I went to my message therapist today, and obviously we talked. I talk a lot. I used to never ever talk, but from having a blog, working with a lot of crazy people in my job, and being ever so articulate, I became a chatter box. I now initiate conversations because I am bored and I want to actually know how others think. Maybe one day I will discover the meaning of normal human beings by actually talking to them.

So, we talked, and the topic came up of me knowing languages. I told her I am bilingual, but I also know Spanish but I don’t speak it anymore, because there is no one to speak it with. So she asked me what languages I speak. I said, “Arabic.” She said, “that is so nice. Is it similar to another language?” I said, “well, maybe Persian, but not really. We are kind of separate from the rest of the world.”

Then she asked me about head scarfs and Arab women wearing it. I said, “yah.. I guess conservative Arab Muslims do, but not me.” She said, “so what about arranged marriages. I think it is so interesting.” I said, “aah…. no. It’s a blind date that won’t ever go away.” She said, “I would have loved going on a blind date. I never did, and I always wanted to.”

I thought to my self, this chick is nuts. She is a year older than me because she told me that it was so awesome to be an 80’s child and being so young. I then thought, this chick is seriously nutz. So, then she asked me, “well, so how old were you when you came to Canada? You are fluent.” I said, “way too young, and I am bilingual.” She said,”but it’s hard for other Arabs to come and learn a new language. Especially from arranged marriages.” I said, “yah, bringing someone from the Arab world is not so bad. Everyone speaks English now. It’s like mandatory.” She said, “it’s funny how you keep saying Arab world.” I thought to my self, I do say that a lot, so I replied saying, “well, I guess Arabs have their own world!”

Then I told her that my mom and sister are in Lebanon to visit the entire family but will be back soon, but I am not Lebanese but Palestenian. She said, “well, oh. So, you are like so diverse. So why is your entire family in Lebanon?” I said, “well, because I was a Palestenian refugee, and my entire family is still in Lebanon.”

She paused a bit, and didn’t know what to say for a minute. I said, “so you don’t know what happened to Palestinians?” She said, “no clue. I don’t know anything about that area at all.” I sat there contemplating what to say or how to react. I said, “so you know nothing about the Palestenian and Israel conflict?” She said, “no clue.” I said, “well, in 1948 Israelis came and claimed the land. They kicked out 700,000 Palestinians from their homes. Some went to Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.” She said, “how in the world can they kick out 700,000 people at that time?” I said, “well, there were more that got kicked out later in 1967.” She said, “so how many?” I said, “well, there are about 4 or 5 million Palestinians now in the entire world, and over half of them are still refugees.”

She said, “I can’t believe it! Why in the world? Are they still fighting?” I said, “yep. We are biblical people who just love to fight each other!”

I couldn’t believe it that she had NO clue at all about what’s going on in the middle east. Not even who is fighting who or why. I am still shocked. I think I read a lot of news and too much history because I know too much shit that is going on in the world, especially in war torn countries. Not only that, I read a lot of history of Palestine. I think I am obligated to as a Palestenian to know everything about my people and country and what’s going on in the entire middle east.

However, I honestly envied her. She didn’t have to live her life bothering her self with what’s going on in the world. She didn’t seem to be interested in history or current events. She just did her job, met a lot of interesting people, and well, she met ME and I screwed up her entire view of the world! :bored:

Anyways, I love watching this video and listening to the song because it will always remind me of how people were in Palestine before 1948. The end of the video always makes me cry.

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