Suck it up

The other day my husband had surgery (!) to repair a hernia. My mom stayed home with our kids and I stayed at the hospital with him all day. A few things were great: a legit Starbucks in the lobby, free wifi, and a good book to read. However, I had a very interesting experience as well.

Waiting rooms here are separated by males and females. At this hospital, they were right beside each other and just separated by a partition. So, I sat waiting on the female side.

There was a big rug on the floor and a tray with tea/coffee urns and cups, a bowl of dates, and a bowl of water.

I sat on a chair engrossed in my book ("What Alice Forgot" if you're wondering) as a local woman sat on the rug. Suddenly I heard snapping fingers and some words I didn't understand and I looked over at her. She was motioning at the tray and I assumed asking me if I wanted some. I read somewhere before I came here that it's a really big deal to oblige and partake in whatever is offered to you. Well first let me say this:

I HATE COFFEE

So I got up and walked over to the woman and she poured me a cup of coffee and another of tea. I smiled and said thank you (in Arabic!) and went back to my seat. I sipped the tea (which is actually quite good but smells funny) and then drank the coffee like a shot of vodka. Thank GOD that cup was tiny. Their coffee is super strong and I felt buzzed almost immediately. Luckily I had a tiny bit more tea to wash it down with.

Anyhoo, I felt proud of myself for overcoming the challenge and I stuck my nose back in my book.

Well about 20 minutes later, another local woman came and sat on the rug. A man came over and brought them a big rectangular plate with something on it that did NOT look appetizing. Suddenly I heard the snapping and Arabic words again. I looked over and they were motioning for me to come. They showed me the plate and obviously wanted me to eat. I didn't see any utensils so I wasn't sure if I was supposed to stick my fingers in it or what. I motioned like I was eating with a spoon and they motioned over to the other waiting room...so I got up and went over there and somehow the men figured out what I wanted and handed me a bunch of spoons.

I reluctantly scooped some of it up and licked the spoon and OMG it was so disgusting I wanted to vomit. But those ladies looked so happy that I had eaten it that I forced myself to have three more spoonfuls. Then I smiled and said I needed to check on my husband and got my stuff and quickly moved to another area.

I am super proud of myself for putting aside my disgust and showing these ladies that I appreciated their culture.