My husband looked pretty amused as he stood in line in Burger King, with two customers in front of him, the first taking forever to order. Weird, I thought, wasn't he just cursing work, the weather, the lack of parking in Shmesani?? what's so amusing now?

 

Here's his recount of the conversation going on in front of him, between a 40 something customer, and the guy at the cash:

 

-Customer:   Shooo feee 3indak inta? What kind of stuff do you have?

-Cashier:      Mmmm, lahmeh w jaj.   Mmmm, meat and chicken.

-Customer:   Lahmeh w jaj keef ya3ni? Meat and chicken, how do you mean?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm reading Amin Maalouf's Ports Of Call, and while his books always prove to be a pleasure, this one seems to be even more captivating. If not for the great story and events,the personalized history telling and the depth of characters, which are common traits in all his books, then it's for the artistic way in which he uses his words, the way he expresses himself, and how touching his writings can be. I keep coming back to these couple of lines, in which he represents ever so eloquently, how a typical Arabian father figure, is looked at differently, according to whether you're a boy or a girl:

 

 

'It was as if for her, my father was a roof; for me, a ceiling. The same words, the same tone of voice that reassured her and gave her confidence, unsettled me and made me gasp for air"

 

Absolutely Brilliant!