The dinnerware that is shown is historically valuable through my mothers lineage. In Arab culture dinnerware is cherished upon mainly through women, due to the fact that hospitality in Arab homes has heavy importance. When my mother married my father, my grandmother passed down sets of dinnerware as it was considered that my mother was taking the next step in her life and moving out of my grandmother's home. Some specific dinnerware are so valued upon that they are never used to drink and eat with, but rather stored as memorabilia unless in very special occasions. As was the case with these dinnerware as my family were migrating to the US, there was an organized goodbye party with many of the closest family and friends when my mother brought out this special dinner set. The dinnerware had significance for settling into my current community, as it played a part in integrating with my Sudannese culture in southern California. My mother had organized a welcome party with the dinnerware as a celebration to a start of new relationships. What makes the dinnerware so special is that it resonates with the women's identity in my immediate family. What started as inherited dinnerware by my grandmother, then passed down to my mom, and now in present time my younger sister slowly just starting to take up on the tradition is something that has spanned for 90 years. The look of the dinnerware is still valued upon, as well as how well taken care of the sets is something my mother and sister claim to have and be proud of as part of family identity. 

– Omer Elsharif

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child