It has gotten quite cold here so I figured today would be a good, yet inconspicuous, day to try wearing hijab on my own. I used one of those cloth headbands as an underscarf (thank you Amber) and put on my scarf like anyone would if they were using it to keep warm/using it as a hood. I took a walk to the grocery store which is about half a mile from my apartment. No issues but I noticed some things:
1) Most women don't even notice you. But the muslim women sometimes look at you in pure shock. I wonder if it is the shock of seeing a white woman in hijab that does it.
2) Men are so polite when you are in hijab. They say "excuse me" before they pass you or walk around you all together.
3) Young muslim men are funny. They look at you then get embarrassed when you spot them looking at you. I wonder if they are having the "oh look at the white muslim" reaction or "look at the convert". Not sure.
I then decided to take a trip to my halal butcher. I have been going to this butcher for over a year now and the two brothers that own it have always been very polite to me. The look on the elder brothers face when I walked in to the shop in hijab was priceless. He got a huge smile on his face when he recognized me and yelled out "Salaam Aleikum!". That got the other brother's attention at the meat counter who also got a huge smile on his face and replied to me "Asalaam Aleikum! What can I do for you today sister?" Teehee they called me sister! It was so nice, they were so happy. I think they may have also been happy to have finally figured me out after over a year. My bill was also less than usual...coincidence?
So good day today. Now off to make dinner. Mmmmm chili.
Salaam!
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Interesting observations. I'm glad to hear you got such nice responses from the guys in the shop. Wearing hijab out is something I want to do at some point!
ReplyDeleteIts actually kinda fun! I recommend wearing it out and bringing someone you know with the first time. Made me feel a lot more comfortable. Its just so interesting to see how people treat you differently.
ReplyDeleteI always wear hijab more in the cooler weather too. I like wearing a hijab with a hoodie over it ;)
ReplyDeleteI spoke somali to the young guy working in the halal store here the other day and he gave me like 2x the amount of spices he should have for $6! I think it was more that his older sis who normally works with him wasn't there and he didn't know what he was doing though.
haha thats funny. But you benefit from his mistake ya? :)
ReplyDeleteits always nice the first time you get called sister by an actual person.
ReplyDeleteI have it all the time from a guy in my block (who insists that Bhaji is in fact sister in Arabic... True or not, Im not sure!) and by the sisters at the islamic society. Its nice...
Glad you had a good outing!
MashaAllah :) I love the way men treat the women; it shows me that it's something we should be doing. (That observation doesn't apply to everyone though :( )
ReplyDeleteWere the shocked Muslim women hijabis? Sometimes it's a shock for them to see hijab'd women, other times a happy reaction that comes out funky...
<3!
Yes they were all hijabis! it was quite funny actually. So puzzled they were but yeah it wasn't like in a bad way or anything.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this! :)
ReplyDeleteI especially love the butcher story ^_^ (mostly because of the smile, though the discount certainly seemed like a nice perk, lol)
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I love about cold weather is I that I feel like I can wear a scarf more frequently and nobody really thinks twice about it. :)
Haha I'm not sure I got a discount but it seemed like it...maybe I got a little less beef than normal who knows.
ReplyDeleteThat is the only good thing about winter. I can experiment and play with hijab without being obvious. I don't stick out because everyone is covered. I am hoping that through winter I can get use to it so by summer I will feel confident enough to wear it out. We shall see.
*grin* I'm here for ya.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had a good day out in hijab, though the butcher thing is just funny. :)
those brothers are hillarious with me. They've always been really nice but I can tell they have been trying to figure me out you know? Especially since I always come in alone, no middle eastern man in tow lol.
ReplyDeleteBut I did realize I now need to wear it every time I go or they will be REALLY confused LOL.
I started covering full-time in August. Finally sat down with my beloved and explained it to him last week. Didn't dare come to dinner at his place with his folks, without doing that. I mean, even a little hat in the summer was enough to set his mom off. I think using the cold weather to make a start is a good idea. But the dinner went quite well, except I had to cut it short because I wasn't feeling well... No doubt we'll do it again soon, God willing :D
ReplyDeleteYay I'm glad your dinner went well. My Love's parents don't seem particular but I know it would please them for me to wear a scarf. I would not dare go to their home without something on my head. I would feel like I was being rude, since I am very well aware of their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteHats can work. I am working on some drawings using hats in place of a head scarf. Perhaps they will help.
There are wonderful hats with drapes - 1940s style - that you can get patterns for online, say, if they're having a sale at Vogue, or on E-bay... At least one such hat and probably more is definitely in my future God willing...
ReplyDeletehttp://stores.shop.ebay.com/CJ-Hats__W0QQ_armrsZ1
ReplyDeleteI LOVE my beret from here. It covers my entire head, no hair sticks out. I am hoping to get a black one for this winter. Right now I have a white one.
I love the 40s hats, I have one from the 20s that also works well. SO CUTE.
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!! Alhamdoulilah sister. I'm glad you are getting such good responses. Keep milking those nice reactions lol.
ReplyDelete