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Growing Up Arab In America · Obnoxiously Pleasant

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back, everyone, to the Obnoxiously Pleasant Podcast.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Hanan.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Lena.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: And this week we're going to be talking about what, Lena?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Growing up Arab American.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's awesome.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: We've got some really we've had some really great experiences.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'll start with mine.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: My favorite one.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: So my name is Hanan, which means compassion and kindness.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Lena, for looking it up for me.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because it escapes me all the time.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: But in Arabic, it's beautiful.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it is a beautiful name.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Problem is, in English, people don't really say Hanan.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: They used to call you Hanan.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: My favorite one is Hunan.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know why they used to call me Hunan?
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because it was a Chinese restaurant named Hunan Delight, and they just thought that that was my name.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: But there's no you in your name.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: No, there is no you.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I mean, I feel like that is something that a lot of other, a lot of my other like Arab American friends or Middle Eastern American friends can really um identify with.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you had a difficult name, you nobody know how to say it.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Not you.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, not you.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, thanks, Lena.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Friggin' L-I-N-A.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, not people with names like Lena, but you know, if people with names like mine, Abdel Jabad or something.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: You always give yourself like a nickname or an American nickname that was easy to um pronounce.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: All my brothers had them.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like Mo, uh Sam, uh Danny, and Mario.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: See?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's perfect.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's amazing.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that's not her brother, those are not her brothers' names at all.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: And they actually have really nice names in Arabic.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's just I still don't know where where Sam came from.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know either, because it's like not even close.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: But it's okay.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And he goes by it, and a lot of people know him.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, look at your husband.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Adam.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Adam.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's not his name, but it's okay.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: It works.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's close enough to his actual name.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's kind of one of my like um if I had to pick from all my experiences, that would probably be like the one that's overarching, covers everything.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think, I think one of the things that I would like, not I don't want to say struggled with, it was just more of an annoyance.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: Was how you know people would be like, oh, you're Arabic.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, no, that's a language.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Arab.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, you're Arabian.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's a horse.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Arab.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so that was just one of the things that would just get on my.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, come on, you should know better.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: I I totally agree.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: So go ahead.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: But there's honestly, like that, I agree with you, but there's a lot of cool parts about that that like not just the word that you're Arab.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: For me, I was trying to explain to my friends what Mulkia was.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: My non-Arab friends.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, did you take it to school though?
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: You took you had Mulkhiya for something.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: See, that's another thing.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like having like leftovers uh Arabic food or Arab food.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: See, now I'm I'm doing it.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, so you took Mukhiya.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, sometimes you're just like, man, it's really good, or like Bemya.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's just so good on day feed.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Do you like Bamya?
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: I love Bemiya.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not Bamya, it's Bamya.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry, it's Bamya.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's not Bamya.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Bamya sounds like she's someone's aunt.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Bemya sounds like food, right?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like Khaltu Bemya.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: You're so messed up.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: I hate you.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now I hate it even more.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's so good though.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: So that's like one of the other things is explaining what Mluchia is.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: You want to explain what Mluchia is?
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: No, I'll let you do that one.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: I mean Egyptians think that Mlukhiya, like they have like, you know, they they make the best Mlukhiya, but they don't.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's Palestinian.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: We do.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, thank you so much.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: It depends.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Look, it's like, look, here's the thing.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: They're completely different.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: They shouldn't even be called Mruchia because it's the same like green, like the same leaf.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: But the way that Palestinian isn't it called like jute?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Jews mallow.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Jute is the rug.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: No, they there's something called.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's called juice mallow.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Look it up.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: But there's what is there's something called ju.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, go ahead.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Juice is the stuff they make rugs and stuff out of.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: What are you talking about?
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: No, hold on.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Chufie.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be right.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: Look at this.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: What is this?
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: They make rugs out of me.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: No, I saw I thank you so much.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, whatever.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: We're live.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have to see this.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: You didn't I just do a dance.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: I did.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: So you were explaining mlukhiya.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, mlukhiya is like one of my most favorite meals like ever in all of life.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's so good and it like warms your insides, but it's essentially a green leaf that is very, very fine.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: We finally chop it.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they finally chop it or they make it as like the whole leaf.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: But it's yeah, we have dried, uh we do dried and then we do the fresh.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it's the concept that you take this something as simple as this green leaf, but then you add coriander spice and you add garlic and salt, and sometimes people make it with chicken socks or chicken.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just the most delicious meal to warm your hands.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you can easily mess it up if you don't know what chicken is.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: But honestly, it's like it's like a staple that you grow up on as a child.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: My kids love it.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: I loved it.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody loves it too.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, muruhia.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Anyways, end of story on the muruchiya.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, what else?
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, my favorite thing is growing up Arab and in in and that's actually funny because this is something that both my Muslim and my Christian friends we can all agree on.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: You went to Sunday school.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody went to Sunday school.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Did you go to Sunday school?
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: See?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: It was Saturday though.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: But it was called Sunday school.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: My kids hate it when I used to send them to that.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the only reason we stopped is because of the whole pandemic.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because of the bad because of the phone.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they do online school now.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's true.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they have school tomorrow.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what other my my like I love that because it really is something that does encompass, it doesn't matter.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you're Muslim, if you're Christian, what sect of Christianity you are, what sect of Islam you are.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: We all went to Sunday school.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: So it's something that really does like join us together.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's an experience that we've all had.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but did you have a curfew?
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: What was your curfew?
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: 11 p.m.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty impressive.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: It is compared to a lot of other people.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And even though I used to think it was like really early, but it was not.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's not.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: What about your did your brother have the same curfew?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: No, it was an hour later.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: See?
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: There you go, boys.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: Then you know you're Arab for sure when you're when your brother has a different curfew.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know your Arab when you experience a double standard.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's yeah, but you know what?
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, it's fine.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, I think one of my one of the things that I like kind of like the whole Sunday school concept, another thing that like um that I guess we all experience, regardless of like what country you're from, is the concept of Aib.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Ayb, yeah.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god, it's Aib.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Don't do that.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: At first you're like, you're like, okay, Aib just means it's shameful, right?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: So you're like, at first you're like, oh man, I don't want to be shameful.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know how many things we were prevented from doing because it's aib?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's aib.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: And that's like the ultimate, the penultimate answer is aib.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's just everything.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Everything was aib.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you can't go to this place because it's aib.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: What if people see you there?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you can't do XYZ because it's Aib.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: What if people see you there?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, is there something?
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Can you give me a list of the things that I am allowed to do that are not Aib?
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: No, you're asking for too much.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's like anything that your parents didn't want you to do was Aib.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: And if you didn't listen, you got the babuj or ship ship.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like I give you guys a short example.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: I always wanted to have like a second piercing in my ear.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Or like a third.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now I have like eight in each ear or something.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Midlife crisis situation.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because my mom was like, oh my God, you want a second piercing.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Only gypsies have those.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, we have gypsies in our country.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what are you talking about?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: What's it?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we should tell them the Arabic word for that.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: What is it?
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, lhugr.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: We call it.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: We say no one.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: See?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's different.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: My mom says like lhugar.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Or yeah, so she's just like, which I'm just like, mom, that's so like condescending.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, Yeah, but what are her thoughts about your ears now?
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, she's like farah halintiam lafu din.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what is like this?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Not even, it's like a party.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like a party, chaotic party that you have.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: See, that's what happens.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, you end up doing this stuff eventually.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: I know, I know.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: But what about what about the shipships?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Have you had a shipship thrown at you?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Arab moms have great aim.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like this weird, and it's funny because we all joke about it, but we all know it's true.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, she could hit you from across the room, and that shit would stick.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: It'll follow you up the stairs, too.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's like no joke.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, just don't mess with that.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen so many like TikToks about that and videos about that.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's true.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's like because their aim is just phenomenal.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's just a ship ship.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like people like go over overdo it.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, yeah, I got hit with a wooch.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, besides the ship ship, you know what else was amazing about growing up in the Eastern America?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Any time you would plan to go back home.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, but isn't this home?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, no.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's like you never know when we're gonna go back.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's like the Arab version of summer camp for us.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, it's like where you went and got hazed.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you go you went over there, but like, yeah, it's home.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, yeah, it's interesting how yeah, you're right, you're right about that.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: Because like this is where we live.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's this is home.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: But then they say you gotta go back home, which is fine, but it's cool, it was a great experience.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: I loved it.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'll meet you when I went to the line.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: I I absolutely love the butt, it's just funny because it is, it's like a combination of it kind of confuses you because you're like, but you're but we're home here.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is home all year long.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, there is like where you go and learn about who you are.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just like, I only have one set of roots, guys.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Anyways.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: But they they like my favorite part about that is like they would ask you, what do you like more?
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Here or there.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: What would your answer be?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh, here, yeah, definitely.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: You do not want to make the mistake of saying you love America more than wherever you're from.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because you're like, oh my god, your child.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: And it's the best thing is like they'd make you feel like you're like an alien or something, another different life form.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: How?
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because they would be like, like, perfect example.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: And Mahmoud and I, my husband and I were talking about this last night.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, like fasting for Ramadan.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: They would be like, Are you fasting?
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Do you do that?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, Yeah, I observe, it's fine.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Are you sure?
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Are you doing it right?
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, then it doesn't matter what you say, they're like, Allahu Alam.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: Only God knows.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know what?
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: But that's like so annoying because like we probably have a harder time here than they would over there.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like their entire schedule changes over there.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas here, like we actually have to get up, go to work, and still fast.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so, like, nothing has changed.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so it's much harder for us.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I actually had a coworker who was non-Arab, non-Muslim, and he was shocked that he's like, You actually fast.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, Yeah, because he he worked overseas.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: And he's like, you know, people over there I know don't even fast, but you're actually fasting.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, yeah, I'm fasting.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: And he's like, you actually do it the right way.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, and the ones I know who are fasting sleep all day and then wake up like two hours before.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: And like, anyway, I'm not hitting on anybody overseas.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: But that's part of the culture.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: Honestly, that's part of the culture.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so what else did you want to talk about?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: My hair today, I don't really like it.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Your hair is fine.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so you know what really bothers me?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: What about about being Arab American?
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like, not being Arab American, but like I'm classified as white.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: And no, no offense to white people anywhere, but like I'm not white.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: I don't identify as white.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Middle Eastern.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: But she is white.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, my complexion is well.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: We've had this conversation before.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm kidding.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: But I 100% agree with you.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like I want my own like box in this category.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I want my own category where I get to check.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, give me Middle Eastern.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: Give me that.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: So give me a, I don't know.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: My whole thing with like Middle Eastern is like, you know, I it could be anything.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I know it doesn't have to be Arab.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: I get that.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I understand that.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like, okay, give me something else.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: I just like nothing, no, no offense against anybody.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Classified as African, I'm good with that.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'm actually from the African continent.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't understand how like Levantine people and North African people, we're just all in the same category.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Because you look at me and you look at Lena, and clearly we don't look the same.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: So Lena's Levantine.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, right?
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: I am North African.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like I should just be African American.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: I I mean, am I not allowed to be African American just because I'm not black?
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're from the continent of Africa.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like there is, there is there, yeah.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: They need to up, they need to do something.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: It is a very outdated.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I know, I know there's like, you know, Arab American activists who are working on this, actively working on it, and I cannot wait for that to happen.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: Because like I will always put another.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: If there's an option, I will always put an Me too.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like I just I can't because I don't identify as such.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like I'm not, I don't like I'm not white.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: I don't feel white.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like my like nothing about me besides the complexion of my skin is white.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so let's go on to our next uh topic.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: Lies your airparents told you.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Lies my airparents.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: My favorite one was if I didn't finish everything out of my place, it would plate, it would chase me, like on Judgment Day.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Or in my afterlife.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: We eat a lot of rice.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like traumatic.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine having a a an army of rice just, you know, but like a half-eaten chicken?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: Have you heard of the one where it's um if you drop or spill any salt, that on the day of judgment, you will sweep the that salt with your eyelashes.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: I swear to God.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: That is evil.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: No joke.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: I've never heard of that.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: Did your mommy say tell me?
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: No, not my parents, like my brothers.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know where they like I'm the youngest of six.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if they were messing with me or something.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: But like sweep it with your eyelashes.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I was traumatized, like for the longest time.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh my god, the salt.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: I swear.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know if they did that just to mess with you.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: But like knowing your brothers, they probably did.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: But it's not just me.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I actually looked this up and there's other areas.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: She was not involved in this, no.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, because Linda's pretty great.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: No, she's not involved in that one.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: No, no.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I've yeah, so there is that.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's so I've never heard of that.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: How about leaving the shoe upside down?
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god, definitely.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: To this day, like I have oh, like I'm anxious about anxiety.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: I've been leaving the shoe in God's face.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I've taught my kids to do that too now.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, do not leave a shoe.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you have to flip it over.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: The soul can't be facing up because you used to tell us you put it in God's face.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm definitely, yeah.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, just don't do that.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: And like I've created like like it's I've passed this on to them.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I would love to do?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like the salt in the eyelashes thing, I've never heard.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: I would love if you guys could comment on the video or like engage with us on Instagram and I know I'm not the only one.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Leave well, let me know about the salt in the eyelashes, but like like tell us something else that your parents like laws your parents.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, tell us all the lies because the other one was like, if you leave the house with wet hair, you will get sick or you will get left hawah.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Which, as Mohammed would say, a brisk win.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like you'd get sick.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm not sure that, yeah, like your parents said that too.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: But they like you try to explain to them later, you know, you can't get sick.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: It has to be my favorite thing was Chatta Bardav botni.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: That translates to I got a cold in my stomach.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's when we're gonna you're gonna get a cold in Hatakdi Bardav butnik.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna get a cold in my stomach.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: But like literally, every time we go visit, and like you know, one of my kids gets sick.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's probably bad.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, what does that even mean?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like a cold, cold, yeah.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody's really quite sure, but that was my favorite.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if you walk out with wet hair, yeah.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Or my favorite is when somebody says, like, I got a cold in my shoulders.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, do you have a muscle ache?
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how do you medically identify?
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's left for us Palestinians.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: Palestinians, you guys say that because lefthawa is like an upper respiratory uh infection, pretty much.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's that's how they characterize it.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but I I just think it's really funny that you know it it really is as just a strange way of describing something.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, like if you walked up with wet hair, if you didn't wear an undershirt, yes, shalha.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta wear a shalha.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you didn't wear uh an undershirt, that's a problem.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: To this, but see the thing is these things, like, do you make your kids wear an undershirt?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: When they were little, I would put onesie in this.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: I still make my kids wear.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: See, I'm just like I'm traumatized.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like I it's like I've passed this on to them.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: But that my mom will say that.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like if she sees one of our kids, my sister and I laugh at this all the time.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because she's like without an undershirt, and they're like they know they've caught a cold or some sort of virus.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, not wearing an undershirt.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: I have one more.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um did you hear the the one about if you swallow your gum, it'll stay in your stomach for seven years.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: You heard about that one.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so yeah, okay.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: But to be fair to them, it's not you can't really digest gum.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: Your body can't digest gum.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: But it cut does come out, obviously.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I'm saying.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but it's not seven years.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, yeah, like I never swallowed my gum.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I didn't swallow my gum either because I I wasn't ready to take a chance.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Seven years is a long time.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: But they, yeah, we have some really weird, strange things that we do that like nobody else does.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's I don't know if it's like they lie to you to protect you or they lie to you because it's just they don't want they don't want you to ask questions.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: I know, right?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: It'll just shut up and do what we tell you to do.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: That's pretty much how you know air parents raise their kids.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, no offense to anybody.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not like that.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm not gonna say like we didn't grow up in like a loving home or my parents didn't love us.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: They did everything for us, yeah, you know, but it's just the whole concept is so funny that they would say there is this.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, and the other thing, my other most favorite thing, when somebody would give you that like really weird, mysterious sentence of like, don't bring shame upon our family.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, I did not know that I was responsible for everyone's dignity, like exactly, and and and reputation, but that's not a lie though.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's not, yeah, it's not, but it's just like, but like there's no like recommendations on how to do that, they just tell you don't do it.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, don't do it.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I need recommendations, like don't do this because of this, or you would have like brought shame upon your family, for example, if if you know you laugh too loud somewhere.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but here's the thing though.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: See, you you brought up something.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: I think the parenting, the way we were parented, is not how we parent now.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, no.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like, if you wanted an explanation, with all due respect, kulikhara.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's not how they don't like it.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it's funny that you say that because like Leena and I were talking about it, and one of the things that like my mom and dad were really like um focused on is that the way you presented yourself, like you can't laugh a certain way.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then if you giggled at something, even if it was funny, they'd look at me and be like, Yeah.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, but there's a translate that though.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: It means that laughing with no reason is impolite.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Or laughing without reason is it's rude.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's not even it's rude.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just like, but I have a reason.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, why can't I just laugh?
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Laugh.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Why can't I just laugh?
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: But that's there's there's just these things that they tell you, and you feel like they're life rules, but they're yeah, yeah, you discover later, you're like, actually, I can go out without an undershirt and I'm gonna live, right?
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't know.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I can laugh as loud as I want, and no one's gonna judge me.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but like I think the way, like, like the way they raise us, they said something one time, yeah, you did it, and that's it.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: There is no negotiating there.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: No, you just get it like, okay, unless you want to get a ship ship or a shoe thrown at you.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, or you know, yeah, just don't do it.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're just not worth it.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: You smile and you go and you're about about your way.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so another one that I had going back to lies, they told us.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you guys had this.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe, maybe this was a Palestinian thing, but if you drink coffee, you you grow a mustache.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: Oh no, I didn't have that?
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: No, yeah, it's amazing.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's like um, is it wa or awa?
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um bit lalik shawarib.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like you get you get a mustache.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so, because you can used to always smell the coffee because Arabs are constantly drinking coffee.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: I don't wanted to drink coffee and always, like I wasn't the only kid that had this.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like, okay, don't drink coffee, you're gonna get a mustache.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, damn.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: See, what they they should have told you is see, that's the lie, right?
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Being in Middle Eastern, I'm gonna get a mustache anyway.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so let me drink that.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, what about don't shower after you eat?
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's don't swim after you eat.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, but they used to I I used to hear don't shower after you eat.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: Really?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you gotta wait like an hour.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Why?
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like these are just things that were told to me.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: Don't ask me why.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, what if you had to go to bed?
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: Just yeah, you gotta be up now because you can't eat like that late.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, these are all these rules.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: They That's true.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: You can't eat late.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, no.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: You had one about shaving, uh shaving your legs or something.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god, that's it.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: If you shaved anything, it was just gonna come back twice as thick, twice as strong.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: But that's just not an Arab thing, though.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's like that's like a uh a but it's not scientifically that does not happen.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they would tell you, like, oh my god, and the I think the best thing is like that I found really strange and weird is like you look around and like at 13, all your friends are shaving their legs and stuff, and they're like, You're too young.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you're like, but no, no, but there is hair, no, no, you're too young.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: No, nobody, nobody likes that.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: Those girls are hoes.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, no, you're like, I want to be a ho.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I don't know how that's gonna stay in there, but whatever.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: That was funny.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it's it's not that it's you're just like, they're like, no, no, if you shave your legs, it's gonna come back, you're gonna be even hairier.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, there's it's impossible for me to be hairier than this.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'm not even that hairy.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, you're not.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: I feel bad for my friends who are hairy or were hairy, that you're just you're you you're like forced to walk around with like a window eyebrow and a mustache and hairy legs, and oh god.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: Anyways, subject change.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Clearly, I'm traumatized by this.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I'm gonna ask you some questions about being Arab.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, and you're gonna tell me if it's a fact or a fiction.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I'm ready.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: I like games.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: Arabs are loud.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, definitely.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: Without a shadow of a doubt, yes, we are absolutely some of the loudest human beings on earth.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: If you come and visit my family, you're probably thinking that lady, we don't even know the concept of whispering.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: We don't, we don't know.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, honestly, have you talked to even like our kids when they're like, I had to ask you something?
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, you sound like the determinator, like you're not whispering.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, when I I mean, when I like, can I just say that my husband, when I get mad, like he starts closing down the windows, like shutting down the windows, because he's like, we don't need the whole neighborhood to hear you getting mad and yelling at the kids.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like he's like, This is bad.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: And he's an Arab too.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: So you know it's bad when you're doing that.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, we are definitely loud.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the fatah I should remove that.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: No, okay, no, it's okay.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: We're all loud, all of us.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: We're all loud, definitely.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so Arabs are generous.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, we are generous.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: We definitely are.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: We are probably some of the most generous and hospitable people.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: You come to our house, we'll take care of you.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: We'll give you like lots of food, lots of food and lots of loves and fruits and vegetables and everything.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, everything, yeah.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Arabs are angry.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's a terrible stereotype.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think we're angry.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: I agree.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: We're I think that's uh yeah.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: We could we I mean we get angry just like the average person gets angry.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we joke about it, but I really think it's like an ugly stereotype that I actually don't enjoy because I like to regard myself as a very like happy positive person.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: And and you're I don't I don't consider myself a a a happy positive person, but like I'm not angry.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, she's a no, it's a difference.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: She's not angry.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: She's an introvert.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an extrovert.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's really what we should.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a happy positive extrovert.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: Lena is a realistic.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm positive.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'm positive, but I'm not.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, you're right.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just not angry.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: I could be.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I will I do get angry.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: But who doesn't get mad?
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: Just like your average kind of angry.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's fine.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: Anyways, uh, Arab women are submissive.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's bullshit.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Again, another stereotype.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, that's another stereotype.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I'm not oppressed.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: Are you oppressed?
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: No, some of the strongest, smartest, and most accomplished women that I know are Arab American females.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: They're literally some of the strongest, smartest women I know are Arab American females.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: So we're not submissive.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, unless you're into that kind of thing, but whatever.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: That's different.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: We are not getting into that.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: We're not getting into that.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Arab men are controlling uh slash jealous.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: Come on, let's say.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, look, here's the thing.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: What the male species in general, everybody's about to get really mad at me, is nowhere near as evolved as we are.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh definitely not.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: So don't tell me Arab, Well Lamish Arab.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: No, all men still are working on their blooming.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I agree.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: I can't say I can't say it better.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, we're in agreement there.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously, we're not trying to generalize.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, no.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: But you get it.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I know that you had said that you came up with like something really cool, like top 10 signs you're an Arab, right?
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: You've been like an Arab American or whatever, you've been thinking about it.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so tell me, because I don't know.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: I've only seen my BuzzFeed articles, so tell me.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, I made, I mean, I'm sure some things overlap.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but like I made this myself.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: You you're an Arab.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: These are the signs that you know you're an Arab.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: So the first one is you've had a babouj or ship ship thrown at you.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's a flip-flop or slipper of some sort.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, your parents curse themselves while yelling at you.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: In every single culture, in every single country.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want to give an example?
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: We're not going there.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna go there.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: Ilan Abuk.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: Ilan Abuki.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Yabintil Kalb.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: You guys get it.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'll I'll put translations.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: Turning 18 means nothing to your parents.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely not.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're not moving out.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: 18 is like 17, like 16, like 19.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: You're not moving out unless you're married.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: Or you're dead.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you're dead.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's the only two, especially for a woman, right?
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: We always say that.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: A woman, it doesn't matter.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: You're not leaving.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, no.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: But okay, okay.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: So guys have a much more likely chance of leaving their home without being married.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: Us women, I always say there's two weeds, you leave your Middle Eastern parents' house.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: You get married or you die.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: But now, now I would say in the last like 15 years, especially, I've seen like a big shift, like actual progression in the mentality of a lot of Arab Americans where they see the value in like sending their daughters in schools and helping them follow their dreams.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's super cool.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: So, anyways.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um you blame everything that goes wrong in your life on A or evil eye.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's what Lena and I did when we we had we faced a lot of obstacles when trying to bring up season two.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, Lena, we got some ideas.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: For sure.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, you're going your merry way.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: You're trying to do it.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then boom.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: And then boom.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: Life changes.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: You have a satafa or a bidet in every bathroom.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and we were talking about that, and like with this whole meet latest media coverage calling us uncivilized, I was like, at least I wash my butt.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, at least our yeah, at least our butts are clean.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: But that's enough about that.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: We're just not gonna get more into that.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, you have more than one fridge at home.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: No, I only have one.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that is the one place where I am not a stereotypical era.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: But I used to have a deep freezer and I got rid of it.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: No, I have two.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: I have one in the basement and one upstairs because you know, I'm just a food hoarder.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so he's he's a food hoarder, but not just a food hoarder.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Lena has like a very traditional part of like in this unfinished part of her basement.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: She has another fridge and she has a little line that her husband has like rigged.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: So if she needs to hang something to dry, yeah, yeah.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm like, dang, Lena, that's awesome! We never run out of food.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like when the whole pandemic thing happened, I'm like, uh, we're good.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I'm always yelling I have to stop buying stuff.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: But he doesn't it's his language of love.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's his, yeah.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean food, yeah.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, like acts of service are his language of love.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um let's see.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: You have a room in your house that you're not allowed to sit in, also known as the salon.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: In my parents, like old, old house, yeah, and like my grandmother and stuff.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: But in my house, like, no.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely we have that.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: But not, I mean, in my house, I don't care where my kids sit.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we are sitting in my salon.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, when someone in the family is either telling you to lose weight or gain weight.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: That's always always.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: Some people that's Hannah.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're feti, techinti, towelti, asirti.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you're just like, am I like, okay, so even if I if I gain weight, am I eating your food?
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: They just feel the need to kinda.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just like, you don't do like growing up in America, like it's so offensive.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: The best is when people are like, Oh, your hair.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: I don't like it.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: We're getting traumatized right now by you touching me.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's just like they do that.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like like Hanan can do it.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: I love Hannah.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but it's but it's just funny.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: They literally like, oh, you're hate.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they're very touchy-feeling.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: When we're talking about like the different, like when you go back home, like when you I said back home.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: But even here, like even here, like even like the aunties and the uncles, like, they feel the need.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just like, dude, just don't touch me.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Or or like, you know, when like you're kind of always being compared to somebody else, like, oh, so and so's kid got this.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: So and so's son or daughter did X, Y, and Z.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, but my favorite thing is that like they feel that it's completely unpropriated.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: Appropriate to tell you, like, you gained weight, you lost weight.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, do you really like your hair like that?
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: It kind of looks great.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: When you go to these events, you gotta prepare yourself mentally for those kinds of things.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just saying, guys, I wore my hair straight for 20 plus years.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: Literally.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: I literally wore this hair straight for 20 plus years.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: Not because anybody was like, oh, your curly hair is ugly, but like it's definitely not like acceptable to walk around looking like even before we filmed the phone.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: It looks great.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what you're talking about.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: I was just telling you before we filmed the park, I was like, should I pull it back?
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: No, it looks beautiful.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: My curls are not like in their prime time.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love your curls.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, but whatever.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so we have uh two more.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: It takes you forever to say goodbye to your guests.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you like talk to them, you talk to people.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: You walk them out, to the car.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: It takes another half hour at least.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and the final one, you know that when your parents say inshallah, it probably means no.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: And do you do that with your kids now?
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes, yeah.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: I I try not to.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes, but honestly, it's funny because you're like, if you think about the concept of it, you know what inshallah means.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: God willing.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: God willing.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: So your my mom would be like, well, I guess God didn't will it.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: That's like a like a short, like it's so awesome.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like that they use that, you know?
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's great.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I can't be mad.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: God didn't will it.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: It is what it is, right?
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, anything else about being Arab?
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: But you know what?
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: I know we made a lot of jokes.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually super awesome.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: It is awesome.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: Even with changes.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: Me too.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: All of the ups and downs.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, think about it.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, we're bilingual.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: Some of us are trilingual.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: And we have amazing food.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: We have phenomenal food.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god, phenomenal food.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like makaron.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: Seriously, you know, I'm not the only one who says macarona.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: I am never gonna let you know.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: Palestinians, okay.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_01: We say makaron, and I'm sticking with that.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: We have amazing music.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: We make amazing music.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the best, like, honestly, like just world-renowned artists come from, you know, our region of the world.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, we have amazing food.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: We have an amazing culture.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we're always, even with all, like, no one culture is free of some of the issues that we talked about, right?
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: But I think overall, like, it's pretty awesome.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: And one more thing, and and it's really important for me, is that we're there for each other.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think like your family, yeah, we complain about big families and how we're always in each other's faces, but God forbid something bad were to happen, you know.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: Your family would be there for you.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: They're right there in a heartbeat.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: In a heartbeat, yeah.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, family and friends.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's it for this episode.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you guys for joining us every single week.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: It really means a lot to us.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for your support.
• 30:05
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• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: Please like, please hit the bell.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_01: Subscribe, subscribe.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: We need more subscribers, please, guys.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to like beg for subscribers, but please No, I'll beg.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: I ain't too proud to beg.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: Too proud to beg.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's it.