Nemeh Celebrates Arab Heritage with Family, Food and Appreciation
4/26/2021 2:20:00 PM | Rowing, Features
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into effect this year a proclamation designating April of each year to be Arab American Heritage Month in the state of Michigan.
Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., native Kaitlin Nemeh is a junior on the University of Michigan rowing team. Her father is from Jordan, and her Arab-American heritage has taught her important lessons about togetherness and gratitude. She shares with us some of the things she appreciates about her family traditions.
By Kaitlin Nemeh
Growing up in an Arab family has given me a great appreciation for the importance of family. Throughout my childhood and still today, there has always been an emphasis on the importance of family togetherness. In Arab culture, spending quality time with family members and the relationships you develop with family are prioritized, and through my heritage I have learned to value that greatly.
I come from a large family with many aunts, uncles and cousins. My dad John grew up with five siblings, and we have four children in our family, so I have three siblings myself: two brothers, Christian (24) and Sean (22), and my sister Lauren (18), who's also part of the U-M rowing team with me as a first-year novice. My family is the center of my life, and I have such close relationships with all the members of my immediate and extended family.
In past years when we are all able to safely gather together for meals and celebrations, it can be more than 15 or 20 in number (and more on holidays!), so there are definitely a lot of mouths to feed. Our family gatherings are loud and always full of food. Family meals have always been the universal thing to bring everyone together, no matter what is going on in life.
We serve many different traditional Arab foods when we are all gathered. Not only does this food bring everyone together physically, but learning recipes from each other and cooking together is another great part of this tradition, and that is a part of my heritage for which I am so thankful.
Kaitlin Nemeh (second from right) and her siblings
Over the years, I have learned to cook recipes that have been passed down through generations in my family and in the Arab world. The memories I have made with my family through preparing and cooking these meals and the conversations we have while preparing and eating them have helped me know that I have a strong family support system, and I hope to be able to pass down and continue these traditions.
Some of my favorite traditional meals are molokhia, maqluba and mansaf.
Molokhia is a mixture of jute leaves, which are similar to spinach, and chicken cooked together in a stew. It has a thick, soup-like consistency and is served over rice with lots of lemon juice.
Maqluba is a word that means "upside-down" in Arabic. This dish includes rice, vegetables (like carrots and cauliflower) and chicken. It's all cooked in one pot and when it's time to serve, the pot is flipped onto a plate and gently lifted, leaving the food stacked upside-down from how it was cooked.
Mansaf is the national dish of Jordan and is made up of lamb covered in a yoghurt-based sauce. It is served over rice and is traditionally eaten with your hands and bread.
Whenever these meals are made in my house, no recipes are used. My mom learned how to cook all of these meals from watching and helping my father's mother, my grandmother Sossi Nemeh, who never followed an exact recipe but instead cooked from memory and experience. When my mom was getting to know my dad and his family, my mother would spend a lot of time with my grandmother bonding over cooking. At first, my mom tried writing down everything my grandma did, but over time and after cooking so much, my mom became like my grandma and never uses measurements or recipes anymore.
My mother is not Arab, so my grandmother, who was Armenian and grew up in Syria, loved that she showed interest in learning the traditions of the culture and authentic cooking.
These meals are important to me because every time they are made, I know that the history of my family is being continued. We eat these meals frequently, especially when family is over. Almost every year, some of my family that lives in Jordan comes to stay at my house for about three weeks. My aunt, uncle, and two cousins stay with us, and it's so great spending time with them because we don't get to see them often. When they're visiting, we will cook and serve a variety of traditional meals while they are with us. These meals have become a sort of comfort food for me because of the memories I have when eating them with my family.
A young Kaitlin Nemeh on a visit to Jordan
I am so appreciative of everything I have in my life because of my heritage and past generations who have given me the opportunities I have today. This appreciation comes from understanding my roots and my culture. I was lucky enough to visit Amman, the capital of Jordan, where my father was born, as well as Fuheis, the small village just outside of Amman where most of my family lived for generations. It was such a powerful experience.
I have personally experienced so much of the traditional Arab lifestyle, and I am proud of my heritage. I have seen the work that has gone into building the life that I have today, and I am so fortunate to be able to embrace being both Arab and American. The history of the country of Jordan and the people that live there is something that I am blessed to be a part of.
I am inspired by my family who worked hard to go from a small village to a new country with the hope of greater opportunities for myself and my siblings and cousins, and the generations that will follow us. Understanding my heritage and where I come from has made me never take anything for granted and keeps me thankful for all that I have.
Players Mentioned
