Simpsons and Silk

Updated story below!
So a couple of cultures represented in this post...
First one is American...
The Simpson's Movie was released here this weekend.
It probably disappoints both of our mothers that we're happily smiling with this dysfunctional 4 fingered, yellow-skinned cartoon family.
So we apologize to our moms for liking the Simpson's even though they both tried real hard to keep their animated antics off of their respective family TV's.
That said, the movie was funny, but not SUPER funny.
But funny.
Kinda nostalgic- like the wrecked ambulance in the background at The Springfield Gorge.
And hilarious as the 98% Asian audience we watched it with thought a LOT of it was funny.
Like when the Flanders kid asks if Buddha is gonna be in Heaven and Ned says "No."
That got a big laugh from the Chinese crowd, interestingly enough.
So it was fun to experience American TV in a movie theater in Asia...

The next cultural experience was going shopping for material for our Hari Raya outfits.This is obviously fits in the Asian culture category.
Hari Raya is the celebration of feasting after the fasting month of Ramadan.
Hari Raya isn't until October.
I (Sharon) went with Kakak as shopping in Asia for clothes is mostly left up to the women just like in the US.
But I'm actually a bit late in picking out my material for my new outfit.
Families get whole matching outfits just like Easter in the US.
It's a huge deal to pick out your material and get your outfit sewn.
But since seamstresses are SUPER busy with everyone's orders, getting them in after August is pushing it.
You do NOT show up for a Hari Raya celebration in an old outfit.
So, after going through tons and tons of GORGEOUS silk patterns, I finally found one I liked.
Since we were in an Indian silk store, I'll go ahead and confess that I dreamt of getting a saree made for myself (Indian woman's traditional outfit that is feminine and flowy and fun)
But I stuck to the plan and the budget.
After picking out the material and lining for my dress,
in true Raya form, I picked a matching color for Anthony's outfit.
(The gray is the material for Anthony, the girly pattern is just to show they match...er...coordinate)
Last year I bought a store-bought ready-made one a couple weeks before, and Anthony had to borrow a Baju Melayu (men's outfit) from Abang.
Abang is tall for an Asian, but still not as tall as Anthony.
This year's festivities will NOT include Anthony's ankles showing.
So, stay tuned to the blog and come mid-October, the Raya outfits will be done and you can see them here in all their glory.
Update:
So we took our material to the seamstress to get measured, etc. When we went to the ladies house and opened up the material for Anthony's outfit, we discovered that it was VERY see-through. Even more so than the chiffon of my material. It had all of us fooled (until we opend it) for looking like a common similar material that's used a lot. After the initial discovery and the embarrassment of an old woman laughing at me, Anthony and I went and found a different material and had him measured this morning.
I must say, it's always humbling maneuvering in a culture that isn't your own. You have to take it in stride and asking for help with things that no one else here needs help with (like picking out material) is part of life.
Side Note- This morning at the seamstress's house, Kakak shewed the lady's cat away from the material (we sit on the floor here). The seamstress said, "Oh, but that cat is such a good cat." which we took for code for "Don't mess with my cat." A few minutes later the same cat came walking in the door with a GIGANTIC lizard in it's mouth (lizard was over a foot long). The seamstress screamed and picked up the nearest object to her on the floor, a broom, and hurled it at him. Hilarious!