The usual conversation in Arabic

I've noticed that there are certain questions that always come up in conversation when I speak Arabic to people. In the beginning, I thought it was just men that asked these questions, but I've realized it is a very cultural thing to do. I realized this weekend that this was the case, when men, women, and even a young little girl asked me these questions. Here's how conversations usually go:

One of the first questions after I start speaking Arabic is always: where are you from? well, in my case, that's a conversation in and of itself, but once they find out I'm half Palestinian, they ask me where exactly, and about my family name. It's interesting because every person I've talked to claims they know a relative of mine; some tell me they know of a religious leader in Lebanon that's a relative of mine, others tell me a political activist for the Palestinian cause, others a distant relative in Egypt...after seeing how huge Maram's family is, I don't doubt all of the above are true!

Well, once they know about my family tree and my traveling experiences, most (if not all) establish that I'm Palestinian. It is then that the more interesting questions start to come up, mostly trying to find out about my marital status. It usually starts by people asking my age- yes, here they ask you, no problem. After knowing I'm 24, the more direct ask if I'm married. If they're trying to be "discrete" about it they ask me who I'm here with; my parents, my husband? When they find out I'm not married, the religion question is usually the next to come up. I tell them I'm Christian. Some people are ok with it, but I've also had some interesting responses to my religious views. My favorite was when a taxi driver asked me if I would convert to Islam if a prospective husband asked me to- yes, he was talking about himself (being the prospective husband)...

I guess because marriage is such an important part of one's life here, that's what most conversations are about. It's interesting, too, because, not only your religion, but your ethnicity is really important here. I'm pretty sure, that if I wasn't considered Arab, I wouldn't be asked about my marital status or even get marriage proposals (by fellow Arabs, that is). I was also talking to Aryeh the other day, and although he's not religious and doesn't care, he mentioned that if he gets married, he would only marry a Jewish woman, because of his mom.

Everyone has the so-called "deal breakers" those traits in a person that have to be present or absent, in order for that person to the be "the one". I think more so here than anywhere else, maintaining ethnic purity is imperative.