Qira

Kira, meeting with women, girls and children

The meeting this time was under the sign of the imminent Ramadan and was especially festive and crowded too – no less that 13 women and about 10 children and girls arrived.

Immediately upon our arrival we hung up a decorated poster with the blessing "Ramadan Karim" in Arabic and the names of all the women who were active in the last meetings – they were happy and excited to see their names and of course corrected some spelling  errors which were inserted by mistake…

Michal brought groceries in order to prepare chocolate balls with the young girls. To our surprise they hesitated at first – asked her how they could do this without rubber gloves…Michal went along and cooperated as she usually does, so at the beginning they used plastic bags instead of gloves, but in the end all of them understood – the bags were thrown away and the balls were formed with the hands, as they should…

The physical workout was performed in order – the room is already too small to contain all of them, but I try  spread out as many mattresses as possible and the women in a proper sportive spirit crowd together and stand facing different directions so that everybody can perform the movement. The unavoidable collisions raise much laughter…

This time I chose as a background for the exercise classical Turkish music – I told them that my mother is of Turkish origin – and they remembered a television series they had seen and which was accompanied by a similar kind of music. The main effect of the music is at the relaxation exercise in the end: while before it was more difficult for them to lie quietly with all the bustle of the children outside, and they very quickly begin moving and chattering, now the music creates the detachment and the proper atmosphere – and they dedicate themselves to the relaxation with much more pleasure.

But the real party began after the lesson – I changed the disc for belly dancing music and invited all in… At first they were a bit surprise to see all of us skipping around, then some joined us – some enthusiastically and others hesitanly. What is important for us is the laughter and the smiles spread on the faces of all, and even if they laugh at us, not with us, that's alright…

The meeting ended in a small festive meal: we brought waffles and beigels, they brought snacks and juice and of course the products of Michal's workshop – chocolate balls…All this slipped beautifully down the throat with the black coffee they prepare every time, in the small traditional cups.

We asked about the Ramadan period, and the women explained that they are very tired during this period – because of the fast and the cooking at night, and also that this is a period of togetherness in the family unit. Even the children fast – from age six on! – therefore it's no use holding the regular meeting during the Ramadan.

We parted in high spirits, kisses and hugs as usual, and with a promise to convene again after the Ramadan. To tell the truth – I miss them already, the women of Kira…I hope we shall succeed in maintaining the atmosphere and the ties we wove even after the Ramadan.