First night with my family!

So after my first night with the family I’ve learned a few key things:

-          They are going to try and make me eat EVERYTHING.

-          There is very little privacy, because if I go alone for too long, they get worried something is wrong.

-          Rituals are very set and different

-          My family actually uses the shower versus the hamam.

-          There are constantly people coming in and out of the house.

The first night was great, they welcomed me by letting me unpack and then serving me a plate of maybe 10-15 cookies with a banana smoothie.  About an hour after that there was a chickpea dip with a salad and bread. We eat a specific bread with every meal, and you use it to eat with. You use your right hand and then scoop the food with. The mint tea with dinner is also a very important part.

The television is always on, it’s “part of the family” and has actually served as good background noise for the awkward silences.

My host brother and sister like to play games and we had other people in and out of the house a lot that I was talking with. They seem disappointed that I can’t speak French or Arabic, but my host dad was enthusiastic that I’m taking Arabic classes and was trying to teach me.

There’s so much going on, it’s kind of hard to process all of it.  I’ll be sure to keep updating as I process what how things are going.

Time for couscous lunch!