IN STEREO

This special tea I make is unique. I invented it myself. I tried mixing all these materials together, and how it tasted. It was amazing! Mint, sage, cinnamon, thyme, ginger, coriander, roseberry and lemon, and two seeds of cardamom. I wanted to make a special thing, that tourists and people [would] know me for. I mean, some come to me after five, six years, asking for tea. You want honesty? When I work with tourists, I’m more at ease than with Arabs. Because when I smile at their faces, it’s enough to make them happy. I mean, they don’t like a man who is miserable. They don’t like the gloomy, the arrogant. You find like this love and familiarity. Sometimes I invite them to come to my home. That’s my nature. That’s what I like, you know? Maybe I have concerns bigger than any mountain, but it’s not your mistake that you come and see me in these concerns.

You should see me happy, so that you take an idea about me that I’m happy, that’s all. Come see Sammy and drink Sammy’s tea. If you don’t like it, don’t pay. They can come from the Church of the Nativity. Bethlehem is only two streets; it’s not difficult. When I see them, I will catch them; don’t worry. And ask about Sammy. Everybody will tell you about him. I am very famous. You know what? If Allah didn’t put the Church of the Nativity here, Bethlehem wouldn’t be worth a penny. Really! I mean, Al-Dheisheh [camp] would be better than here. Because a lot of tourists come to see it. If the Church of Nativity was not here, nobody would be coming here. Because there’s nothing in Bethlehem. No factories, nothing. A lot of workers are working only for tourists. And Allah is wise, who guaranteed this work. – Sammy