text: Despite having a half Lebanese girlfriend and her Lebanese father in my life for the last seven years, Arab culture and language is still difficult for me. She says things to me in Arabic I understand. We cook and eat the food all of the time, but a lot of things don't stick. I've been dying to go to Lebanon with them, but it hasn't happened. Compare this to the seven years I spent with my Puerto Rican girlfriend and lived in South Florida all of my life (up until a year ago, so 32 years). I could make my way through Central and South America with zero issue.