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Old middle eastern lady called me habibi once in a checkout line…
Still think about that sometimes
We have Syrian, Iraqi, and others who have recently come to our country. (When I say we and our I also mean them)
My fence is covered in grape leaves from about April to September. I get lots of people around the neighbourhood that come by to take them.
Last year one old dude came and started picking them. I got up to say hello.
He spoke no English.
He said some things and made some gestures and I kinda got the gist.
Went inside got him some water and a cloth.
He drank and wiped his hands.
Shook my hand and said habibi.
I almost cried.
Woah, hold on. There’s something here.
It’s a business transaction, sure. But the social interaction, while to us seems like sarcastic exaggerating, is humorous complimenting. In order to do that, it has to be language you can use frequently and honestly.
This is doing wonders for his mental health, likely because part of his thoughts are “what could I say to make ME feel more complimented than that.” He’s actively using positive self talk unconsciously.
And he gave the dude a present only to take a picture and put it on the Internet
There it is, the negative sarcastic tone I’m used to on the internet. I got a weird warm feeling reading all that stuff in front of your comment. Thank you for putting me down to reality again. Well done, sir.
It takes confidence to prop others up like that.
These are the kinds of relationships I want with my community. This is beautiful.
