Arab Culture is Loud

Arabic Culture is Loud

Suddenly, I heard a loud commotion roar out of the living room of my Istanbul apartment. I quickly ran out from my room to see what was going on.

My Syrian roommate was on his cellphone yelling at someone in Arabic. I sat down upon a couch and watched on, half amused and half frightened. Majid is usually a very mild mannered guy, and has not been prone to great outbursts.
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Wade from Vagabond Journey.com
in Istanbul, Turkey- February 23, 2009
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He then quickly stopped yelling and hung up the phone. Turning to me with a smile, he said a kind “how are you?,” and then went on with his day as if he had not been screaming at someone for the past ten minutes.

I thought this was an interesting transition.

The next day I hear Majid on his phone yelling in Arabic again. I listened as he roared his “GHRRs” and loudly rolled his “RRRRs.” This time I was curious about why he was yelling.

He got off the phone and I asked him what he was talking about.

“My friend from Saudi Arabia,” he began in calm, moderate volume English, “just call to tell me that our teacher is on TV.”

He then turned the channel to the specified station.

“That, that my teacher, Ottoman history,” he said with a smile.

Majid was not yelling, Arab culture is just loud.

Arab Culture is Loud