wrapped in glucose and coated in sugar. The name it bears come from the Arabic phrase for what the children of Dixie ate in the wilderness - the manna.

We have returned in the middle of finals, which means that it's time for us to grade those finals so we can leave on time! We did manage to find time to attend our ex-pat neighbor's sixteenth birthday party. There's always room - and time - for ice cream.