Being abroad is a once in a lifetime experience and it helps you grow as a person, but it is never easy — especially when you come from a controversial area such as the Middle East. An Arab abroad is a whole different criteria since almost every place you visit starkly contrasts where you come from.
8. "What do you mean your middle name is not your dad's name?"
Arabs usually have incredibly long names, but we mostly use our triple or quadruple name. The way it goes is: [your name] [your father's name] [ your grandfather's name] [your grandfather's father's name] [you get the point] [your last name]. I personally only know like 10 names out of my entire name.
7. " Hookah costs $24 for a session?"
I can get Hookah delivered to my house with a night's supply of burning coals for less than $10 back home... How do people socialize? What do you do all day? Do you just go to restaurants for the food?
6. Trying to find authentic Arab food is nearly impossible.
America maybe the land of the free but it ain't the land of the perfect Shawerma. Sometimes the struggle is too real. I had a guy sell me a $12 Shawerma with corn, broccoli and hummus... yep. I'll just let that sink in.
5. Speaking of food, barely any restaurant stays open after 9 p.m. and only a few deliver.
Forget about getting your McDonald's delivered to you at 2 a.m., or wanting to grab an ice cream at 1 a.m. because everything is either closed or you have to drive to it!
4. People will ask you about yourself and sometimes they can be extremely offensive.
"Are you an Islam?" (Yes, Islam, not Muslim.)
"How long have you been in the states?"
"I mean, I know you're not like that, but like did some of your friends/family cheer when 9/11 happened?"
Honestly, though, most Americans are great and they are genuinely interested and excited to hear all about the Middle East. Of course, there are always going to be stupid people, but they're not worth your time.
3. THERE ARE NO BIDETS! I REPEAT NO BIDET OR "SHATAFA".
This is the epitome of struggles. Literally you cannot find them anywhere. They tell you that you don't miss something until it's gone, and I've never missed anything as much as I miss my bathroom at home.
2. If you live in a big city, you have to pay for parking.
There are so many rules of the road, which is a wonderful thing because it's not as scary driving in the U.S. At the same time, life would be so much easier if I could just pull a U-turn in the middle of the road and park on the yellow curb. Your inability to park anywhere you want and the lack of "free" parking in the city brought about this business model where you pay to park in a lot. It's very expensive and there's no valet.
1. You will miss home. A lot. No matter how badly you wanted to leave, you will miss everything, even the things you hated.
You'll miss your mom and dad, you'll miss your siblings, even your neighbors. You'll miss the language, the atmosphere, the people, the food, the TV channels, the radio stations, your room and having Thursday be your weekend. But most of all, you'll miss home.
