Audiobook All Roads Lead To Jerusalem Retail Sample
Description
Read MoreVocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General) North American (US General American - GenAM)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
Ahmad had reason to be skeptical about my decision to go to Soffa, but I could see that he was also hopeful and maybe even a little excited that the kids could have the chance to get to know Palestine and his family. It was a pretty sweet deal. Actually. He could still keep the high powered job he loved, and I could handle all that pesky teaching the kids about Palestinian stuff. It was kind of a crazy arrangement, but then again, we hadn't really thought through the logistics of raising kids in two cultures. Unlike all the other Muslim families that we knew in our Seattle suburb, we were the only mixed marriage around, and that meant that my kids were also the only ones who really couldn't speak Arabic. After all, their father spent long hours at work, so they couldn't really learn the language from him. And although I could understand quite a bit and even communicate in a basic way, there was no way I wanted them to start imitating my Arabic, which lacked one simple yet important thing. Conjugated verbs. And then there was the fact that my oldest son, Ibrahim, didn't start speaking at all until he was nearly four years old, yet another anxiety producing quirk. And then there was his unexplained liver failure, which would have driven me to drink had alcohol been permitted in Islam. Thank God it wasn't. Let's just say that after more than eight years of intense speech therapy, I wasn't messing around with bilingual experimentation until he was well on the road to solid communication. Unfortunately, language wasn't the only difference between my kids and their peers, although I hadn't anticipated it and for years worked hard against it. The gulf between my kids and those from non mixed households seemed to grow with their ages. It was hard for them to make friends both inside the Muslim American community and the larger mainstream American one and I partly blamed myself. The Arab Muslim community in our area of Washington state was a very small world, and it was through the various women's gatherings. The Children stayed in touch with each other and develop friendships. Unfortunately, the community was also very insulated, and it was extremely uncommon for any of the women that I knew to have friendships with non Arabs. Although I tried hard for many years to integrate and participate in the community. It was rare for us to be included and that affected the kids and their friendships. Once frustrated by the problem, my husband asked a Palestinian friends husband why we weren't often remembered for their get togethers. His response. It's just easier because they don't want to speak English. It hurt to think that I was my kids liability. It was the same with non Muslim moms. I knew from my Children's public schools even before 9 11 It wasn't a Ziff. The women were unfriendly or bigoted. I suppose it was just that we were so different, especially because of my dress, which usually came up early in conversations. I don't think it was intentional. It was just easier for us to be overlooked for play dates. And then there was the fact that I had definite issues already prone to social anxiety. It was hard for me to always put out the seemingly constant extra effort to explain myself to new people or to always be the one to take the initiative and friendships. I was always the other in both worlds and it was exhausting in Palestine. I hoped the kids would be surrounded by family, cousins and piers, so I would be less of a factor because the entire village was essentially family in one way or another. Best of all, we would no longer be a religious minority. It would be the first time my kids would know what it was like to be like everyone else.