Mariam's Family at the Farm

For Two Days, Mariam and I went to her farm in Egypt. Mariam has the largest family I've ever encountered, and it took me the 3 weeks we spent in Port Said for me to get her Mom's side straight and keep from confusing them with her dad's side. Seriously, we didn't have TV in Port Said, which was fine because Mariam would just tell me stories about both sides of her family from how her parents met (her dad was walking on the farmland, saw her mom and was like, "yes please" which turned into a quick engagement and an even quicker marriage) to Mariam's realization that her mom only had 3 brothers and not 5 (two of which are actually cousins, who her mom treats as brothers). So, let's focus on Mariam's mom's side, cause that's the side we visited on the farm in Egypt.

Her Mom has 3 brothers and two sisters. Her brothers and sisters have lots of kids, and as the family has grown, they have expanded their living quarters on the farm. So basically they have two apartments and every family has a floor of the apartment right next to the acreage you see in the photos. These photos are just a few I got to take when we were at the farm. While there, while we were fasting (and told them so) we ate roz bram, (translated as rice in a bram-a bram is a clay pot which things like rice are cooked/baked in), yummy bread made with fresh cow's milk, and fish straight from the "sea." On one of our walks around the land, I saw the "sea" they go fishing in. It's actually a canal of the Nile River and Mariam explained the way they go fishing. Basically they empty out the canal and pick up all the fish that no longer have water to swim in. It was some of the best fish I've had in Egypt, not kidding. I've also realized that unless you're staying in a convent with nuns, fasting is all relative in Egypt and virtually impossible when you are a guest. We basically were fasting but also ate milk byproducts as well as ate fish on Friday when the rest of the people on the farm actually fasted.

Farm culture is very different from what I'm used to when I'm in Egypt, since most of my family is in the middle of hot, polluted, loud, Cairo. The farm was beautiful and relaxing and a great way to appreciate the fertile land of Egypt. I felt like a member of the family immediately. From Noor throwing corn on the cob at me, while I was playing soccer in my galebaya,with all the boys to learning how to make Maashi Kosa and Betingaan (stuffed zucchini and eggplant) with the ladies whilst discussing the night of conception of one of their kids. There are so many people in such a tight enclosed place that some kind of drama is usually going on, but life is lived alongside one another, they are all family and all up in each other's business cause they truly care and love each other. They serve each other constantly and are the body of Christ working together.