Hide and Seek: the new playbook
Posted on February 20, 2013
Filed Under Daily, New York, The Boss | 10 Comments
One of the truly great experiences in my life over the last few months came in the form of becoming a real-life aunt to my sister’s little Tater. And in just a matter of days The Boss will experience first-hand what that feeling was like for me (but the man version) when his big sister has her baby girl. And it could be any day. In fact, it could be happening RIGHT NOW as I blog. Maybe I should call to find out how things are going. But I don’t want to be that person. You know, that person who calls the expecting mama three days before her tentative due date and then on the due date and then EVERY HOUR until she has the baby asking why she hasn’t gone into labor?!
Yeah. That person. Is not who I want to be.
We drove up to Connecticut on Friday to hang out with my sister-in-law’s in-laws who are visiting from Egypt and I had a really fascinating conversation with a woman who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, but is of Syrian and Palestinian descent. It was a real eye-opener to talk with someone who is “in the trenches” (so to speak), but not accepted as part of the Saudi culture — a culture that is so foreign to most Americans both Muslim and non.
We were having this really in-depth conversation about politics and education and culture at the far end of a table packed with 15 people at iHop on a Sunday morning and I swear every time I said something to my new friend the waitress thought I was talking to her.
Me: So, school is free for Saudi nationals, but not for you even though you were born there? That’s not fair.
Waitress: I’m sorry Miss, did I forget your side?
Me: What? No.
Me: So that’s cool that you can be considered for a job over a man that’s a Saudi national since you speak English.
Waitress: Did you say you wanted another hot chocolate?
Me: What? No.
Me: I heard camels are really mean and they spit on everyone.
Waitress: Did you say your food isn’t hot enough?
Me: WHAT?! NO!?
There must have been 300 people getting breakfast Sunday morning so I guess I can understand the confusion as to who’s saying what to whom in all that commotion of eating and taking orders and FDA warnings about how all of us are consuming DEATH CALORIES by simply being in the restaurant. But looking back at the several misunderstandings I had with the waitress I’m most concerned about how she found a connection between CAMEL SPIT and MY PLATE OF FOOD especially given that horse and/or donkey meat were recently found in burgers in Europe.
In order to get to the bottom of this misunderstanding I need to consider my options aside from sending a sample of my stool to the Centers for Disease Control or the Food and Drug Administration (or both). Maybe a good starting point would be to hide and scare The Boss when he gets home from work today. If by chance when I jump out from inside the closet with every intention to scream BOO(!!!) I end up gargling up a wild donkey sound then I might need to look into finding a pair of rubber gloves and a plastic container. And then someone should promptly inform The Boss that Hide and Seek just got a whole new set of rules.
Related posts:
Comments
10 Responses to “Hide and Seek: the new playbook”
Leave a Reply
Ahh your blog always makes me feel better after a crappy day. Alhamdullilah, keep it up!
Haha. Now this is hilarious especially you jumping out on the boss!
I am so sorry but I beg to differ. Saudi’s do accept others into their culture, it’s just we need to make an effort, the biggest obstacle being language. We are British of South Asian desent. My kids attend a Saudi School and are very much part of the Saudi Culture. My husband works for the Saudi government and is never excluded (His Arabic is virtually non-existing). I have many friends who are Saudi and they are as “normal” as anyone of us.(whatever that means.) When you spend time here you realise that the Saudi culture isn’t as alien as the media makes one believe.
@Mumof3 Like you said, you’re British. You’re not straight from India or Pakistan or Bangladesh and that’s what this woman was saying. She was born and raised in Saudi and cannot go to the local schools for free like the nationals can. While she did have Saudi friends at her non-Saudi school she said their families treated her differently. If you’re Saudi, you can start a business. If you’re from a non-Western country, you have to have someone sponsor your business. This means, you have to pay someone a cut of your earnings just so their Saudi national name is on the government’s list of business owners. Where’s the justice in that? This woman also told me that the Saudi government has started a new system where they’ll pay Saudi nationals (whether they work or not) up to $50,000 a year as a form of “hush money” not to speak out against the monarchy. She said most people in the country aren’t thrilled about their form of government so the government goes out of their way to keep them happy (i.e. buy their happiness). My family lived in Saudi (as Americans working for the U.S. government in the 80s) and they had little to complain about because we were within the American compounds where we had everything. But to hear the perspective of someone who was born and raised in a country and doesn’t have the same rights as the Saudi nationals was disturbing to learn about. It reminded me of segregation in the United States before the Civil Rights Movement. You and your family are obviously blessed — and how wonderful to know that you guys are all treated well there! That’s great! But your perspective as a Westerner will be vastly different (as mine would be if I worked or lived in Saudi as an American) than someone who’s been born and raised in a country and denied many rights because their blood line comes from somewhere else. Also, I didn’t write this post after watching an hour of CNN. It was after spending several hours with a woman who is from Jeddah.
@Suhaidah I did actually scare him yesterday. And then he was all, THAT’S NOT FROM THE SUNNAH! Oops…
LOL
@Tayba Aww! Hope your today is much better!
Mistaken conversation is always hilarious. At least it is after the fact. I sometimes tuck my phone into my hijab (ghetto hijabi blue tooth) and I can’t tell you how many people have carried on conversations with me without realizing I was on the phone.
I lived in Saudi Arabia ( American muslim) with my Arab husband and I was treated very well. It was sad to see some other people not treated as well. I found that just because I was American
That part was sad and I made a point to
( and muslim) I had ” priority” over other people
not accept any negative chatter or actions towards others in my presence! People don’t determine your worth EVER!!!
@constanceb Thanks for sharing your perspective.