This past Thursday night a friend of James named Rubear invited us to his son's birthday party. None of us knew the kid or anymore than two people that might be there (and thats including the host and his wife). We left our apartment about half past 5 and walked to the metro. We took the metro four stops and got out in dar al-islam (literally means the house of Islam) a lower class developing neighborhood full of high rise apartments allowing the area to have one of the highest population densities in Cairo. Luckily we weren't staying in this neighborhood but simply walking through on our way to the party. After a bit of confusion we found the building, took the elevator to the 9th floor and found the apartment no problem seeing as it had balloons hanging on the door. We entered the apartment and quickly realized most of our conversations for the night would not be in English. This proved no problem for Eli but presented a welcomed challenge to James and I. The apartment was not large but it was well furnished and decorated for both the party and normally. More balloons dotted the room. A little girl, not more than a year old, played with them as she crawled about. Music and a slideshow of pictures of the birthday boy came out of a computer in the corner. "Happy birthday" played in what sounded like 4 different languages on loop for the better part of our time their.
About ten people sat around when we arrived and six or seven more came later. We met the shy 3 year old once he realized he could keep running out of the room but we'd still be there when he came back. His name was Seif, which means sword, but his family calls him Seifoo (SEE-foo). He was an excited three year old but at times it was hard to tell who was more excited, he or his father Rubear. We sat around and I attempted communication without the help of Eli. When that lost it's functionality he jumped in and I came to find out that the son of one of the women works at Penn State and she has visited him there. Small world. As Eli impressed the Egyptians with his mad Arabic skills I listened and longed for the day I would too be able to walk into a room and speak no English.
Once everyone arrived and everything got going it became apparent that Egyptians know how to throw parties. This party, in this small apartment was over the top. Before serving the feast, the cake was brought out. It was a half sheet cake ornately decorated complete with an 8 by 10 photo of the birthday boy enshrined in frosting. Rather than light the cake with just candles, four rather large sparklers sat on the corners while three candles were placed in the middle. With the lights out and everything lit I thought the apartment would catch fire but thankfully it did not. We sang happy birthday in English first which, was hilarious because no one spoke English. We then sang it in Arabic. This was great but the best was yet to come. The cake was cleared away, scheduled to make an appearance after the feast and food started coming out of the kitchen. The first item to catch my eye was what looked to be about a 25lb turkey perfectly cooked. I honestly couldn't tell you what most of the other ten plates of food were because all I clearly remember is that Turkey. No offense to any family reading this but this was probably the best Turkey I've ever had. No part of it dried out and it tasted so much better than turkey usually does.
After that glorious meal the cake came out again. The cake had a thick chocolate frosting housing layers of a light chocolate cake separated by a chocolate mouse. It was topped with cherries and almonds. What had I done to deserve this? Turkey and chocolate cake? My stomach was definitely happy especially after my two day bout with food poisoning just days before.
We said our goodbye's not too long after cake and began our journey back home. This not being the first time I've crashed someone's party I noticed its almost welcome in this culture. The Egyptian people are very hospitable to the point that they put "southern hospitality" to shame. They take good care of their friends whether their brand new or not. They will fill your plate, encourage seconds, and ask nothing in return. Their good bye's are full of "hope to see you again, inshallah" and you know they mean it. They have this uncanny ability to make you feel welcome even when you can't fully communicate with them. I'm truly in awe of the hospitality I've experienced here. The question with most of these posts is: How will the things I'm experiencing in this culture change how I view and interact with my own? I can only hope that I use these experiences to enhance my own cultural understanding. We all have so much to hear from each other in this world but we have to unplug, turn off and listen.
djm
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