English | Egyptian
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My Mother was English, she toured Egypt and fell in love with the vibrancy of the country, so she decided to learn the language and return. Back in London, she met my Father – her tutor, an Egyptian professor of philosophy who had been living in the UK for a number of years and teaching at a UK University. They married. I knew that I was half of two cultures from the start. We spoke only English at home at my Father’s behest since he didn’t like the idea of our starting a sentence in one language and finishing it in another. I struggled to learn Arabic when I was sent to school aged 4. I think the fact that I grew up in Egypt, albeit with regular visits to England, meant that I connected a little more equally with both cultures – had I grown up in England, I think it would have been quite hard to feel any connection to the Egyptian side. As it was, I grew up in the multi-cultural melting pot that was Egypt at that time. Most people don’t quite know what I am, and I have been lucky that mostly they have responded to who I am rather than what I am. I approach things from a perspective of interest rather than cultural conditioning – although I am sure that the liberal attitude of my parents and their insistence on immersing us in the arts and cultural pursuits must have influenced me towards Culture as opposed to a specific cultural outlook Interact / treated at work. Although shy when I was younger, on the whole my mixed heritage has given me opportunities and helped me interact with people in my working as well as my personal life. If I were born again I would probably want to return with a mix of cultures as it has always helped me to appreciate that there is more than one way of perceiving things. We really are one humanity with a wealth of individuality and our variety can give us the freedom to embrace all aspects of intelligence and need not separate us. I prefer to remain happy to be simply a member of the human race. Style, on the other hand, tends to go with the individual and always to suit and support them once it is defined.
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