I think the cooking class is a really good experience. I like the salad and the sauce we made, even though I was expecting us to make some hot dishes. Before coming to the cooking class, I thought we were going to make the meatball kind of thing that we had after visiting the Palestine museum. Among the sauce and salad, I like the sauce better. Sesame sauce and garlic are probably two of my favorite food, and I basically love every food consists of these two. For the salad, even though I think it is also really good, I don’t think I’ll make it at home because it’s way too much work to put in making a salad. I think the green veggie has a unique taste. Overall I think I like both of the dishes we made, and I was able to have a glimpse of Middle Eastern food.
I’m still a little bit confused about the reason why Yaman’s so intimidated by taking a bus, which is something so normal for us. I can understand her reaction against the physical gestures of Americans, and I think that religious play a consequential role. My host family is also Muslims, and they are originally from Pakistan. Their family moved to the U.S. about thirty years ago, and both my host parents were little when they first moved here. My host mom wouldn’t let her daughters hang out with other boys, and restrict their involvements in public activities. Her eldest daughter who graduated from college two years ago, and married soon after graduation. I think we can not assume the socializing mode of Middle Eastern people with our western conception. I also think Yaman is really progressive in terms of attending classes at community college as well as training as a nurse.