We all complain about living in our respective Arab countries. There are endless traffic jams, loud streets, suffocating relatives - all the quirks.
But it's only till after we move abroad that we experience the endless, bitter heartache that is homesickness, and find ourselves reminiscing to things we never thought possible.
To deal with the nostalgia, we develop a few strange coping mechanisms...
But, that doesn't stop us from feeling like strangers in a foreign land, and so we end up doing a few of the following things:
1. We hide in a corner when we're on the phone with people back home
Because we're all too loud.
2. We fantasize about food ... all the time
Because no one outside the Arab world can recreate the magic of shawarma, hummos, tabbouleh... the list goes on.
3. We embark on an endless quest in search of a portable shatafa
4. And if we don't find one, we invent one
5. We teach new friends Arabic
By telling them that inta 7mar means 'life is beautiful' or that ana m3affen means 'appreciate life'.
6. We hear someone speak arabic and turn it into a 7afla
7. We make this call to Mcdonald's at least once
And their reply breaks our heart.
9. We miss the family gatherings that once annoyed us
Homesickness level: 1000.
10. We turn to sarcasm when answering people's questions:
Seriously, there's no place like home.