My friend called me at work today depressed from her dad calling her all the way from back home shouting at her for going to her new work’s Christmas party. He kept saying, “how can a respectable Muslim Arab girl be around people who drink and get drunk?” She asked me, “would your parent let you go to a Christmas party for work to meet and hang out with your co-workers?”
Thinking to my self, “party? … my work? Christmas? Isn’t it that the day when people order food and play games all day?”
I said, “Yah, why wouldn’t they?”
She said, “Even if there are drinks served?”
I then remembered an engagement party I went to that was my brother’s Catholic/Orthodox friend and they had drinks and my mom was there. She just said, “move the drinks away from us.” That was it.
I said, “Why would my parents care if there are drinks or not. I am not going to drink. I know my self and my parents never worry about that problem.”
She said, “My parents are crazy. They make a big deal about everything. If I tell the truth about anything and where I am going, they disapprove. I have to keep lying to them. Is this a life?”
I said, “hmm.. your parents are too too religious and your not!”
She said, “I know.. and the more protective they become, the more I have to lie to get away with anything. The truth does not work. I didn’t drink or do anything. Just had dinner and met people. They were all mid-aged people with their significant other.”
I said, “well.. I don’t understand the problem really. You go to restaurants and they have drinks and the table next to you could have people drinking. So what? Your family goes to restaurant.. I don’t get it.”
She said, “me neither. Did you know that I grew up not able to listen to music.”
Wow.. I was in shock.
I said, “hmm.. my parents all they do is sing!! They know every song there is, from back in the old days.” 
She said, ” I had to put the volume super low on the radio at night just to listen. They raised us to just not do anything!”
I said, “hmm.. my parents are not that strict at all. Maybe because they trust me and I am pretty mean. I hit people if I have to. ”
She said, “what am I to do. They make a big deal about anything!!”
I said, “I donno.. good thing they don’t even know 10% of your life or you are dead!”
She said, “yah.. how am I supposed to live and have friends and work and meet people if I am required to just sit at home and clean and barely work. My mom is happy if I work 4 hours a day and come home and clean and cook. Stupid life.”
I said, “Hmm.. I want to go home now. I rather be home cleaning and not working.. lool Bye.. loool ”
I don’t understand any of this. Here, in North America every where you go there is alcohol. My dad is simple. We go eat, and he asks the waitress, “does this have pork? Does this have alcohol?” That’s it. And he doesn’t care about anything else. You just have to ask and avoid and not make a big deal!
Thank God my parents are Liberal!!
