Today and on my way to the mini-market around the corner, I passed by a couple, the guy was speaking Jordanian accent, I had this stupid smile Arabs have when they meet someone from their region abroad.
Luckily they walked right behind me most of the way, so I got to hear that accent I miss so much, and wished I’d follow them wherever they’re going just so I can hear more and more.
When each of us went separate directions, I couldn’t help thinking of this weird way we, Arabs, react when we meet each other abroad. It doesn’t matter if we’re from the same country or not, it doesn’t matter if we speak the same accent or not, the simple fact of both parties speaking the same language makes it feel as if they’re both as close as neighbours.

I recall how I used to do the same thing in Germany, I was the only Arab in my class in university, and other Arab students were few blocks away. It was really funny how I’d be walking and focused on something and then a simple “Marhaba”, i.e. hello, someone is saying on the phone, or a sweet “Salam”, i.e. hi, some are exchanging, would be enough to make me stop and pathetically stare at them in this weird way as if to say: hey, I’m Arab too!
I mean what’s the big deal? ok we’re all Arabs, so? then what? they’re different people, with different personalities, belonging to different cultural backgrounds and different mentalities, a shared language isn’t enough to create a healthy relationship!
But well, I couldn’t help it, the longer I stayed in Germany, the weirder it felt to come across an Arab. And now that I think of it, the stupid smiles aren’t the worst part, the worst part was when I’d enter a small shop, and when I’m paying, I speak in German, and then an Arab family waits behind me, the owner starts greeting the family in Arabic, so I don’t only smile at them all stupidly but even switch to Arabic just like that, just to show off my language… God! how embarrassing! they must’ve looked at me as a lonely freak!

Anyway, when an Arab is in a different Arab country, like yours truly, this weird reaction is somehow edited automatically. Let me explain: you no longer get all mad about meeting an Arab, since you’re in an Arab country which is fully populated by Arabs, you’ll have those instinct detectors of people from your region. So if you’re from the Middle East and happen to live in North Africa you’ll start detecting Middle Eastern people. And if you’re still within the same region, you’ll start looking for people from your own country, and so on…
So now that I’m living in Tunisia, my heart starts beating like crazy when I hear someone speaking any Middle Eastern dialect. I feel like holding a huge flag reading: Hey guys I’m from the Middle East too!

I remember when I first came to Tunisia, and just next to the building I used to live in, there was this musical band consisting of Lebanese students who practiced every afternoon. They used to play songs for Fairooz and Abdelhaleem (2 legendary Arab singers), leaving the doors and windows open so the whole neighbourhood used to hear them. So whenever I felt lonely and homesick, I’d just go for a quick walk in the neighbourhood in order to listen to them clearly and get this Middle Eastern atmosphere.

Ah! I’m really homesick these days, and I’m missing the most insignificant things I used to do back home… but well, life goes on, and one has to find a way to create their own back-home-atmosphere, and mine is cooking Middle Eastern food as often as I can 😉