Returning Travellers

My friend telephoned and merrily greeted me “Al hamdallah, ala as salama” (Praise God for peace/safety) which is the standard greeting when someone returns from travelling. And I replied with the standard reply “Allah yusalamik” (God give you peace/safety). My friend then asked when I had returned to Jordan and why hadn’t I told her earlier that I was back! She had found out from her husband’s brother’s wife that I had visited her the day before for breakfast, and so was berating me for not letting her also know of my safe return.

After suitable apologies and explaining that I had been busy with guests visiting and also saying goodbye to friends who were traveling, my friend was keen to invite me to visit her. It is customary for friends to visit those who have returned from traveling or invite them to visit. In summer it is rather hot in the daytime, so she suggested that I come about 6pm so that we could sit outside in the cooler evening air.

Uninvited guest

Another custom with visiting people here is that it is acceptable (and even expected) that you will bring along a friend or family member with you, often without asking the host. So I also invited my friend Hannah to come with me.

We spent a lovely time sitting outside under the shade of a vine, chatting with my friend and her 3 daughters and being brought various refreshments. The mother caught the eye of her eldest daughter and whispered instructions of when to bring things and clear things away. We drank juice and then we were given plates of fruit, followed by coffee and chocolates. Being served coffee is usually a signal to leave, but they implored us to stay and drink tea and eat cake too. Topics of conversation ranged from the health of family members, studying language, climate change, breakdown in traditional family relationships and the challenges of social media. We also talked about neighbours and the meaning of “neighbour” with the story of the good Samaritan.

Jealousy management

I plan to invite my friend to visit, with women from her extended family, for lunch at my house soon. There does seem to be an element of jealousy if I spend more time with one or other member of the family, so hopefully extending the invitation to all will reduce this, even if it will be a lot of work cooking for everyone!