My New Favorite Holiday

August 30, 2011

Aite: A Muslim holiday to celebrate the end of Ramadan. Muslims have
been fasting for 30 days, and now, to celebrate, they spend three days
going house to house talking to friends and eating a ton of food.
(With no disrespect intended, it reminds me of Halloween for adults.
You walk around and can go into anyone's house that has the front gate
open. You ask them for tea, not candy, and you talk for a bit before
moving on to the next house.)

Yesterday I spent the entire afternoon at a friend's house cooking… or
watching her cook, to be more accurate. She told me some traditions
and I picked up on a few other things just from chatting with
neighbors and friends. The most important thing I learned was that
you have three days to visit seven friends' houses and wish them a
happy holiday.

I wanted to integrate, so that became my goal. Except, oh snap! I
only got one day of holiday before work began again. Seven houses, One
day. Could I do it?

The sun rose this morning and I was hesitant. I spent an hour at my
house just working up the guts to show up at a home unannounced. We
don't DO that in the States. I couldn't just show up at a house
uninvited and ask them to serve me tea and put their work and family
aside to chat with me. Sounds kinda rude, right?

Well, don't hold your breath because I did it. I went to the first
house, sat for tea and got a meal out of the deal as well. Then I
walked down the street and saw another friend/acquaintance's gate
open. I stepped inside. Oh the look on her face. "Anne! You came!
I'm so glad! Come in, come in!! Sit down, drink tea! [Implied: eat
more food!]" We chatted and she brought me up-to-date on her life
while I told her about news from the school. Then I stood up, thanked
her, and moved a little further down the road.

This went on all day. With each house I got a little more relaxed
about just showing up, until ELEVEN, count them: ELEVEN houses later,
I practically rolled back to my own home totally content. Seven
houses in three days? Meh, I demolished that goal. I stepped out of
my comfort zone and adopted a totally new cultural custom. In return,
I learned a little more about my neighbors, and I think I showed them,
just by showing up, how much they really mean to me.

Down the road, if you're ever passing by and you see my gate open,
poke your head in. We can have a cup of tea over veggies and sweets!