Girls Visit: From Strangers to Family
I’m picking up where my last post left off, with more reflections on snapping photos, and how strangers become family. While our daughters were with us, we made visits to several neighbor families. Some of our closest neighbors are a large extended family of four generations. We were treated to an enormous meal there, with more spicy local dishes than we could possibly consume. 
Abbi, the 21-year-old granddaughter, was thrilled to finally meet the American girls she had heard so much about. She especially enjoyed making comparisons between our daughters, and discerned correctly that Anna resembles her father in many ways, and Mary is more like me.
We’ve been surprised to find that most families in this area wait until their daughters are in their early to mid-twenties before marrying them off. We haven’t been able to learn exactly why this is, but people tell us it’s better that way, and we would agree. Many of the 20-something daughters of our neighbors are well-educated, speak good English, and in some cases have jobs. So on our visits, they were able to talk with our daughters about things they have in common.
We spent an afternoon drinking chai at the home of Shahaz, who was my first real friend and the subject of one of my first blog posts. She has twin daughters; one is a school teacher and the other a dental hygienist. They talked with Anna and Mary about the ups and downs of their jobs, and were surprised to hear that the working life isn’t hassle-free in the US either! Then the talk turned, as it will, to the difficulty of finding a good man. Shahaz, suddenly inspired, turned to me and said, “I will find your daughters husbands here, if you will find American husbands for my daughters!” We all laughed.
After a round of photos, we got ready to leave. Shahaz gave our girls big hugs and told them that, when they return to America, they shouldn’t have any worries about me. “She is my sister,” she told them. “We will take care of her. You all are our family now.”
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