Sequin daydreams

The tea in this village has so much sugar, it is like imbibing liquid candy. Micheal suggested that this is to compensate for the lack of sweets since the village has no shops. The women in Syria often dress in vibrant colors adorned with glitter or sequins. I wonder if they are compensating for the restrictive lifestyles they lead in the name of their religion.

I'm not claiming they subjugated by the men of their lives; I'm not of the opinion that a cultural norm requiring women to dress modestly or cover their hair is something for foreigners to judge as discrimination or abuse. And in Syria, many of the women work outside the home or attend universities living rather independent lives. But I wonder what it must be like to watch American movies knowing they are not socially allowed to live such moments. There is a thrill to going on a date, dancing with someone you've just met, sunbathing, walking around your house naked, or even just feeling a warm wind on your back that is rare at best for women in many cultures. With the ease of communication between societies, satellite TV and foreign movies, Facebook, a woman from a society such as this is now able to see so many of those things only to realize such simple pleasures may not be open to them. I remember how liberating it felt, on the first warm day after I returned home, to walk outside in a tanktop and long cotton skirt and feel the cloth rustling at my feet, the sunshine and the breeze dancing on my shoulders. It was the first time in four months my arms had been bare to the open air and sun.