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<\/p>\nIn Lebanon, we are ruled by certain customs that regulate every aspect of our lives, from what we eat to how we dress and what we talk about. So, it should come as no surprise that there are some unspoken rules when it comes to dating as well, and if you’ve never noticed them, I’m sure you’ll be surprised to learn that you’re familiar with quite a few. <\/p>\n
1. Religion<\/b><\/p>\n
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It is well known that marrying outside your religion is still a “big deal” pretty much everywhere in the world, but in Lebanon, our obsession with our partner’s religion is on a whole other level. We are not only supposed to be careful about who we are attracted to because of their religion, we are legally put at a disadvantage for marrying someone from a different religion, or even sect, at that. Here’s to civil marriages in Cyprus. <\/p>\n
2. Class<\/b><\/p>\n
This is quite tricky, because it’s an intersectional deal breaker affected by gender as well. Here’s how it plays out; if you’re a woman who’s marrying a richer man, you’re a success, but if you’re a woman who’s marrying a poorer man, you’re his sugar momma. <\/p>\n
3. Their drinking zones<\/b><\/p>\n
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You can\u2019t be a Badaro and date a Hamra, it is frowned upon. You’d have to divide your friends and your nights in order to keep the relationship going, shifting between the two zones until you spend your weekends on the road stuck in traffic trying to be in two places at once. <\/p>\n
4. Cars<\/b><\/p>\n
If neither of you owns a vehicle, you might as well just forget about ever meeting up. Lebanon might be the size of a peanut, but we’re not big on walking. We’re also not big on spending time around the areas we live in, because a dahra has to at least take 40 minutes to get it. Otherwise, does it even count as a date?!<\/p>\n
5. 3aj2a<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
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If you\u2019re both in heavily traffic-ed areas, you\u2019ll never have the time to meet up, even if you meet half way. It\u2019s like a modern day Romeo & Juliet. Imagine living in Asrafieh and dating someone who lives in Hamra, every hour is rush hour and no hour has the two of you spending any time together. <\/p>\n
6. Language of communication<\/b><\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a Frenchie and they speak exclusively in English, how can you expect to talk? In Arabic?! Arabic may be the sort of official language of the land, but everyone knows that people are divided into two neat categories, English speakers, and Frenchies. Domage my friend. Domage. <\/p>\n
7. Your salutations<\/b><\/p>\n
If they\u2019re a \u201cbnj\u201d and you\u2019re a \u201cbonjour\u201d, or if you\u2019re a \u201ccv\u201d and they\u2019re a \u201c\u00c7a va?\u201d, then I got some bad news for you. You either like vowels or you don’t, and either way you hate those who belong to the other camp. You’ll probably have a hard time understanding them anyway. sry hbb. <\/p>\n
8. Music<\/b><\/p>\n
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