Heritage Month: It's Convention Season

posted on: Apr 28, 2016

BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer National Arab American Heritage Month is coming to an end, but there’s no shortage of ways to continue celebrating our amazing culture and community beyond April. One of the easiest ways to honor heritage month is simply by spending time with family. And as every Arab American knows all too well, the best way to see your entire family at once is by going to “the convention.” We all come from a specific village, church, mosque, or organization that puts on a convention every year. To help you navigate this year’s convention season, we have a list of all the sure signs you’re at one. You know you’re at an Arab American convention when…

1. When your cousin hits on you, but nobody thinks it’s weird

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2. When people you don’t even know are constantly bringing up your “old age” of 25 and they’re trying to marry you off to their son/nephew/cousin/random guy they passed by in the lobby

3. When everyone’s eyebrows are on fleek – the women and the men!

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4. When you’ve reunited with the cousins and friends you only see once a year at the convention which means you’re on #TeamNoSleep

5. When your parents make you say hi to every amo and auntie in the world and hear about where they’re from in your village. By the end, everyone looks the same and you still have no idea how you’re related.

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6. When you finally get to show off those dabke skills you’ve been practicing since last year’s convention

7. When your cousins can all afford their own hotel rooms, but you pack yourselves into one room anyway because it’s way more fun

8. When your parents take an hour to brag about your accomplishments to people you don’t know

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9. When every woman has at least three suitcases for one weekend away

10. When you find more people in the lobby than in the banquet hall

11. You know you’re leaving an Arab American convention when you feel like a zombie because you haven’t slept for the last 3 nights, but you still want to look good

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