Saturday, July 02, 2005

A Hen Party in Egypt

Over the past several years, I have been a member of a few email groups dedicated to women married to Egyptians and one dedicated to women living in Egypt.

Yesterday, I finally had an opportunity to meet some of the women with whom I have been communicating over the past few years. It was quite refreshing to finally meet these women I've only known by email names and addresses. There were approximately 15 women in attendance at a baby shower for one American woman about to give birth. While many of the women were from the U.S. (ok, here Egyptians say "America" I still say "U.S."), there was a woman from Iceland, one woman from Australia (of Egyptian parents), a Slovenian/Syrian woman currently living in Slovenia, and a woman from Germany. I was very nervous about going, but was put at ease after being given a warm welcome. There were no judgements made, no gossipping about others; just a room full of women speaking English, passing along motherly advice to the mom-to-be, and eating good food.

Peace,

Marian