Danny Zein – Lebanon

For this paper I interviewed a colleague of mine that is 100% full blooded Lebanese. His father and

mother are both born in Lebanon and Danny and his younger brother were born in Orange County California. I

wanted to interview Danny as him and I have a 10 year gap of age difference and I really wanted to focus on the

modern outlook of a different culture. Danny last visit to Lebanon was 4 years ago and plans to visit soon when

he graduates from Cal State Fullerton. When I asked a few questions about his father and mother the answers

were pretty conservative, and I could relate a little to the Hispanic/Mexican culture that I share so I wanted to

stay away from that. Here were some of my questions and finding.

 What is your definition of culture?

“Difference, every culture has something that is unique to them. Its uniqueness is what is different of Lebanese

culture to other cultures, even in the same region”

I wanted to understand what his interpretation of culture was before we began the actual questions. As a

young man that is in the business world of retail banking and in school for business marketing major, I wanted

to make sure that he has a full sense of what defines culture to him. Before I asked him the question I searched

for the answer as I had doubt of my own as to what culture is. Culture is “Culture is our way of life. It includes

our values, beliefs, customs, languages and traditions.  Culture is reflected in our history, in our heritage and in

how we express ideas and creativity” Brunswick, C. G. (2017, September 08). Given his answer I proceeded

with more questions as I thought I could gather some good information for this paper.

 How do you define “family?”

“Family does not have to be blood related. It is based on trust and the love that you have towards each other.

Trust is the biggest aspect of family, how much you trust someone is what makes them family or not”

Danny shared a similar thought as to what I think of family. I do have a close family within my parents,

brothers, and my wife and son but I do consider some of my friends as family as well. I do not have an array of

friends that I can call and ask for advice but rather a handful of people that I consider friends and almost family.

I could tell that he is really close with his younger brother Ramsey and is extremely close with his mother. .
  Who holds the most “status” in your family?  Why?

“My father is the one that brings in the ‘dough’ but my mother is the one that makes most if not all the decisions

that has to do anything with the house. She simply runs the house and my father has no say in it. From

decorations to the lay out of the back yard, my mother is the one that runs that ship”

This question he responded in the sense of who oversees the household. His father is the person that

provides capital for the household but the mother is the one that makes most of the decisions and he trust his

mother a lot more than he does his father for decision making situations. He did share that his father and

mother are a bit more modernized with the concept of having the mother be at home as it is accustomed in

Lebanon. This is in line with the arab family structure, “The father is usually the head of the family and the

provider for its needs, while the mother plays a major role in raising children and taking care of the house. This

structure is not always the norm; in recent years, both the father and the mother provide for family needs, while

household chores are taken care of by maids and servants” Al-Sabt, M. (n.d.).

 How important is education in your family?

“Education is extremely important in my family, my father since a very young age always drilled 3 things to

me, God, family, and education. There is no if, ands, or buts about education in my family especially knowing

what my dad had to do when he arrived to this country”

I was very intrigued with this answer because most people value an education but I had not heard anyone

use education in the same sentence as god or family. Yes there is an emphasis on education in my household as

to why I am returning to my studies after 13 year gap but he emphasized how important it is for him and his

father. It is almost more of a sense of right that he must earn his degree or else he is a failure to his father. In

this case he only spoke about his father and not his mother regarding who or why he is in school. In the

research I did it makes complete sense as to why he values education so much, “education for both men and

women that is mandated by law in the Arabian countries. Education from kindergarten up to university degrees

is free to nationals and sometimes residents of these Arabian countries” Al-Sabt, M. (n.d.). They value

education so much that they provide education free to the nationals, that is impressive.
  How is physical contact viewed in your culture?

“In Lebanon it is so much more relaxed when it comes to physical contact. If you kiss someone in the USA on

the cheek, not on the lips, it is considered sexual harassment. In Lebanon kissing on the cheek for the fist meet

is very common. When it comes to holding hands as boyfriend or girlfriend that is not ok. The kissing on the

cheek is more of a meet and greet and that is it.”

What caught my attention when I asked him this question was how natural he replied and how confident he

was about this topic. We spoke a little more about how public affection is viewed in public and it was in total

line with “Usually public displays of affection are not very acceptable. Couples do not tend to show much

affection towards each other in public since it could be considered shameful. Anger is a little more acceptable

and it is more common in public. However, this all depends on where you are and who is around you.” Foreign

Affairs Trade and Development Canada. (2018, September 19).

 What is a woman’s role in society? How do you see it as compared to here?

“In Lebanon woman are being more recognized as caretakers of home and watching the kids. They are slowly

joining the work force, but one thing is for sure, they will not be involved in the government any time soon,

government is non existent”

According to research it shows that “You would rarely find women in high ranked political positions” Foreign

Affairs Trade and Development Canada. (2018, September 19) confirming what Danny shared. It is simply the

way that the culture is.

In this part of my paper I rather speak on a culture “shock” that I discovered doing this paper rather than

presenting another question. I asked Danny a total of 25 questions and a few follow up questions to those 25 in

a total time of one hour. One thing that I found interesting was “Deadlines and punctuality are not always

respected in Lebanon, so be open-minded about time” Foreign Affairs Trade and Development Canada. (2018,

September 19). As Danny’s manager I continually struggle with him showing up on time and I have to

constantly be on top of him for being on time to work. When there are deadline that we have to meet at work he

is the first person that I have to remind and stay on top of to make sure that he completes it. In addition to this I

also noticed that he “loves designer clothes, and they care about their appearance and the impression they
make.” Foreign Affairs Trade and Development Canada. (2018, September 19). I consider myself to be a great

dresser especially when it comes to my suits but I never brag or talk about it. My position requires it as I am the

Branch Manager and represent my company at all times. Danny on the other hand always comes in with really

nice expensive suits but he is only a teller. Most tellers in this industry only wear a shirt and tie and if they care

about their job they will iron their shirt.

This paper has really opened my eyes as to what culture really is and how culture can be distinguished

among different perspectives. It almost relates it to stereotypes but with more concrete facts and practices.
Subject:
Danny Zein

References:
Brunswick, C. G. (2017, September 08). What is Culture and Why Does it Matter? Retrieved November 03,
2018, from https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/thc/culture/content/cpr/matter.html
Al-Sabt, M. (n.d.). Arab Family structure. Retrieved November 03, 2018, from
http://www.traderscity.com/abcg/cultur11.htm
Foreign Affairs Trade and Development Canada. (2018, September 19). Cultural Information - Lebanon |
Centre for Intercultural Learning. Retrieved November 03, 2018, from https://www.international.gc.ca/cil-
cai/country_insights-apercus_pays/ci-ic_lb.aspx?lang=eng#cn-3