I never knew why she would get so defensive; I just went with it to not offend her.
It was hard coming to a predominantly white college and always being referred to as Arab when that was always a negative connotation in my life. I would tell people to I’m not considered Arab when they would call me that, but when they asked why I had nothing to say.
I decided to look it up (yes again, I had to look up my culture).
The same website that I referred to in my pervious blog post, http://www.everyculture.com/, also mentioned how Chaldeans do not like to be called Arab or it is politically incorrect.
In the Middle East, Arab tends to refer to the Islamic population. Since Chaldeans are known for their strong love and passion as Catholics, being associated with a different religion is simply heartbreaking.
There are many differences between Arabs and Chaldeans.
For example, in the Chaldean community women are held on a higher pedestal, and are encouraged to receive a better education by attending a college or university. Just like my generation. My parents specifically came to America so that their children (my sister and I) would receive the best education possible. This is different in very traditional Arab families where the females are not considered as high up in the social structure.
This simple difference that I pointed out might not seem like a big deal to you, but in my culture it is just another thing that defines the Chaldean culture.
