from the mid-east to the mid-west

a few weeks ago N. and i were running some errands in lexington and stopped for lunch at a mediterranean restaurant. with some encouragement, i decided to test my arabic skills ordering my falafel sandwich. it didn't go too well - - somehow my linguistic abilities seem to have gone into hibernation. i guess that's what you get for using a language once a year - or less...

my pathetic attempts at conversation, however, made us stand out from the typical "two falafels and a diet coke" consumers, and after a while N. asked our cashier where he was from. "philistin," he responded - "palestine."

i took advantage of another opportunity to use my arabic (ok, maybe i don't remember how to say "two falafel sandwiches, please," but "i'm from israel" is not a phrase that's easily forgotten!). eyes brightening, our friend immediately responded in flawless hebrew, "hey, what's up?!?" and proceeded to shift the conversation entirely away from his native tongue to my own. i was thrilled to talk to him - it turns out, as he put it, that "we're neighbors!" (from nearby cities within israel's borders) - - but ready to crawl under a rock listening to him pit his hebrew skills against my arabic ones...

linguistic shame aside, i thought the whole event was fabulous. it showcased for N. the kind of cross-cultural communication i'm constantly promoting in my attempts to create world peace - particularly poignant in this south-eastern/mid-western city where us middle easterners are such an anomaly in the population. i think he was really touched.

and the falafel was delicious.