The most baggage carried by strangers is their difference.
-Yasmina, citing a Sufi sage, quoted in Scheherazade Goes West, Fatema Mernissi
The camels carried our extra baggage, but our difference in customs unlike our weight in pounds was felt at mealtime rather than in the saddle. Rabih and Abdullah saw that every time we crouched at the asīda bowl, for a moment we hesitated, uncertain, before reaching to eat. Which hand must we use, our left or our right? And how to stop ourselves from toppling over?