Today I felt like a missionary again.
I just got back to the JC after eating my first meal in an Arab home, where I ate food until I felt like I was going to explode. My stomach is still hanging over my skirt.
I was walking back from the Old City with my friends Sharleis and Scott when a friendly Arab man started walking beside us. I'm not sure how we started talking to him, but we tried out the few words we learned yesterday in our Arabic class (basically just hello and thank you). At first I thought he spoke English, but I soon learned he didn't speak much. After talking with him for a few minutes, he started saying, "Welcome, coffee," and it took us a few minutes to realize that he was inviting us to his home to have coffee. So we decided to do it.
When we got to his home, we met his wife and four boys, who were very nice to us! Of course, we explained to him that we didn't drink coffee, and he brought us juice instead. Then we were going to leave when they insisted on feeding us as well. The meal was pasta with red sauce and meat, and pita bread. Sharleis and Scott, who have both served missions, told me to eat it all. Fortunately I was able to give Sharleis the big chunks of meat when they weren't looking, but yes, I did eat a little bit of it.
We ate as much as we could, but we had just finished pizza and ice cream about 20 minutes earlier so we barely had any room left for food. When Scott finished his plate of pasta, the mother of the house dumped a bunch more on his plate, which he diligently ate. Sharleis and I gave valiant efforts, but we just couldn't quite finish.
When we were about to leave again, they insisted that we sit back down, so we did. Abdullah (I think that was his name) returned shortly with a plate of fruit that tasted like cantelope. They also tried to serve us chai (tea), but we made out best effort to explain to them that it was against our religion.
We finally got out after that by explaining to them that we had to get back to school, but we agreed to return tomorrow after 3:00.
4 comments:
Sounds like a neat experience, Abby. Thanks for sharing! Let us know how your friendship with the Arab family progresses, OK?
How cool! What a nice family to invite you in and feed you. Sorry that you had to eat some of the meat though. Do you ever feel tempted to try some on the meat dishes in Jerusalem?
No, I'm not usually tempted. At the JC we have a really great selection of breads and vegetables, so it's not too hard.
Wow! No one has ever invited me for dinner so extemporaneously. They probably sensed the kindness of your hearts.
“Kindness is the essence of greatness and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women I have known. Kindness is a passport that opens doors and fashions friends. It softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes.”
(Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Virtue of Kindness,” Ensign, May 2005, 26)
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