TravelChick

A Little Adventure

After my usual stop at the juice place this morning I went to a souk in Ruknedin to buy some movies. On my way out I stopped at my friend's friend's dry goods shop to say hello and he invited me to sit down and hang out with him. We chatted for a while, me in Arabic, he in English, about his work, learning languages, and his future. Last year he married a British-Pakistani woman who was studying here and, though she's moved here, she's eager to go back to Britain and for him to go with her. He pointed out that moving to Britain would be a huge move for him economically. Here he works at his father's shop, which is well-established and in a good, busy location. It's a business that's worth a lot of money and one that his father spent much time building up.

In Britain he'd have to find work with people he trusted, save money to possibly start his own business, and simultaneously try to save money to visit Syria. He sighed and said 'It would take me five years if I saved all the money from my work and ten years if I saved half". He said that there are about a thousand questions he must find the answers to and he has to think many nights about this. He's in love with his wife but leaving Syria would be enormously difficult for him. His life is so family-oriented, he's well established here, and, as he pointed out, he has so many people here he trusts.

He asked me if I had eaten and I said yes, I had some eggplant and juice. He laughed and, while I was paying attention to the tea he had poured for me, he gave his friend money to go get zaatar for us. His friend showed up with piles of freshly baked bread with zaatar and he handed me a piping hot one, insisting that I eat with him. I sat there munching my zaatar as he helped customers.

His brother came by the shop and all of a sudden he said 'Okay, let's go!' I asked him where we were going and he said I'd see. I shrugged and followed him out of the shop and through some alleyways. He told me we were going to go to his house. We ended up at his family's house, not the house where he and his wife live, and I was quickly invited to eat lunch with his sisters. Despite having told her that I had already eaten (twice by this point), his younger sister insisted that I eat. She gave me a large piece of flatbread and I gave in. While I was eating she asked me how old I am. She guessed I'm 22, but upon finding out I'm 28, asked if I'm married. I said no and she said 'Why not? You're 28!'

Lacking the word for 'goal' in Arabic, I couldn't tell her that it's not everyone's goal to get married; I suppose I could have told her that in American culture, not everyone wants to get married. She then asked me if I'm Muslim and, when I said yes, she looked at me in shock and said 'But why don't you cover up when you're outside?' I tried to explain that, in America, not many women cover up. Even though she's only fifteen, that girl certainly moved quickly with the questions. It was very Syrian.

After a while I thought I should leave, so I thanked my friend for inviting me over and thanked his family for the delicious food and then left. I stepped out into the sunlight, still a little dazzled and thoroughly delighted by the idea that I could go to the shop of a friend of a friend and end up being invited to his family's house for lunch. Never mind the culture shock he would have in Britain, I'm going to be shocked when I go to the US and things like this don't happen.

posted by Travel Chick @ 5:09 PM