Habibi

I have just started reading Habibi and I am already full of possible questions for my questioning the text paper. So far, I really enjoy Liyana's character and I think that she is full of life and wonder. I am very curious to find out more information about the author and learn about her background. After our insider/outsider debate in class, I have been thinking a lot about what should count as a qualifier for an author to be able to write about a culture. Although several people made many valid points in class, I still think that an outsider could successfully write an authentic story about a culture.

While sitting in dinner, I discussed our lecture with my friend and she made a very interesting point. As I asked my friend whether she thought that only "insiders" could write stories, she responded by saying, "No...have you ever heard of anthropology?" If only insiders could write about a specific culture, how could we ever learn about other cultures, unless that specific culture was willing to share their beliefs? Even though I realize that children' s books are a completely different topic, I belive that my friend had a very valid and interesting point. I believe that as long as someone makes an honest effor to fully emmerse themselves into a culture, they are perfectly capable of writing a great story, full of great content and details!