A few weeks back there was another Egyptian Family Luncheon. It just so happened that it was also on the same day as my hair appointment and a slew of other things we had going on. By the time we got dressed to go and Khaled picked up our food contribution, we were an hour late.<\/p>\n
Is that odd? Not really, but we are usually on time, or within 20 minutes. This time most of the food was gone by the time we arrived.<\/p>\n
Sister: Assalamu alaikum Kristina! (Kiss-Kiss-Kiss) You are so late, all the food is gone!<\/p>\n
Me: I\u2019m sorry, we got here as soon as we could. I had appointments this morning.<\/p>\n
Sister: Better late than not at all. I\u2019m glad you are here!<\/p>\n
We sat, we drank tea and we caught up.<\/p>\n
During these gatherings, when I am sitting with a group of ladies, they all speak English. \u00a0If someone has a difficult time\u00a0remembering\u00a0how to phrase something, she says it in Arabic, and the others translate. \u00a0One friend went to Egypt, so we talked about her trip. \u00a0Another talked about her grandchildren. \u00a0I asked yet another friend about book recommendations for Pea. \u00a0Her Arabic reading has gotten so good that I want her to read stuff that isn\u2019t an assignment. \u00a0I want her to practice. \u00a0I want Dick and Jane books in Arabic. \u00a0I want My Little Pony in Arabic. \u00a0The only thing I can find are \u201cFarook and his Camel go to play soccer\u2026\u201d \u00a0Sorry, but Pea is not interested in Farook.<\/p>\n
Then, there was a speech about Egypt. \u00a0An informational talk. \u00a0Sister asked if I could understand the speaker. \u00a0I said, \u201cno, but Khaled will fill me in later.\u201d<\/p>\n
What happened next, has never happened before. \u00a0Sister sat next to me and translated the talk. \u00a0At the end of the talk, the speakers gave the speech again in English. \u00a0They looked right at me, as if it was for only my benefit, making sure I understood what was being said. \u00a0Then they said that there would be a transcript of the talk emailed out later in the week.<\/p>\n
I was shocked. \u00a0Then, I was thrilled. \u00a0I felt welcome. \u00a0I felt like it was important that I was there, and not just because I came with Khaled and they had to put up with me, but because I was a valued part of the community.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, when we were finished cleaning up, Sister, Friend and I met up with The Dancer and her niece who had arrived sooooper late. \u00a0We stood in a circle and continued to talk in broken English\/Arabic. \u00a0I commented on Friend\u2019s new hijab, and when she reached up to gesture to the design on the scarf, I saw her beautifully manicured acrylic nails.<\/p>\n
A clear example of moderation, not splitting hairs about wudu and salah.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A few weeks back there was another Egyptian Family Luncheon. It just so happened that it was also on the same day as my hair appointment and a slew of other things we had going on. By the time we got dressed to go and Khaled picked up our food contribution, we were an hour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2860,"featured_media":1159,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4,6,11],"tags":[24,31,53,56,60,94,108,116,125,140,143,175,182,194,213,219],"class_list":["post-1142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beyond-etsy","category-blog-posts","category-in-the-house","category-personal","category-resources","tag-acceptance","tag-american-muslim","tag-children","tag-clothing","tag-convert","tag-family","tag-friendship","tag-growth","tag-hijab","tag-islam","tag-islamic","tag-muslim","tag-non-muslim","tag-personal","tag-religion","tag-revert"],"yoast_head":"\n