Happy Wednesday...

Quote for the Day:

"If I stitch fast enough, does it count as aerobic exercise?" 

~author unknown

I'm moving right along on the dresden plate quilt!  I've already cranked it down once and am currently working on the first row of blocks.  :)  

I also have a book review for you!
 
"Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil" by Deborah Rodriguez.

Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a group offering humanitarian aid to this war-torn nation. Surrounded by men and women whose skills–as doctors, nurses, and therapists–seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother of two from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she soon found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons. Thus an idea was born.

With the help of corporate and international sponsors, the Kabul Beauty School welcomed its first class in 2003. Well meaning but sometimes brazen, Rodriguez stumbled through language barriers, overstepped cultural customs, and constantly juggled the challenges of a postwar nation even as she learned how to empower her students to become their families’ breadwinners by learning the fundamentals of coloring techniques, haircutting, and makeup.

Yet within the small haven of the beauty school, the line between teacher and student quickly blurred as these vibrant women shared with Rodriguez their stories and their hearts: the newlywed who faked her virginity on her wedding night, the twelve-year-old bride sold into marriage to pay her family’s debts, the Taliban member’s wife who pursued her training despite her husband’s constant beatings. Through these and other stories, Rodriguez found the strength to leave her own unhealthy marriage and allow herself to love again, Afghan style.

With warmth and humor, Rodriguez details the lushness of a seemingly desolate region and reveals the magnificence behind the burqa. Kabul Beauty School is a remarkable tale of an extraordinary community of women who come together and learn the arts of perms, friendship, and freedom.

I listened to this as an audiobook that I downloaded onto my MP3 player from the library.  (It's FREE, you know!!!  You really should try it!  I can also hook my MP3 into my car's stereo system via the auxillary jack and listen to the books on my drive to and from work!!) 

When I first started listening to this book, I thought the beginning sounded like the author was a little grandiose in her description of what she had accomplished.  I quickly put that assessment aside as I continued to listen to the story.   The author shared both the successes and the failures of the beauty school and her life in both America and Afghanistan.

This book is a definite recommendation!  :)

Loretta