Day 3 - "Yes, I am married."

It may not be classified as sin, but apparently singleness for women is unjustifiable to the Middle Eastern mind. 

I made the great mistake of answering what is generally an innocuous question in the U.S., "Are you married?". In the UAE, this question takes the form of asking if you have a family, which means do you have a husband and children. Upon hearing the "distressing" information that I am unmarried, the gentleman questioning me proceeded to enter into a matchmaking frenzy. (A single woman with a good salary must be in want of a husband.  --nod to Jane Austen)

This did not make me happy. 

The gentleman in question is a colleague. (He really is a very, very nice man, and meant me no ill will.) He stated that I need someone to wake up with and have discussions with. True. Could not argue his point. He asked if I lived in Fujairah, and whether or not I like it (I am not staying here for no man!). He asked how much I paid for rent (this is common fodder for discussion here). When I told him how much, he nearly had a conniption. Apparently, a single woman should live in a single room, and for no more than 5% of her monthly income. Well, the gentleman had to control his sense of incredulity because he had already begun discussing matching me up with a friend or brother or cousin; I'm not sure.

The gentleman gave me his number and directed (not suggested) me to call him after work so that he could discuss the matter further. Did I mention he is a teacher of Arabic, and that he has an extremely limited English vocabulary. He nearly says "Thank you" to any comment or query made to him in the English language, the Queen's or otherwise. Yet, he became amazingly lucid in his matching efforts. I think I was thrown off balance by his clarity. I'm serious. 

The husband he has in mind is 45 (well, that is within my age range). After confirming that the younger age is acceptable, my colleague explained that "my family" is in Jordan. Yes! He already considers me married to the man. 

I want to cry from the supreme annoyance of the situation. This is my fault for caring too much about someone else's feelings. When he asked if an Arabic suitor would be acceptable, of course I said yes. Though, I immediately thought that a Christian would not be acceptable to "my family". However, I felt too awkward to inject that bit of information into our discussion (not because I am in a Muslim country, Christianity generally changes an atmosphere even in the U.S.).

On the upside, there is a man in this world who considers me marriageable. Somehow I knew he would only be found in a land of dark men. 

From now on, I guess I will have to get deep in a weird way. If someone asks if I have a family (i.e. do I have a husband), like the nuns, I will just consider myself married to Jesus.

Lord, have mercy.