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Nannies of New York vs.Nannies of Abu Dhabi
When I first arrived in New York City’s Upper Westside this summer, one of my first thoughts was, “Wow, it’s true what they’re saying about the US—interracial couples are on the rise.” A couple of days later when I saw women with strollers rolling into the “mommy and me classes” next door, I remember thinking, Continue reading
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Recipe From The Night Counter: Kibbeh
For all special occasions, Fatima prides herself on the kibbeh she makes. That makes her like many women in the Middle East who have mastered the art of this rather complex food. In my family, like so many extended families, no party is ever complete without a platter of my Aunt Suad’s kibbeh, which is Continue reading
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POETRY, MATH, AND MY DAD
My father loved poetry. Like so many Middle Easterners, he could quote Arabic and English poetry at just about any occasion for just about any reason, and he taught me how to memorize strange poems for class assignments, like “Tiger” by William Blake. He took pride in how much I liked to read, but it Continue reading
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Question My Name, but Don’t Call Me Overweight
The latest Southwest fat incident, this time with an obese teen getting to keep her two seats, even though her parents didn’t pay for them, and the smaller person getting bumped off, reminded me that yes, I too have my own Southwest fat story, and quite frankly it was more frustrating and certainly more physically Continue reading
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Weather or not? Not Just Small Talk
I’ve been back in the US for a month now. And, just as it is for Fatima’s children in “The Night Counter,” weather seems the first thing people want to talk about, people who aren’t even estranged relatives who can’t think of anything else to say to me. Everyone–friend, foe and stranger–wants to talk about Continue reading
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LAUNDRY DAY FOOD FROM THE NIGHT COUNTER: MAJADERA
In The Night Counter, Amir promises his grandmother Fatima that for dinner he is not eating quiche, or gay pie, as he explains it to her, but rather majadera, a food with a whole lot less glamour to it than quiche and a whole lot more gas. But dress it down or dress it up, Continue reading
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Outlandish Landless LandMine by Sami Zarour
Most of what I post on this blog are about the upside of life in the Middle East because most people living outside the borders of the Middle East, whether physically or mentally, are unaware that there is an upside. Plus I don’t really know how to write about the tragedies of the region without Continue reading
Alia Yunis 