Respect!

On our last morning together, Carolin showed Burke and I her favorite shop to eat kebabs. When she first insisted we wait to eat them with her, I was imagining an assortment of fruit or veggies skewered on a stick like the kebabs we have at home. I was glad to be wrong however when we walked into the tiny shop blaring Hebrew pop music and saw a huge hunk of meat being turned on a spit, just like my favorite tacos al pastor in Mexico! A kebab turned out to be a giant (seriously, can you see that huge thing I'm holding in my hand?!) pita-ish bread stuffed to the brim with meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, carrots and some sort of amazing mustardy sauce. They tasted incredible!

When we finished and were sitting around talking, the shop owner brought us little shots of complimentary black tea. Carolin, of course after having lived with us in Utah for a year, remembered that we do not drink alcohol, coffee or tea and she very considerately did not make us feel uncomfortable, but choose not to drink her glass either. When we went to leave, Burke made a comment about how he hoped we wouldn't offend the man and Carolin said, "Oh, I will explain." In German, she thanked the man for the great meal and apologized on our behalf for not tasting the drinks as it was a religious code we followed. Instead of looking at us like weirdos, the man replied quickly with a smile on his face, asked Carolin some questions and then turned to us with palms pressed together saying, "Respect." We simply replied with our "Dankas" and left the shop, asking Carolin what he had said. She translated that when she had said we don't drink he was all excited and basically said, "Hey! Me neither! I'm a Muslim!" He asked what religion we were and had been impressed that we were trying to keep our bodies clean. That's when he turned and offered us his respect. It was neat to be supported in our beliefs rather than treated with mockery or shock as we encounter most often.

When we parted with Carolin that day, I got teary-eyed thinking how long it had been since we had seen one another and how very brief our reuniting had been. Yet, I feel confident that I will see my German sister again and I am so grateful to have such a unique and wonderful connection to such an amazing girl! Thank you Caro for taking such good care of us and making Berlin a fantastic experience!