A Taste of Home

Last night, I was invited into my first Middle Eastern home.

We went to church with a couple of our teachers.  Afterword, much like my fellow Baptists, the Jordanians stand around and talk before leaving the sanctuary.  Naturally, we stuck around and chatted with people in broken sentences and motions.  All of the culture books that I have read talk about how inviting these people are, and I can't count the number of times that I've been told that I will get asked to someone's home within the first week.  I never believed that it would be true though.

Being from the south, I have observed my fair share of hospitality.  Sure, people say that they would love for you to come over and visit, but they rarely, if ever mean it.  It's a simple pleasantry that people often say but never intend to follow through with, and everyone knows it, so it all works.  All that I have read says that these people are the same in intention but quite the opposite in expectation.  Translation: if they invite you over, they mean now, and you better not say no.

Back to the church.  We were standing around when my teacher looks at me and says that her mother would like for us to come over.  Awestruck at the opportunity arriving so early into the trip, I'm pretty sure that I made a fool of myself through the excitement on my face.  I said yes probably ten times and couldn't stop smiling.  My Middle Eastern dreams were coming true, and I didn't care who knew it.

So, we started out on the walk.  I don't know if you noticed, but in the last blog, I mentioned the hills of Amman a lot - think San Fransisco.  In other words, this was a long, hard walk.  After climbing several of these 90 degree hills, we made it to the house.  Entering, I noticed that there were a lot more people there than I first expected.  Everyone got up to shake hands and speak what little English they knew.  There was a grandfather, grandmother, mother, father, uncle, brothers, and even friends from next door.  Somewhere close to fifteen people in a space that Americans would seat maybe four.  As soon as I sat down, plates of apricots, peaches, cucumbers, and some sort of berries were thrown my way.  "Eat."  Was all I heard before I was picking up the fruits and indulging in their goodness.  Everyone was talking and having a great time despite the fact that it was nearing ten o'clock - American parents totally would be heading to bed, definitely not inviting guests over.  I loved the feeling of family that was so present in that house.  I, myself, felt like a member.  That feeling is hard to come by in the states, especially from total strangers.  After about an hour, the tea came out along with another plate of delicious desserts.  "Eat more," was the popular phrase of the night.  Literally everything that I read about being invited into a home was true.  Can I say that I love this place too many times?  Never.

So, with my first home visit behind me, there are some resolutions that I'd like to make before coming back to the states.  I want to be like these people.  I want to focus on relationships before business, to put the comfort of others before my own, to be inviting and welcoming no matter the time or place, to offer my home and my food to those whom I love and even to strangers.  Everyday, I find something more that I want to take home.  My visit into the Middle Eastern home was definitely one of those moments.