Re: Abayas and USA
Aisha, my apologies that I did not read the entire thread but only the first few entries...will catch up when i have more time. But as a gori who was born and raised in USA, I can perhaps shed some light.
There is nothing wrong with wearing somewhat different clothing, dressing modestly and covering your hair. There are a number of both Muslim and Jewish moms in my area who do this and no one gives a second glance. BUT...they do actually fit in. They wear nice headscarves, nice looking loose-fitting modest clothes but with at least a bit of western flare. Surely modest but not to the extent of Abaya. If you wear Abaya, you WILL stand out and get stares - as many or even more than if you were wearing a bikini. Why? because its so very far from the norm. You call more attention to yourself wearing Abaya than you would if you'd don a nice headscarf and some nice loose-fitting and covering clothes.
Theres also the matter of "civic responsibility". People need to see your face and be able to identify you - this goes for anything from bank withdrawals to paying tolls in the highways or at red lights that now have cameras. Test-taking, esp for tests like entrance exams. Abaya makes you completely anonymous which is a pretty big no-no in the USA.
Better to fit in with the locals while at the same time keeping your own values. There IS a way to accomplish both.