Last week, a group of friends and I went to "Arab Ladies' Night" in Bethlehem. It was a fantastic time sitting around a big table eating excellent Arabic food, laughing with friends, and overlooking the beautiful city as the moon shone in the sky from a very traditional looking restaurant.
It is rare for us to get dressed up, but it seemed a ladies night, with no men around, would be a good time to get looking pretty and wear a little bit less conservative outfits. Culturally, it is acceptable for people to stare and as a woman it's best not to stand out. I realized that this is generally the opposite of what we'd do at home -- why get dressed up if you're just hanging out with your girl friends?
The funny thing was, we didn't calculate well. After getting all souped up, we still had to get to the restaurant, and met on a big street. As we should have anticipated, we got more attention than we wanted. Live and learn...
It is rare for us to get dressed up, but it seemed a ladies night, with no men around, would be a good time to get looking pretty and wear a little bit less conservative outfits. Culturally, it is acceptable for people to stare and as a woman it's best not to stand out. I realized that this is generally the opposite of what we'd do at home -- why get dressed up if you're just hanging out with your girl friends?
The funny thing was, we didn't calculate well. After getting all souped up, we still had to get to the restaurant, and met on a big street. As we should have anticipated, we got more attention than we wanted. Live and learn...
