You Know You Grew up in the Middle East if...

YOU KNOW YOU GREW UP IN THE MIDDLE EAST IF:

You can't answer the question, "Where are you from?" (And when you do, you get into an elaborate conversation that gets everyone confused and/or makes you sound very spoiled).

You flew before you could walk.

You have a passport, but no driver's license.

You think California is cold.

Your school had classes canceled because of a truck bomb or a SCUD missile attack.

You run into someone you know at every airport.

Your school had armed guards and concrete barricades.

Your life story uses the phrase "Then we moved to..." five times.

You feel self conscious around all white people.

You know a friend who won a free car from the local mall. Twice.

You treasure pork and root beer as highly-valued commodities.

You have ever had to wait for prayer call to be over to finish shopping.

You are fascinated by any wildlife bigger than a gecko.

You are used to being stared at.

You call a chicken burrito a "shawarma”.

You know the geography of the rest of the world, but you don't know the geography of your own country. (Isn't Philadelphia its own state?)

Your best friends are from 5 different countries.

Camping involves duning, getting stuck, and counting how many camels you saw.

The image of one camel mounting another is still burned into your childhood memory.

A high school sports tournament involves flying to another country in the Middle East.

You wonder, How come the houses in America don't have servants quarters?

Seeing police drive on the shoulder of the road and cut people off is not unusual.

You understand that being addressed as "ma'am/sir" is not an insult.

Rain is still one of the most wonderful sounds in the world.