Re: Gori finally meeting the new Pakistani inlaws to be... gift?
Shalwar Kameez,
I'm a little bit unusual in that one of my closest friends is Pakistani and I am renting my apartment from a Pakistani family. I feel like I am well versed in the culture to be honest. This all started before I met my bf so I have actually been gifted with shalwar kameez on many occasions and consequently, have about 6 suits! My friend has taken me with her to mehdni parties, etc and I have worn them then. I've also attended other random cultural events and worn them. I will wear shalwar kameez in the future, not every day, not to work but at home or at his family functions, I definitely will. It makes him happy to see me in it and I enjoy wearing it. I'm really looking forward to his mother accepting me eventually and me getting in on the yearly shalwar kameez shipments that she makes after she visits Pakistan. I love wearing them actually so wearing one will not be a problem for me. I have even started purchasing jewellery to match, I have 3 sets of churiyan and some big earrings as well. I'm also always on the look out for sparkly dressy sandels!
I will definitely try to overcome my shyness and jump right in, in terms of prepping the food and cleaning up afterwards.
I will bring a homemade but beautiful (inshAllah) cake that says "Ramadan Mubarak". *I will make it vanilla and fruit flavored because I've heard that chocolate is not a popular flavour traditionally with Pakistanis. *
I will eat everything they give me. I love Pakistani food and eat it quite regularily actually. I know how it feels to have your food unaccepted by a different culture (I used to make my landlords food all the time and they mostly wouldn't eat it- citing that they only like "their" food- lol).
For the language differences, I know its not a big deal. My landlord mother speaks barely a word of English. So often times, she speaks to me in Punjabi and I speak back in English... everyone marvels that we understand each other but it is because we "want" to understand each other that it works. My future MIL though, in the past has made it a bigger deal out of it than it needs to be.
His family actually has a load of other issues going on right now. They are constantly in conflict so this is just another problem in their family to them. Unfortunatly since the parents are always stressed, they are less able to properly access the situation and realize that I will be the best DIL to them that I can be. I am such a loving daughter to my own parents. I talk to them every single day. They are a major major part of my life. sigh... I hope they like me.
Yeh you got that right!