Another Adventure in Arabic
Pressed for time and more than a little desperate, I ran a quick brush through my tangled hair and threw on something that would pass for modest and made a run for the local co-op, desperately hoping they would have what I needed and I would not have to make a much longer trip to the Sultan Center.
Making a quick check in all the obvious places, I don’t see it. I NEED for it to be there, so I make a careful and methodical sweep, analyzing for anything that might be what I am looking for. No such luck.
Three co-op workers are in the aisle where I am looking, so one asks if they might help me. And I am betting they don’t speak English. I can figure out how to ask for almost all of it, and I grab a can and figure out a work-around.
“Ana ashuf al sukre al . . . “(and I point to a word on the can.)
“Aaaaahhhhh!” Beams one man. “BOWDER! Bowder sukre!”
Ah yes, of course. Why didn’t I think of that? Bowder sukre.
“Sah!” I agree.
“Aeyyn al bowder sukre?” he asks his co-worker, who steps immediately to the shelf I was just minutely examining, and pulls off a small bag of exactly what I need. The bags are on the shelf piled high, shelf to shelf, with only the bottom ends showing, right next to similar bags of powdered coconut. Next time I will know.
(It looks to me like there is another word for powder, starting with an “m”; anyone want to help me out?)
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😀 I am glad you could manage!
And the M-word is “Mat-houn”… Sukkar Mat-houn 🙂
I’m glad Kinan was able to answer you because I was about to write a comment saying that the “m” may be referring to the brand of the sugar. 🙂
Hats off for making yourself understood to the Co-Op guys. You’re pretty good!
Come to Lebanon 🙂
here you can just say “poudre” 🙂 with an Arabic accent (“boudre”).
Its even in the dictionary:
بودرة
maas-hooq, which means crushed.
Kinan, thank you! I could read the letters, but I didn’t know how to say them. Sometimes the “wow” is one sound, and sometimes another, and I am not too good at figuring out when it is what. Does this make sense at all?
1001 Nights! YOU are supposed to know ALL things Kuwaiti. This was Kuwaiti Powdered Sugar! As for the Co-op guys, I am not sure any of them were Arabic speakers, either. It’s a total hoot when different nationality non-arabic speakers are trying to communicate in Arabic, which none of us speak very well!
Little Diamond – I bet the Lebanese would sneer at my French as well as my Arabic! But Boudre! I love it!
Purg – all is not lost. I love knowing maas-hooq, too. Would an issayara be maas-hooka?
woman, you need more lessons 🙂
LOL I am not good with cooking terms in ANY language. You should have seen me trying to figure out what the heck capiscum was! I nearly developed complex.
Purg – That is SO true. Arabic is such a subtle, expressive language, and I am afraid I will never be able to catch all the nuances.
1001 – Colander! Maize! Cream of Tarter! Mandoline! Mascerate! Roux! Creme Chantilly! LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLooooooLLLLL (sorry, that was truly evil)