This post will be about the short story The Chameleon and how I see this story in my daily life.
This is the first short story in Cairo House and it involves the author finally returning to Egypt after leaving her family for France. The author deals with adjusting to her life in Cairo and hopes to achieve her goal of finding her two children. While on the plane, she meets a couple from Minnesota. When talking with them, she was asked where she was from. Truthfully, she told them she was from New Hampshire. She gave this answer in order to avoid conflict because even though her answer was correct, she is Arabic and from Cairo. She thinks about how she has to now adapt to her previous life of living in Egypt, even though at the end, she is very well accustomed to her current surroundings. When getting of the plane, she is asked if she has a visa, to which she answers with “no” but states she is from Cairo. It is revealed that she is revealed to be related to someone important in Cairo and starts speaking Arabic with this airport worker. After her talk, she notices that her image from the Minnesota couple’s perspective has changed.
This story deals with living with two different lifestyles and trying to not favor one for the other. The main quote states “the true chameleons are the ones who straddle two worlds, segueing smoothly from one to the other, adjusting language and body language, calibrating the range of emotions displayed, trending the tightropes of mannerisms or more.” I can’t understand the difficultly of being a chameleon, but I know especially for people who come to America how difficult it is for them. The problem isn’t necessarily adjusting to their new lifestyle, but being accepted and not being judged by other people. Just because people come from different countries doesn’t mean they have to fully change their lifestyle when living in America. It’s essential to remember one’s roots and express where one originated from. Personally, my best friend at Butler is from Honduras and I see him living with two different lifestyles. Especially when he is home for break, he tells me his life is so much different on campus. We can be talking and there are some phrases that he doesn’t quite understand when I’m referencing something. When we are talking and his parents call him, he can easily switch from English to Spanish, which to me is very impressive. It’s just cool to live with someone who can live with two distinct cultural backgrounds and try to mesh them together and not favor one for the other. This story just reminded me of my roommate, so I feel bad for the author when she has to avoid people judging her differently when learning about her Arabic roots.