Sherif was born in Saudi Arabia to Egyptian parents, grew up in Egypt and migrated to the U.S. Like Mike's previous guest Claire and himself, Sherif currently serves as an English Language Fellow, but with the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia. Who is a first generation immigrant? The discussion is never settled on this podcast. :D (3:30). Mike asks the ridiculous question .. (4:20) Mike and Sherif discuss the Arab world (8:10) and recent geopolitical events, and their impact on Sherif. Why don’t we hear the good things about 'them' (9:20)? How many of our assumption about ‘them’ are wrong (11:25)? Mike stumbles over Egypt a bit, thankful for Sherif’s graciousness (16:00). He talks about the challenges becoming an American (17:00) and no longer quite fitting in at home in Egypt or the US (18:50), something all TCK can easily relate to. He also throws out a Netflix recommendation for those curious about Arab Americans. He gets into some of his dating challenges as well (21:45). This segues into talking again about names. Mike admits his fantasy one more time of getting President Obama on his podcast, and Sherif explains his last name and the linguistics around it (23:00). Finally, to wrap up the first part of the interview, Mike’s curiousity grows in how Sherif got into English teaching, as both of them are Fellows in the same program (26:00).

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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