I hate when ...

I hate when people look at me like they don't understand how it is that I'm an Arab. While I was getting my hair permed this morning, my stylis apparantly felt that it was occasion for casual chitchat and said, "So, what part of Italy did you say you were from?"When I told her I'm not Italian, she didn't say anything... She just kept doing whatever it was she was going to my hair. Then five minutes later, she said, "Oh, I'm sorry. You're Polish, right?""No.""German?""No.""Ok, ok, don't tell me, I can get this. I'm very good at this. I always guess my clients' backgrounds!!!"She thinks hard, then says, "Ohhh! Spanish!! How could I have missed it! You're name is even Salma!!!! Like what's her name, the actress lady, Hayek something or other!! Salma Hayek, that's it. Yes, Spanish, you know, I can be so silly. So... Which part of Latin American are you from?""I'm not from Latin America." "Oh, well, of course - I meant Spain."The truth of the matter was that I could have ended the whole thing and just told her that I'm 100% Syrian, but I just wanted to see how far she would go with it. Call me mentally masochistic if you want -go ahead, I don't mind. It's the nearest thing to the truth. But torturing myself wasn't the issue. It was more that I'd thought maybe she'd decide to stop guessing and realize how retarded she was being and ask me, 'So where ARE you from'? But she went on... She named every country on the map - even Latvia, Belarus, Belgium... every country except any in the Middle Eastern area... Then, when she said Turkey, and I'm surprised she did say turkey... I said she was close... At which point, she stopped cutting my hair altogether and sat down in a chair nearby to think. Ya habeebee!FINALLY, when I realized I wasn't getting the headache from all the chemicals on my scalp, but from her, I said, "I'm from Syria.""Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," and she got back up to complete her job. Then she said, "I wasnt thinking from "there"... Well, I mean, you're so fair-skinned... By the way, we've got a tanning bed here if you want to cover up some of those veins on you arms, hon... Anyway, I just didn't think Sy... Is that the same country next to the country from the news? 'Aye-rak'? Yes, I think so... You know, on FOX, you see people just so much darker... Hm... But, I mean... so - what part of Europe is your other half?""The Sudan," I said.