So before meeting up with Laila Fakhoury, I watched a TED talk on how to do interviews. There were two minor points and one major point in that video. The first point was to do your research. When I did my research on Laila, I was blown away. I knew she was an active person; I didn’t realize how active she was. She graduated UF, is a co-owner of How Bazar, a co-owner of Dion Dia Records, runs Big Culture, the Night Market, and sits on a government board for the Gainesville Walk of Fame. Just got back from New York where she was the MC for a benefit show for Palestine. To round it out, she is also a leader/organizer in the local Pro-Palestinian movement. That is a lot for any person to handle, no matter what ever qualifiers you attach.

As you can imagine it took a little while for us to actually meet up. Conflicting schedules, even on the day we met it was a near thing. She had something personal come up, but still made time for me, which I am still in awe of the time people give me.

Now, doing this research beforehand, I was a bit nervous. Laila has done a lot of interviews covering a wide range; she has even done her own TED talk when she was a student. What can I add that is different from what she has already done? This is where the second minor point from that TED talk I watched came in: stay curious.

Now the last point, and main point I heard from that TED talk was to shut up. Let the person you are interviewing do the talking. Frankly, its good advice. I am kind of shit at it, but it's good advice. It made me wonder if I am a terrible interviewer. I have noticed I talked a lot during these conversations. Then I remembered that these are not interviews, but conversations. Yes I want to learn about them, I am curious. These people who have given me their precious time are all wonderful in one way or another, and who wouldn’t be curious and want to get to know them better.

So what did I learn about Laila? A lot, and at the same time not enough. This woman has layers. As I type this I can say that we should all be grateful to have her in Gainesville; she is doing amazing things, and I for one am going to try and get out to some of these events next time they pop up.

It seems to me that everywhere she goes, she sees a need, and then finds the people to fill that need, and brings them together. With How Bazar her and her friends saw the need for a third space where creatives could come together and give them space to explore and expand. The grand opening had 1,200 people show up. With the night market, she saw the need for people to be able to sell their creations, and through that six storefronts are being built in our community because they were able to get started at the night market. When she first started requesting the street shut down she got a flat no from the city. Now, its a regular event.

One thing I was curious about was how she managed it all. No doubt a strong willpower, good focus, and a love of what she does. From what you have read and might think, it sounds like she is having a blast putting together big shows, running a cultural hub, and bringing people together. Thats the “fun” stuff which will be draining by itself. Then to put yourself up front with the Palestinian movement she helps organize, you have to ask yourself, how much is this weighing on her? So I asked her what she does to unwind and relax. Then I learned about her love of food.

She learned how to cook Arabic food from her Palestinian and Lebanese grandmothers. She went on to explain that given the same dish, Lebanese food focuses on the presentation and beauty of it, while Palestinian food focuses on the plentifulness, and both taste amazing. We talked a bit about eating out and how we both agree that going to restaurants that serve family style is amazing. You don’t see it too much here in the US but if you go to some international restaurants, you can find it like at Soho.