Coffee, dates, & conversation

Dates

As a westerner coming in to the Gulf, I had no idea how important the date was to Middle Eastern culture. They come in all sorts of colors and textures around here:

You can get them stuffed or covered in chocolate, or both; they show up in breads and sweets; or they are just eaten plain with coffee. I am a particular fan of the half-ripe ones, which are sort of sweet and sour, chewy and crunchy all at the same time:

Bree is a fan of the ripe ones stuff with candied orange peels – also quite good. 

There’s not really an equivalent that I can think of in western culture. Dates are not just food, they are a the sign of a shift from business into a more relaxed atmosphere. Or, if the atmosphere is already casual, its a sign that you should get comfortable, you’ll be conversing for awhile. I’ve had business meetings where we would wrap up the meeting, then the coffee and dates come out.

Coffee

The other half of this little ritual is the serving of coffee:

The coffee is served in tiny cups with no handles, and it usually pretty weak but contains saffron and cardamom.

 

In Oman (and I hear the ME in general) it is considered very rude not to accept hospitality that is offered. This goes double with coffee (literally). It is generally accepted that everyone will accept at least 2 of the tiny cup fulls. After the 2nd, you won’t offend anyone by not having more.

Problem is, they usually keep the coffee in thermoses, and it is served REALLY hot. The tradition is to just drink it down in one sip, which usually results in me burning my tongue. The things we do to participate in the culture…

As per the custom, once the coffee and dates come out, the conversation switches to casual topics. As with everywhere, the weather is always the most popular topic of discussion. Topic #2 is usually where everyone comes from. For whatever reason, Bree and I are almost never pegged as Americans going into these conversations. There aren’t many Americans here to begin with, and although most people speak English, they can’t pick out the American accent per se. I’ve been asked if I’m Dutch, German, British, among others. When I tell people that I am an American, they often tell me that it is their dream to go there one day (I hear this alot), or they ask what its like where I come from (I usually pick Colorado for these discussions, for brevity). By the time the weather and places of origin have been covered, the coffee and dates are usually packed away, and the meeting is over….