From Here: Prologue–Chapter 5

by Luma Mufleh
In this memoir, the author recounts for her children how growing up in 1980s Jordan led to the founding of both a championship-winning soccer team and a nonprofit organization, Fugees Family, which provide athletic and academic opportunities for refugees and immigrants in the United States.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Prologue–Chapter 5, Chapters 6–14, Chapters 15–21, Chapter 22–Epilogue
40 words 59 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. palatial
    relating to or being a large and stately residence
    It’s been half a dozen years since she and my father moved from the palatial estate of my childhood and into an apartment nearby, more appropriate for the two of them and their small staff.
  2. revel
    take delight in
    We collected hugs and clinked glasses and reveled in the hours made, it seemed, just for us.
  3. audacious
    not held back by conventional ideas of behavior
    “How could you do this?” he asked, and I wondered which part he thought was more audacious: that I had fallen in love or that I expected anybody to be happy for me.
  4. wellspring
    an abundant source
    “Answer it!” Emily urged, a wellspring of hope.
  5. mundane
    found in the ordinary course of events
    Looking back now, I can see that her phone calls were her way of being there for me in the only way she knew how. Those mundane calls were a radical defiance.
  6. unwavering
    marked by firm determination or resolution
    On Eid al-Adha, Muslims celebrate Abraham’s unwavering faith and God’s mercy by slaughtering an animal—usually a goat or a sheep—and sharing the meat with relatives, neighbors, and the poor.
  7. consulate
    the residence or workplace of a diplomat
    The British, French, and Spanish consulates were just down the road. Because the neighborhood was full of royalty and diplomats, a Jordanian soldier was stationed outside many of the homes, including Jiddo Riyad’s.
  8. imposing
    befitting an important, distinguished, or powerful person
    An imposing man despite his white hair and short stature, Jiddo Riyad’s steel factories had made him a millionaire and quite prominent in Amman.
  9. solidarity
    a union of interests or purposes among members of a group
    Next to him, my mother, a strict vegetarian, stood with her arms crossed in a show of solidarity with my dad, but I swear I saw a smirk pass over her lips.
  10. reprimand
    censure severely or angrily
    The room seemed to fill with a thick tension—like a balloon about to burst—as everyone waited for Jiddo Riyad to reprimand me.
  11. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    “You can’t eat Jerry!” Hussein said with a haughty sneer.
  12. delicacy
    something considered choice to eat
    He was offering me the marrow, the delicacy the adults usually argued over. My cousins had tried marrow; they said it was gross. Sure enough, it looked oily and brown, like spoiled pudding.
  13. revered
    profoundly honored
    But now, with all eyes on me, my revered grandfather holding me affectionately, what felt right and what was right seemed very far apart.
  14. modest
    following standards of propriety in conduct or appearance
    Sometimes I would ask her why she didn’t cover up head to toe like the others. She would laugh and remind me that we lived in the desert. The Quran required us to be modest, not stupid.
  15. explicit
    precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable
    The Quran was very explicit that we should pray five times a day, facing the holy city of Mecca, and performing salat, dropping to our knees and putting our foreheads on the ground.
  16. affront
    a deliberately offensive act
    My hatred of eggplant was an affront to Taytay, who baked it, pickled it, put it in stews, and grilled it with garlic-yogurt sauce.
  17. throng
    a large gathering of people
    If it was especially busy and no one would come to the car to assist us, Taytay would send me into the market on my own and I would use my small body to weave through the throngs of shoppers.
  18. urbane
    showing a high degree of refinement
    Syrian culture was urbane and cosmopolitan; Jordan didn’t even have a university until 1962.
  19. influx
    the process of flowing in
    Syrian people were well educated and quick to adapt; Jordanians resented the influx of capable foreigners into their country.
  20. faction
    a dissenting clique
    For months, the city had been plagued by violent uprisings and splintering into factions, until the infamous “green line” was drawn, dividing Beirut into a Muslim West and a Christian East.
  21. discernible
    perceptible by the senses or intellect
    Half of his body was paralyzed, and the other weak and feeble. He could no longer form discernible words.
  22. brooding
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    His pale blue eyes became dark and brooding.
  23. goad
    provoke as by constant criticism
    Then I would ask her what her wish would be. Her response was always the same.
    “That everyone in the world could have clean drinking water.”
    “Not a new car?” I would goad her.
  24. tawny
    having the color of tanned leather
    At first, I was quiet, wondering where she might be taking me, but when the neighborhoods of Amman turned into the tawny hills of the countryside, my curiosity got the best of me.
  25. haphazard
    dependent upon or characterized by chance
    Before me, rows of tents—hundreds and hundreds of tents—fanned out toward the horizon, each modified in different, haphazard ways: extended with tarps or rugs, propped up with old umbrellas or makeshift clotheslines.
  26. provocative
    serving or tending to excite or stimulate
    The show that got away with everything was The Golden Girls. I guess the censors figured that four old ladies couldn’t be saying anything too provocative. If only they had known what was sneaking by—strong, independent women completely in charge of their lives—and how it shaped me and countless other girls in the country, maybe they would have paid more attention.
  27. inflection
    the modification of pitch, tone, or volume when speaking
    My father’s accent was gruff; my mother’s inflection was soft.
  28. progressive
    favoring or promoting modern or innovative ideas
    In their early twenties, my parents were downright progressive, my father with his shaggy hair and my mom with the Volkswagen Beetle she hand-painted with flowers.
  29. conservative
    resistant to change
    And both were Muslim, of course, but neither adhered to the more conservative tenets of the religion. They loved to travel, and during my childhood, I saw more of the world than many people get to see in their lifetime.
  30. tenet
    a religious doctrine proclaimed as true without proof
    And both were Muslim, of course, but neither adhered to the more conservative tenets of the religion.
  31. chagrin
    strong feelings of embarrassment
    We stayed up watching videos of “Thriller,” “Beat It,” and “Billie Jean”; he mastered the moonwalk, and much to my father’s chagrin, that jacket was glued to his body for months.
  32. subtext
    a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred
    “Your cousins are going to the party,” she would say, or “Your cousins will all be there.” I understood the subtext: Don’t make us look bad.
  33. clique
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
    She resisted all the cliques that everyone else had arranged themselves into and was kind to everyone—including me.
  34. virtually
    slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
    At the Baccalaureate School, instruction would be in Arabic and English, and I would also have to take classes on Islam, another subject I needed extra help in. Virtually all of the students there were Arab.
  35. relentless
    never-ceasing
    If you were different in any way—if you didn’t wear a ponytail or spend your weekends at the city’s posh athletic club—you were an outcast. They made fun of the Syrian accent I had inherited from my mother. They made fun of me for hanging out with the boys. They made fun of the way that I dressed. The bullying was relentless.
  36. offspring
    the immediate descendants of a person or organism
    The extra attention I got for being Riyad Mufleh’s granddaughter didn’t last too long. After all, the Baccalaureate School was full of rich and powerful offspring, including the king’s own children.
  37. cadence
    the rhythmic rise and fall of the voice
    His Arabic had a British cadence to it that seemed to embarrass him; he tried to cover it up with an over-the-top Arabic inflection.
  38. presumption
    audacious behavior that you have no right to
    While we sat and talked about school and sports, I felt annoyed by his presumption. I had homework to do. I counted down the minutes until it was time for him to leave.
  39. anomaly
    a person who is unusual
    It wasn’t like my mother was an anomaly. Almost all of the older women I knew growing up were obsessed with their appearance.
  40. aversion
    a feeling of intense dislike
    My aversion to feminine activities and my insistence on traditionally masculine ones, like playing soccer, were disappointing to my mother, who had also once been a great athlete—before she grew up to be a glamorous woman.
Created on Wed Mar 20 17:13:41 EDT 2024 (updated Thu Mar 21 12:39:41 EDT 2024)

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