You've come a long way, baby!

One of our major issues this year has been food.  When we signed up for this program, we were assured that having a Muslim student probably just meant no pork, and after we received confirmation of Nasreen's placement, we found out that she follows Halal dietary restrictions.  The easiest comparison for us to understand is Jews who follow Kosher, but Halal isn't really about cleanliness and such, it's more about your beef or chicken having been killed in the name of Allah, by a Muslim.  Fortunately seafood escapes this requirement.  (Does God not care about fish?  or do they just die too unpredictably to be blessed by Allah?)

We were prepared for this by the time that Nasreen arrived, after much research and frantic emails to family members who have Muslim friends.  I recall the first day, however, serving a spinach and goat cheese (vegetarian) casserole to Nasreen and having her just stare at it and eat her buttered bread.  I had to point out that the casserole was okay for her, and finally she ate some.  One of the next meals was fish, and after she passed the serving dish by without taking any I was incredibly frustrated.  Trying to figure out how to let her know it was Halal without telling her directly, I turned to my husband and said, "Will you pass the FISH please?"  I'm sure he thought I was crazy, as my plate already held some fish, but after that Nasreen finally dished up a serving for herself.

Recently, she confessed to me that during the orientation for Muslim students in Washington DC, most of the students ate only rice or tortillas when they were served meals, because they didn't understand what they were being served and didn't really know how to ask.  

Nasreen is still following Halal customs, although I (shh!) sneak in some alcohol-laden vanilla flavoring here and there.  We tease endlessly about bacon and all the ways Americans eat it, and Nasreen trusts that we are watching out for her. 

I'm so glad that I'm not stuck asking for second helpings all the time, just to clarify what we're eating!