My First Friend
I’ve made my first real friend! Her name is Shahaz. Her husband owns the shop near our house on the main street, across from where we wait for the bus most mornings. Brad has chatted with him several times, and he invited us to come over for tea, so we did. Their shop is small and somewhat shabby-looking, but their house, behind it, is surprisingly large and well-furnished, with a lovely garden. Shahaz seemed delighted to see us and gave us a warm welcome. She made us comfortable with cushions on the rug and sent her daughter-in-law to the kitchen to make chai (tea).
When the chai arrived, it was accompanied by 6 plates of sweets and snacks—I have a few things to learn about hospitality! Shahaz speaks some English, and she was as curious about my family as I was about hers. She has four grown children, two of whom are married with kids, and they all live nearby. She has a daughter who teaches elementary school, and she was thrilled to find that I do also—something we have in common. I had worn my new Easter outfit, which has a long matching headscarf. Shahaz admired my outfit, but I confessed that I didn’t know how to manage the scarf. 
I took it off, moved closer to her, and asked her to wrap it for me like she had hers. She did, and her hands felt gentle around my head as her fingers smoothed my hair back under the scarf. With three daughters looking on in amusement, we all started laughing! She finished off by planting a kiss on my forehead, and then we all got our phones out and took photos together!
As we said good-bye, Shahaz took my hand tightly and taught me the local word for “friend.” She made me repeat it back several times, and told me to come again soon. One of the principles of language learning is that we remember best the words and expressions that we learn in the context of memorable experiences. Thanks to Shahaz, “friend” is a word that I won’t forget.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged friend by Lisa