From the Ground: The Real Israel-Palestine

Arabic Culture

As we’ve learned about the Arab/Israeli conflict during the past several days, we’ve also learned a little bit about Arabic culture.

We like it a lot; it’s very friendly.

Here’s a brief lesson about the culture based on what we’ve seen:

• 1. Everybody is nice.

• 2. Families are large and live close to each other (it’s not uncommon for a house to be passed down for generations).

• 3. “Visits” are common among family and friends (ALWAYS invite, even if you don’t want them to accept).

• 4. Visits start with all parties sitting together in the living room.

• 5. The longer you stay, the more food is brought out (mostly fresh fruit and sweets) - food is a central part of the culture.

• 6. Herbal tea is ALWAYS served.

• 7. Arabic coffee is usually served next (also called Turkish coffee).

• 8. The cook (usually the wife of the owner of the house) is insulted if you don’t eat an extremely large amount of food (we learned this the hard way).

• 9. The news is always on (usually Aljazeera or BBC).