What's an Armali?
To start with, I'm half Somali and half Armenian. I could go with Somenian, but I think Armali sounds nicer, right?
That means I'm half black and half white---like a certain president we know, I have a black African father and a white (ish?) American mother.
oh THAT's healthy!But that's not all! (Ha, I feel like a game show.)
My mother's first husband was Ghanaian, and I have two sisters by that marriage. So they're half Ghanaian and half Armenian. Their father's second wife is Tanzanian, and my sisters have a brother (my step-half brother?) by that marriage, who's half Tanzanian and half Ghanaian.
My father's second wife was European American, and I have one sister by that marriage. So she's half European American and half Somali.
My stepdad, my mom's husband now, is African American, and I have two stepbrothers (by his first marriage) who are African American on both sides.
My stepmom, my father's wife now, is Somali, and I have a whole lotta siblings who are Somali on both sides.
My mother has only one sibling, my uncle. My aunt-by-marriage is Jewish American, and my only maternal first cousin (he's like my brother) is half Jewish and half Armenian.
My name is Arabic, and I minored in Arabic in college, but English is my only native language. My parents never taught us Somali or Armenian---I really, really want to learn, someday.
I was raised Muslim---I think of myself as agnostic now, just FYI. My mother's family are
(at least nominally) Armenian Orthodox Christian, and since my aunt is Jewish, we kids got to celebrate all kinds of holidays, when we were growing up : )
I have family in Boston, New York, Arizona, Virginia, London, Kenya and who knows where else!
Okay, I know I'm forgetting something...
