We Americans have the luxury of being citizens of the country with the most diverse population. Each and every one of us comes from such a different cultural background than our neighbors, coworkers, friends, and strangers. Unfortunately, we are also very ignorant when pertaining to diverse cultures. This is one of the most remarkable aspects of being an American. We have the opportunity to know so much about the differences between us, but choose to keep ourselves in the dark about them. I have chosen to interview a coworker of mine for my final project. His name is Louia Salloum, and he is 15 years older than me. Louia is from Lebanon, but has lived here since he was in his early twenties. I chose to interview him because he is Middle Eastern and Muslim, but is married to an American-born Catholic woman. This is, to my understanding, a very unusual occurrence and I am fascinated by what his story will entail. Also, with all the conflict that has taken place between the Middle East and the U.S., it would be nice to maybe get a different perspective. He is a salesman, a husband, and a father of two boys. Both he and his wife have kept their own religions, but the culture of both sides play an important role in the family as a whole. The following paper is based on Louia’s experiences throughout his journey to becoming an American, and for the reader to gain an understanding of what it is like for so many others from different cultures and nations.
Louia Salloum spent the first half of his life in Beirut, Lebanon. He is one of five children consisting of three boys and two girls. When most people are asked about their earliest childhood memories, their faces go blank in an effort to remember any one event that is different from another. However, in Louia’s case, there is no such expression visible. There is only one word that he needs to describe the majority of his childhood memories; conflict. Conflict, to most Americans, is bickering and arguing over which sibling is the parents’ favorite, or who has to take out the garbage after dinner. Of course, this is not to say that American families do not face difficult and hard times, but not on the same level as Louia. The typical American household cannot imagine what sort of conflict Louia has lived through. The conflict that he remembers so vividly involves gunfire, bombs, and terrifying levels of violence. These horrible occurrences are so common in Beirut that any person raised there grows somewhat accustomed to them. As a child attending school in Lebanon, safety drills requiring Louia and his classmates to crouch under their desks were a weekly routine. I can only compare these to the tornado and fire drills we are used to in our school systems here in America. Unfortunately, these drills were not always performed for just for practice purposes. There were several occasions when bombs exploded nearby Louia’s school, and sometimes his school was the target of those bombs. It was a very tough time, but it was what they were all used to. Thankfully, violence and fear were not the only aspects of his life in Lebanon, though.
There are plenty of bad memories for Louia relating to his childhood in Beirut, but there are also many positive ones, too. He comes from a very close and loving family that made their relationships a priority. Every weekend was a family gathering that involved large meals, games, and other fun activities for everyone. The nightlife in Beirut was also a very active one. There were a lot of clubs and restaurants in certain parts of the city that were very popular with the older teenagers and young adults. His favorite club was on the roof of a large skyscraper where he and his friends frequently spent weekend nights. There were many times when he would look out over the city and, even though there were often flashes of gunfire in the distance, take in the country he called home. However, Lebanon was not the home he saw in his future. What Louia saw in his future was the United States of America and the new life he would start in the land of freedom and opportunity.
When Louia came to America, the first place he lived was Los Angeles, California. This was like a completely different world for him. It was as if every movie he had ever seen was exactly how America really is. Everything and everyone was very fast, which was unlike his life back home in Lebanon. At first, it was difficult for him to grow accustomed to the lifestyle and aggressiveness of the everyday American. He had learned English before he had arrived, but was surprised at how difficult it still was to communicate. Also, with his strong Middle Eastern accent, he was ridiculed by some of the ignorant and racist Americans that our country unfortunately has. He decided to get into the service business, primarily valet parking, to be able to interact and communicate with people on a regular basis. While working, Louia met people from all different types of cultures, which was something that rarely happened in Beirut. He quickly realized that he was not the only person that was new to America, and that being from another country and culture was more common than he had expected. It was also very different for him to be in a country where anyone could practice any religion that they wanted. Back home, if you were not Muslim you were considered an outcast, and in some cases even persecuted against. Life was very different in Louia’s new country, but it was those differences that he had come to experience when he left Lebanon.
Louia eventually left California for the Sunshine State. Florida was similar in many ways, but not as crowded and hectic. By this time he had learned the language, both verbal and non-verbal, and had become more comfortable interacting with Americans regularly. The custom salutations, greetings, and pleasantries were no longer as awkward as they were when he had first arrived in the United States. Before, the most difficult aspect of communicating was knowing what to do, as well as what not to do when interacting with people. Hand gestures and bodily expressions are not always universal ways of communicating, and can be barriers due to misinterpretation (Jandt, 20010). What Americans consider polite and proper was not always the same in Lebanon, but he was able to adapt and eventually mastered it. Louia’s comfort with communicating led him to go into the professional world of sales, where he still works today. Communication, however, was not the only difference in his life since moving to America.
As the years went by, Louia eventually took on a more American way of life than what he was used to back home in Beirut. He very rarely speaks his native tongue, except for when his family is visiting or talking to them on the phone. He still keeps up with the news from Beirut, but focuses more on what is going on in the United States because this is his home now. Almost everything about his life back in Lebanon has changed. He still practices Islam, but does not expect his children or wife to do so. He watches his kids’ baseball games, and actively takes part in any American hobby that they are interested in. Instead of big family gatherings on the weekends, he now takes the family to professional sports games and go-kart race tracks. His favorite form of recreation is to spend a couple days at the water parks with the kids, going down the towering slides and floating in the wave pool. These are things that were never available to him during his life in Beirut, of course, and some of the moments that he cherishes the most. Hamburgers, potato chips, and pizza have replaced the falafels, hummus, and kibbeh that he was raised on. Life, in general, is much easier and relaxed than it was growing up in Beirut, and the success he has had professionally is something he does not think would have been possible in his native country. Those differences, in Louia’s opinion, were for the better.
The most significant difference in day-to-day life in the past verses today is fear. Louia no longer has to fear for his life, or for the lives of his wife and children. Growing up in Beirut was like constantly living in a war zone. When faced with a dangerous moment now, it is nowhere near the danger he felt back in Lebanon. It is a relief for Louia to know that his children are being given the opportunity to grow up in a relatively safe and healthy environment. He did not have the same luxury throughout his childhood. Along with the relief, he has comfort and pleasure. The quality of life in America is beyond anything available in Lebanon, which is proven when he is able to take his family to Disney World, the beach, baseball games, and water parks. There is always something to keep him entertained and busy without having to fear whether or not it is acceptable to his home country’s expectations. It is for these reasons that he knows he made the right decision to come to America all those years ago.
Coming to the United States was Louia’s goal when he was growing up in Lebanon. He perceived it as the land of opportunity and tolerance. When he arrived he was pleased to realize that it was exactly that, for the most part. When 9/11 took place he was, unfortunately, forced to see how the population’s tolerance can change. Muslims have been racially profiled and associated with radical Islamists since the attacks. This is very hard for him to understand, because he is not anything like those responsible for such a horrible act. He considers himself an American, loves his Catholic wife, and was just as horrified by that terrible day as any other citizen of this country. The intolerance that has grown for Muslims has not changed his perception of America, but it has saddened him to see the people of this country turn on those who share the same religion without the same extremist views. After 9/11, Muslim organizations became an immediate target of U.S. law enforcement agencies, which was blindly and aggressively supported by the media as patriotic (Ahmed, 2010). Louia understands, to some degree, why Americans have acted in such a way because he lived in constant fear back home. They were the same militant groups that struck fear in Muslims like him in Beirut that are doing so to the United States now. It is a difficult subject for him to discuss because it is not the same environment he was first introduced to when he arrived in California. However, he is still thankful that he is American and would not give up the life he has built here for himself, and his family.
We all come from different cultures, but we are all the same in many aspects. We want the best for ourselves, our children, our friends, and our families. It can be very difficult to leave one’s home, but it can be even more difficult to start in a new one. Louia Salloum has done just that. He has overcome the difficulties of adapting to a new land and society, but not forgotten where he comes from. For some reason, it is easier for those who immigrate to the United States to see the differences between us as positives, rather than negatives. Those of us who have called ourselves Americans since birth should learn from them, as well as make the time and effort to understand the cultures they come from. In the end, we are all human and should start embracing our differences instead of ignoring or shunning them.
Ahmed, A. (2010). Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam. Brookings Institution Press. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/docDetail.action?docID=10392386&p00=muslim%20america
Jandt, F.E. (2010). An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
World Trade Press (2010). Lebanon Society and Culture: Complete Report. World Trade Press. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/docDetail.action?docID=10389197&p00=lebanon
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