My mom and I are out buying items for
the house. When we arrive to the cashier, the conversation gets
interesting.
Cashier: I like what you're
wearing.
Me: Thank you!
Her: What do you call your
outfit?
Me: Uh, nothing special. Just an
outfit.
I'm wearing blue jeans, a colorful
shirt, and a blue hijab. All bought in the U.S.
Her: Oh, so you don't call it
anything?
Me: Nope. Just an outfit.
Her: Oooh. Just outfit.
She opens her hands and moves them in
the same way I would describe a rainbow.
Her: Well, it's nice.
Me: Thank you! That's kind of
you.
As she's bagging our items.
Her: So, are you Chaldean? Where are
you from?
My mom laughed. We get this question
in San Diego all the time, which is always odd because Chaldeans are Christian.
Not Muslim.
Mom: We're Palestinian.
Her: Paaleestiiinian.
She says it slowly, not in an
offensive way, but as if she's trying the name out for the first time. She
shakes her head, acknowledging the name.
Mom: From Jerusalem.
Her: Oh, well. Welcome!
She opens her hands as if she's
welcoming us to the country for the first time. Both my mom and I laugh.
Mom: We're from here.
Me: Actually, I was even born and
raised here. I'm American. We both are.
Mom: I've been here for over 27 years.
My family isn't new here. I even studied here. Got a doctorate here too.
My mom and I both smile.
Her: Oh! Your English is so good! You
speak both languages?
She looks at me as she says this and
then to my mom.
Mom: Yeah, we all speak English
well.
Her: Did you teach her both at
home?
Mom: Yes, same as all my
children.
Her: You must have done a good
job.
We thank her and say our goodbyes.
She seemed like a very sweet and nice
old lady, so I knew I needed to hold back my sarcasm that was sitting at the
tip of my tongue, when she complimented my apparently "exotic"
looking outfit and accent-less English.
But, it's still mind boggling that
people assume there's this one image of what an "American" looks
like. With my SoCal tongue and western dress topped with a hijab, I'm as
awesomely American, and specifically totally Southern Californian, as you can
get. I do however enjoy when people do ask questions rather than hold on to their
ignorance. That's what I liked about this sweet lady. Because, I would rather
do the same. We're all ignorant in something or more and I believe educating
oneself is the always the key.
I hope her weekend is as sweet as she
was to my mother and I.
