While preparing to interview a girl I practically knew nothing about, besides the fact that she was Palestinian, I expected a concealed woman in a full hijab. However, I was greeted with a bright, smiling girl wearing clothes I would expect my sister to wear. My own cultural expectations threw me off immediately, and it seemed as if my grasp on the middle east had been tenuous for the first time in my life. She told me her name was Deema, a 20 year old University of Oregon student from Palestine. We chatted about her childhood, her family, and many other things. When asked to describe herself, she simply said “ I would say (I’m) open minded…” . She told us stories about her loved ones, and how during the second Palestinian uprising, called