Cultural Quirks

This may be an eye opening post for some of you. Hang in there till the end.

Two things:

#1 - First, because we live in the desert we are always on water restrictions. Not like the wimpy kind you get if you live in Dallas and there is a drought. "If you water your yard between 10am and 6pm we will fine you." No, I am talking about once a week they fill up your water tank on your roof, and if you run out before that day next week then guess what? It stinks. YOU AIN'T GOT NO WATER!!! No potty flushing, no showers, no brushing your teeth, dirty dishes piling up, the WORKS!!!

(Sorry for the "drama-queen" approach, but do you get the picture?)

Anyway, this morning I was in the shower and the water pressure went way down and it got really hot. Apparently we still had some water in our hot water heater, but by the time lunch today rolled around we had nothing but drips.

So feel sorry for us, I guess. We get water every Wednesday, so it's only a night without it.

#2 - Arabs, well good Arabs, don't interact between the genders in public. They don't. It's culturally inappropriate. So many times you will see Arabs girls walking arm in arm through the mall or Arab guys walking holding hands. Yeah, that's right. Read that last sentence again to make sure you got it. Now, repeat after me, "It's not bad, it's just different." or if you are freaking out thinking about it, say, "It's not gay, it’s just different." It is culturally appropriate for them. They are completely straight, normal people. That is just how they express their friendship.

It has gotten to be a normal thing for me to walk around the mall and see tough looking Arab men walking hand in hand. That doesn't give me the eebie geebies, BUT when I am with my Arab friends and they grab my hand....ewwww. I still freak out about it.

Then of course you have that awkward "when do you let go" moment and so on and so forth. It's like being a jr. high kid with your first girlfriend at the homecoming game all over again. "Oh, she let go, does that mean she doesn't want to hold hands now? Or do I reach for her hand? When do I? Have I made her mad?" You know, stuff like that.

So Sunday night I walked through the mall like a tough guy holding hands with another man. Go ahead, take a second to finish laughing....



I'll wait... no problem.




So, that is hard enough, because, honestly, I don't really like it. I mean, it really is a great honor for an Arab guy to hold your hand. It means that you really are friends, straight friends. But come on!!! I grew up in America! I'm not gay. In America gay guys hold hands. Yuck!

So, I am walking around the mall holding hands with a guy and I see some American friends of mine. They are laughing and having a great time at my expense. Why? Because they've all been there before, but still it makes you feel all the gayer when you see someone you know.

So I got no water and I walk around the mall holding guys' hands......

what a life.