So I was at Starbucks the other day, and there was this swarthy dude hanging around (OK, my thought was, "dude looks like a terrorist?!?"). Anyway, these two women, one 60ish and another 40ish were staring at him, and finally the older one was like, "Where are from???" Swarthy-man responded, "I'm from Sawoooodi Arabia" (phonetic for Saudi Arabia). The older woman then asked, "What do they speak where you are from???" The Saudi man responded, "Arabic." There was then a long conversation which I didn't follow closely, until the two women got up to leave. The younger one then turned out, clasped her hands together in the Namaste gesture and bowed ever so slightly and said, "Salaam!" The Saudi guy seemed a bit confused but he smiled and responded with a "Salaam."

Labels: culture