Lunch for 35

My dad is back visiting Lebanon for the first time in eight years. I'm here with him and his two older sisters still live here and nearby each other. The oldest sister said she'd fix a very special lunch for her brother when he got here because he doesn't come home very often. Well, a small lunch turned into a 35 person lunch. The food was more than plentiful, in fact it was a big enough lunch to probably make most thanksgivings look like a standard thursday night dinner.

At "lunch" were my aunt's 7 children. I'd never seen those 7 first cousins of mine together at the same time. Most of their children were around (13 of the 18 grandchildren were present) and a random host of other family members. In fact, it was terribly amusing to me that one woman whose name I'd forgotten looked at me and I told her my name. She said "I'm one of the cousins." I smiled and said "I believe it whole heartedly." That was enough to get laughs from the people who speak good english.

Lunch consisted of homemade baba ghanouj, hummus, grape leaves, hand made flat bread, chicken and rice with pine nuts, fried kibbee, tabouli, fava beans, and then another full table of deserts. Combine with that fresh tea, arabic coffee, rosemary tea, anise tea, and you've got yourself enough food and beverage to feed about 80 HUNGRY people. I've been doing my best to stuff my face with all the delicious homemade lebanese food I can while I'm here (because my two aunts here are both amazing cooks) and I still garner complaints for not eating enough. "You're a growing boy, you need to eat." I have to explain that I'm almost 30, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to grow much. I'm the tallest person around save for my one 20 year old cousin who ousts me as the tallest by 1cm (Argh, I gotta straighten my back and stretch my legs). Furthermore, I hold a high social standing here by being a "doctor." I think today was my first time not being relegated to the kids' table. I have to say, I kinda miss the kids' table! The kids have so many fewer social constraints and my distinctly american style is regarded more as a child not knowing what the true culture is, rather than an adulthood annoyance... Oh well, I get around most of the why don't you speak arabic questions by saying I live in India. Then I have to go on the same crusade of trying to explain WHY THE HELL I CHOSE TO LIVE IN INDIA! After I finished my meal I went to sit with the kids for a while. It was fun. Superballs and video games, and funny ringtones galore. Woo, go american childish behavior!

Hey, at least the food was good. Wait, wait, the food was AMAZING and I'm full again. I freakin' love it here. Those of you who have a chance to spend a week with a lebanese family should jump at the chance. It's damn good treatment and you really can't beat the food. (My apologies to all my other ethnic friends, but it you were there, you'd understand.) Think of that scene in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and that's about right on (having me say funny things in another language and the whole bit).