We were all dressed up: My parents, brothers and grandparents in the salon patiently waiting for their arrival.
The bell for our house gate finally rang downstairs and my brother and dad went to get them.
They all walked in with a huge assortment of flowers (aww) and everyone happily said hey to each other really loudly and excitedly that I couldn’t even hear and sat down.
Everything was going well, the grown ups drifted away in conversation and I took the siblings to the living room so we could talk freely.
All of a sudden my dad calls Yassine and I to come alone. I knew where this was going.
We sat down, and my dad says, “We all know why we’re here, so let’s talk about the details.” Ugh, whyy me?!
So of course they start off by giving the lecture about the sanctity of marriage and what we’re supposed to do, then they began creating a timeline for us as for when we should get engaged and married (I’m talking exact dates).
I wasn’t going to have it, so I told everyone that Yassine and I have it figured and we’ll let them know what we’ll do. Let’s just get through the Fat-ha first and enjoy our vacation.
We talked some more about the living situation, that I’ll start looking for jobs in Luxembourg since Yassine already has a great job there and that we’ll also start to look into apartments, wedding venues etc. – all the usual typical Arab concerns/traditions before getting married (el sha2a, el farsh, el fara7… so bee2a).
So anyway, I was glad we finally got that out of the way! The rest of the 3ozoma was full of food and good laughs. I was so glad.
The next day the big happy family headed to Marina in our happy bus! I was relaxed and enjoying this road trip when all of a sudden I got a phone call that ruined my day.
It was my aunt saying that she just went to check up on the shale that we had booked for Yassine and his family and it was dirty, filthy and disgusting. That’s exactly what one of my nightmares was about, I could not believe this was happening!
So I went into hustling mode, going on every rental website in Marina and every hotel to see if anyone had any vacant rooms on such short notice!
AND I had to stay calm and collected because the last thing I wanted was for my future parents-in-law to know about this and think I’m an unorganized clutz.
After hours of hysterical searching and mini panic attacks, my aunt called me back and said she found the perfect place at a great hotel near our house and that it’s ready for them to arrive.
That was the biggest sigh of relief I had ever had in my life. Thank GOD.
SO after recovering from the heart attack that I almost had, I was back in my groove, taking the Arbels to their hotel, of course nonchalantly pretending that that was what I booked in the first place (hehe).
They dropped off their luggage and came with us right away to our house where all of my mom’s four siblings and my cousins were waiting for us.
Now, when I say I come from a loud and proud Egyptian family, I mean it. My uncle and aunts and 15 cousins are like as close to me as my parents and brothers.
We share the same summerhouse, and fill it with loud conversations, debates, laughs and a LOT of food. Just your typical big Egyptian family.
So I was a bit worried about what this family who lived in France their whole lives would think of them and, surprisingly, they fit in right away!
They joined in the laughs and conversations and gave in to the over–the-top welcome, hugs and kisses.
I knew I could count on the fam to give them the good old Egyptian welcome.
So the next few days was a mix of chilling on the beach, going out to cafes, huge family lunches and just enjoying being with the family on vacation.
But my stress began to build up again a day before our Fat-ha day, because I found out that my mom did not want to just have a normal small Fat-ha (like it’s SUPPOSED to be), she had a grand dinner party planned. I should have known…
WE SAID THIS: Stay tuned for Part Three!
