funeral

after the girls and i dropped noah off at school, we headed over to drop callie off at preschool. when we turned the corner, there was a dead person out in the street! let me explain... when someone here dies they alert the people in the neighborhood, after the call to prayer, on the loudspeaker of the mosque. they quickly prepare the body and lay it out for viewing. that is why this particular body was out in the street. there is a mosque right behind noah's school. so, the body was laid out for people to mourn and view on a table in the street. who knows what they do if a car comes! it was shrouded and maybe even in a basic coffin. i didn't get a good look. they bury the dead very quickly. it is supposed to be within 24 hours. anyhow, as the girls and i approached, and i figured out what was going on, i turned around, and we went the long way to callie's school.

first off, i make it a practice to never look at dead people. that is not the image i want in my head when i remember anyone. so, i did not want my first sighting of a dead person to be a stranger- i do not know why, as i wouldn't have any memories that would be scared by seeing this particular person. another reason that i turned around was because i did not know what to do! the laws and social rules here are so [shall we say... different] concerning women. there were only men around the body. so, i just decided to avoid the situation rather than commit a faux paus. plus i was not in the mood to begin answering callie's questions about it.

just another example of how you never know what is just around the corner!