A new friend, a nice invitation, and a marriage proposal

A few weeks ago, when my 2 roommates and I were wandering through the Bethlehem market, we started talking with Youssef, one of the employees of a kitchen utensil store. His family owns the store, and we had a good time talking with him and meeting many of his family members. He is back in Palestine visiting family but told us he would return to Georgia in 2 weeks to continue with his schooling there. He told us to come back to visit and we told him hopefully we would see him before we left. Almost two weeks went by and, although we passed through the market occassionally, we never met our new friend again. This past Friday, Marta and I happened to be walking through the market and ran into Youssef again. We thought he had already gone back to the States but were pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face. He invited us into his store for tea and proceeded to introduce us to even more of the family. Family is extremely important here, so usually whenever we meet someone, the next process is being introduced to all of the family members. He asked us to come back to visit on Monday, so we told him we would, and we kept our promise. On Monday, he invited the 3 of us to his home, because his mother wanted to meet us and cook a meal for us. It was really special to receieve this invitation, especially since it was a "legitimate" invitation. Men have invited us to drink coffee with them at restaurants here, which seems innocent enough, but it is actually considered inappropriate for men and women to go out together if they are not married. But if someone invites you to their home to meet their family, it is culturally appropriate and ok to accept the invitation. So we graciously accepted the invitation. On Tuesday, he and his brothers met us to show us the way to their home, and when we entered their home, we were immediately welcomed by his parents and brothers and sisters. His sisters are both studying English and were excited for the opportunity to use it with us. When they showed us to the kitchen, we saw 3 huge plates, each filled with a chicken and overflowing with a rice and peanut mixture. Marta and Meredith shared one plate, Youssef and his sister shared another, and that left me all alone with a huge plate in front of me. The food was amazing, probably the best that I have had here. We stuffed ourselves until we could eat no more, and headed out to the living room with his family, where his mother proceeded to fill 3 large plates with grapes, apples, oranges, and pears. When we told her we could eat no more, she brought out 3 bowls of pomegranates, one for each of us. She was not going to let us go hungry, that's for sure! Then, after fruit, she prepared coffee for us....then, not even 30 minutes later, she brought in tea and biscuits. I felt like I was going to explode. The whole evening was full of food, laughter, and good company. Youssef's father apparently thought I would make a good wife for Youssef, and kept on hinting that the two of us should get married, despite my attempts to make it clear I already have a boyfriend. However, that was followed by much laughter and good-natured teasing, so I am glad I was able to provide some amusement.
The whole night was a wonderful experience, and I am so grateful to Youssef and his family for their remarkable hospitality. He and his brothers even walked us halfway home, which was so kind and thoughtful of them. They wouldn't have dreamed of letting us walk the first half, which is not well-lit, alone. Youssef is now back in the states, but we still have a connection with his family, and I am hoping to build on those relationships throughout this year.