My second meeting with Rayan and Hanah opened my eyes to the married life in Saudi Arabia, and boy did I learn a lot. From the many stages of a relationship beginning with "formal dating," to the engagement, to the marriage itself, it seemed like everything was very specific.
In Saudi Arabia, people enter into relationships in one of two ways. In the first...say a boy is in the super market, he catches a pretty girl's eye, and she does all of the "smiling and blinking," as Rayan put it. Then they can exchange numbers and start talking on the phone. Eventually, if the guy thinks the relationship is going somewhere, he will ask his mom to set up a meeting with the girl and her family so that they can all formally meet and get a feel of what the relationship currently is and what both parties want it to be.
Another option (and what Rayan did) is that the male, secure with his job, house, furniture, and salary, could tell his mom, "I'm ready to be married." The mom will search for a woman for her son, and usually within a month she will tell the son about her findings. She will describe the potential bride-to-be to her son so that he can get a mental image, and if she sounds nice and if he is interested, then mom would set up a meeting with the girl and her parents.
The male would go over to the woman's house and meet her family. The meeting would only last for an hour or so, and it would consist of mostly small talk. After the man left, the woman could tell her mom, "No I didn't like him" or "I'd like to see where this relationship goes." If the former, the woman's mother would call the man's mother and tell her the news. If the latter, the man would again go to the woman's house and they would be able to begin seeing each other. The decision is all in the hands of the woman.
Rayan said that some men, if they really like the female, will follow up with a proposal the next day. WAIT, WHAT?!? This little fact completely blew my mind, but it actually happens!!!!
Rayan and Hanah continued dating for a year, but they made it very clear to me that at this stage in the relationship there was no physical contact...except for maybe holding hands. Once they were engaged and were taking their engagement pictures (with all their families too), they could touch in front of their families in the pictures WITH a ring on their hands. At this point, Hanah and her mom had exactly 3 months to plan a wedding.......
Before anyone in Saudi Arabia can get married, they must take a blood test and get the marriage approved by the government (via an official marriage certificate). If any diseases are found in their blood, the government says that the marriage cannot happen. I thought this was really interesting, so I asked Rayan and Hanah if people still got married even though it wasn't "approved" by the government. They said it was very rare but it could happen. Think about if they did that in America! People would freak!
The wedding cost them a huge chunk of cash because weddings are such a huge deal in Saudi Arabia. The women wear white dresses and very bright makeup, and the males wear a white robe to match their bride. About 300 guests attended their wedding, and Rayan said he saved up for 7 years to pay for all the wedding expenses.
This completely opened up my eyes to so many interesting Saudi social norms, and it made me even more excited to meet with them again! Who knows what we'll talk about.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Vacation '58
We all have those crazy family vacation stories, but John Hughes' is one for the record. So many ludicrous things happen in this story that they undoubtedly spark humor in the readers.
The family starts off leaving late for their vacation (I can relate), and then end up having to bring along an old, smelly aunt for the long drive to California. The whole family falls asleep in the car..."[their] new station wagon racing down U.S. 55 like a bedroom on wheels." Once the family picks up Aunt Edythe, they figure out that they're taking her dog, Dinkie, along too, who "watches 'Ed Sullivan." A dog watching a TV show is a funny idea that exhibits personification.
As they're driving through the central plains of the US, the narrator claims that everything "looked the same as Kansas." I've never been up to that part of the country, but I can imagine how boring of a drive it is. I laughed at this paragraph in the story in part because of the Superiority Theory. I'm glad I'm not the one making that drive...
Then things start to get interesting, leading to a definite sort of shift in the story, characteristic of the Incongruity Theory.
A cop pulls them over and tells them that Aunt Edythe's poor dog had been dragged behind the family's car for quite a while. Upon finding it dead, the father left it on the side of the road without telling anyone, including Aunt Edythe.
Then the dad drives off a cliff that's "only about four feet high," but a cliff nonetheless for their '58 Plymouth Sport Suburban Six station wagon. Everyone gets all banged-up and naturally it is quite an ordeal...with false teeth flying, broken glasses, and spilled Kool-Aid. I think this is humorous because it exhibits the Superiority Theory. Had we been in that situation (particularly as the father or Aunt Edythe), it probably wouldn't have been quite as funny.
They have to get their car towed, and the tower happens to be the sheriff of the town, who claims that $588 dollars for a tow isn't robbery. But because the family gave the tow company all the money they had, even all the dollars they could find in Aunt Edythe's shoe, the father decides to rob the motel the family stayed at. I can just picture the father trying to be subtle as he reached over the counter, took the money from the register, and made a run for it. It would be a funny thing to watch on a security camera.
Of course the cops come after them and a cop chase quickly ensues, but with skill, the family escapes thanks to the dad's commands to the narrator to push the ice chest at the cop cars. In Bisbee, the dad switches license plates (I think this would be funny to watch as a fly on the wall too).
Then the family figures out that Aunt Edythe died...and has been dead for at least 10 hours...naturally, their solution is to put her on the roof covered with the father's raincoat. This is terrible, but funny because it is so absurd. Once they get to Tucson they leave Auntie Edythe outside in a patio chair with an umbrella in her hand. Kinda sounds like a sketchy murder cover-up to me.
Once the family gets into Arizona, they are shooted at by missiles that were being tested. Then they are attacked by drunk, rifle-carrying Indians, who force the dad to give them the remainder of his stolen money and who end up taking everything.
The family starts to cry all together as it's raining....This image is just pitiful in my head, but at the same time it's funny in a superiority-kind of way. Once they reach Disney Land and find that it is closed for repairs and cleaning, the dad buys a revolver, shows up at Walt Disney's house, and shoots him in the thigh.
The family leaves dad behind and takes a plane home, realizing that maybe it IS the smart way to travel.
Most of this story is related to the superiority theory, but it is also comical because everyone at some point has experienced a vacation or trip that goes completely wrong. By weaving many unimaginable events together in this short story, John Hughes sets up a hilarious plot.
The family starts off leaving late for their vacation (I can relate), and then end up having to bring along an old, smelly aunt for the long drive to California. The whole family falls asleep in the car..."[their] new station wagon racing down U.S. 55 like a bedroom on wheels." Once the family picks up Aunt Edythe, they figure out that they're taking her dog, Dinkie, along too, who "watches 'Ed Sullivan." A dog watching a TV show is a funny idea that exhibits personification.
As they're driving through the central plains of the US, the narrator claims that everything "looked the same as Kansas." I've never been up to that part of the country, but I can imagine how boring of a drive it is. I laughed at this paragraph in the story in part because of the Superiority Theory. I'm glad I'm not the one making that drive...
Then things start to get interesting, leading to a definite sort of shift in the story, characteristic of the Incongruity Theory.
A cop pulls them over and tells them that Aunt Edythe's poor dog had been dragged behind the family's car for quite a while. Upon finding it dead, the father left it on the side of the road without telling anyone, including Aunt Edythe.
Then the dad drives off a cliff that's "only about four feet high," but a cliff nonetheless for their '58 Plymouth Sport Suburban Six station wagon. Everyone gets all banged-up and naturally it is quite an ordeal...with false teeth flying, broken glasses, and spilled Kool-Aid. I think this is humorous because it exhibits the Superiority Theory. Had we been in that situation (particularly as the father or Aunt Edythe), it probably wouldn't have been quite as funny.
They have to get their car towed, and the tower happens to be the sheriff of the town, who claims that $588 dollars for a tow isn't robbery. But because the family gave the tow company all the money they had, even all the dollars they could find in Aunt Edythe's shoe, the father decides to rob the motel the family stayed at. I can just picture the father trying to be subtle as he reached over the counter, took the money from the register, and made a run for it. It would be a funny thing to watch on a security camera.
Of course the cops come after them and a cop chase quickly ensues, but with skill, the family escapes thanks to the dad's commands to the narrator to push the ice chest at the cop cars. In Bisbee, the dad switches license plates (I think this would be funny to watch as a fly on the wall too).
Then the family figures out that Aunt Edythe died...and has been dead for at least 10 hours...naturally, their solution is to put her on the roof covered with the father's raincoat. This is terrible, but funny because it is so absurd. Once they get to Tucson they leave Auntie Edythe outside in a patio chair with an umbrella in her hand. Kinda sounds like a sketchy murder cover-up to me.
Once the family gets into Arizona, they are shooted at by missiles that were being tested. Then they are attacked by drunk, rifle-carrying Indians, who force the dad to give them the remainder of his stolen money and who end up taking everything.
The family starts to cry all together as it's raining....This image is just pitiful in my head, but at the same time it's funny in a superiority-kind of way. Once they reach Disney Land and find that it is closed for repairs and cleaning, the dad buys a revolver, shows up at Walt Disney's house, and shoots him in the thigh.
The family leaves dad behind and takes a plane home, realizing that maybe it IS the smart way to travel.
Most of this story is related to the superiority theory, but it is also comical because everyone at some point has experienced a vacation or trip that goes completely wrong. By weaving many unimaginable events together in this short story, John Hughes sets up a hilarious plot.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
The Waltz
This short story by Dorothy Parker was one of the first readings assigned for this class that has actually made me laugh out loud while reading it. Throughout the story, the narrator switches between cordial speech with a young man that has just asked her to dance and an internal voice that she uses to express her true feelings to the readers.
Her blatant use of hyperboles and sarcasm makes this story especially hilarious to me. She says, "Being struck dead would look like a day in the country, compared to struggling out a dance with this boy." Obviously she wouldn't want to be dead...but she uses this statement to express just how miserable she is. She then thinks to herself, "I'd love to waltz with you. I'd love to waltz with you. I'd love to have my tonsils out, I'd love to be in a midnight fire at sea." Okay, so a little dramatic, but which young woman isn't at some point in their lives?!
I remember those awkward middle school dances where there would always be one guy you wanted to ask you to dance...but of course everyone else and their brother asked you instead! Only thinking about dancing with your dream boy made the 3 minute long dances with everyone else feel like a lifetime!!
She compares his spastic dancing to the "constant rush, rush, rush, that's the curse of American life." This sentence gives us a slight glimpse into what I think is a deeper meaning of the short story that perhaps relates to the norms of society at the time that the narrator can't seem to escape.
The narrator's misery seems to be never-ending as the dance drags on and on, and she says, "And the music is never going to stop playing, and we're going on like this, Double-Time Charlie and I, throughout eternity"...Time seems to move slowest when we have to do something we really don't want to do because it seems nerve-racking, horrifying, or just plain boring to us.
She even imagines her dance partner's death after he kicks her shin "that [she's] had ever since [she] was a little girl!" He keeps stepping on her accidentally, and her whole life flashes before her eyes...
The story ends with the music stopping, but her partner wants to pay the musician to play more songs! The narrator can't say anything to him but, "That would be lovely. And look, do tell them to play this same thing. I'd simply adore to go waltzing."
To me, this short story is so funny because I feel like anyone can relate to it in some particular way or another. I definitely have a tendency to over-exaggerate things in my head, and I know it's easy for everyone to do the same thing. Although having it in writing inside the mind of a woman stuck doing the waltz with a terrible dance partner just makes it all the more hilarious!
Her blatant use of hyperboles and sarcasm makes this story especially hilarious to me. She says, "Being struck dead would look like a day in the country, compared to struggling out a dance with this boy." Obviously she wouldn't want to be dead...but she uses this statement to express just how miserable she is. She then thinks to herself, "I'd love to waltz with you. I'd love to waltz with you. I'd love to have my tonsils out, I'd love to be in a midnight fire at sea." Okay, so a little dramatic, but which young woman isn't at some point in their lives?!
I remember those awkward middle school dances where there would always be one guy you wanted to ask you to dance...but of course everyone else and their brother asked you instead! Only thinking about dancing with your dream boy made the 3 minute long dances with everyone else feel like a lifetime!!
She compares his spastic dancing to the "constant rush, rush, rush, that's the curse of American life." This sentence gives us a slight glimpse into what I think is a deeper meaning of the short story that perhaps relates to the norms of society at the time that the narrator can't seem to escape.
The narrator's misery seems to be never-ending as the dance drags on and on, and she says, "And the music is never going to stop playing, and we're going on like this, Double-Time Charlie and I, throughout eternity"...Time seems to move slowest when we have to do something we really don't want to do because it seems nerve-racking, horrifying, or just plain boring to us.
She even imagines her dance partner's death after he kicks her shin "that [she's] had ever since [she] was a little girl!" He keeps stepping on her accidentally, and her whole life flashes before her eyes...
The story ends with the music stopping, but her partner wants to pay the musician to play more songs! The narrator can't say anything to him but, "That would be lovely. And look, do tell them to play this same thing. I'd simply adore to go waltzing."
To me, this short story is so funny because I feel like anyone can relate to it in some particular way or another. I definitely have a tendency to over-exaggerate things in my head, and I know it's easy for everyone to do the same thing. Although having it in writing inside the mind of a woman stuck doing the waltz with a terrible dance partner just makes it all the more hilarious!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
An entertaining organic chemistry class (wait, do those even exist?)
It seemed like a normal day in organic chemistry...
Everyone held their breath as Dr. Montchamp walked in with his huge manilla folder. Are there quizzes in there or does he just have a ton of papers that he's carrying around to trick us into thinking there's a quiz????...this is the question we all ask ourselves everyday when he struts into class.
The class fell silent, and he looked around smugly, pulled out his EXPO marker, and walked toward the board. No quiz, phew!!!
On he went about photohalogenation and the Hammond Postulate, and everyone settled into our normal routines of taking down notes as we tried to keep up with whatever foreign concept he was talking about..."The more radical character state on the carbon, the more selectivity because it..."
When suddenly, someone pushed open the door and yelled "IS SEAN IN THIS CLASS?" Indeed, Sean was. Turns out his girlfriend bought him a singing gram from Chords for Kids and asked the singers to deliver her special love song DURING organic chemistry. To be honest, I thought that Montchamp wouldn't be a happy camper...but to our surprise, he stood smiling by the board. It even looked like he was chuckling a little bit. This got all of us laughing much more than the singing, although they did quite a good job. If you knew Montchamp, you'd know that usually we don't get much emotion out of him.
The event definitely seemed to fit the incongruity theory of humor because we experienced two totally different things (organic chemistry and a Valentine's Day singing gram) happening one right after the other. Besides the singing completely throwing our class off guard, it was hilarious because we saw our professor react in such an unexpected way.
After the singers finished their fine tune, the class cheered. As they walked out the door, Montchamp said (very monotonously, might I add) "Don't get used to this. Back to earth now." The whole class busted out in laughter, because usually when he says something that doesn't pertain directly to organic molecules, it's pretty funny.
He continued his lecture..."Like I was saying, the more radical character state on the carbon, the more selectivity because it reflects radical stability..."
Then the door swung open again, and in came Michael, one of the students in the class who was singing in the Cords for Kids group that had left just minutes before.
Montchamp muttered under his breath, "I just don't know what to expect."
Everyone held their breath as Dr. Montchamp walked in with his huge manilla folder. Are there quizzes in there or does he just have a ton of papers that he's carrying around to trick us into thinking there's a quiz????...this is the question we all ask ourselves everyday when he struts into class.
The class fell silent, and he looked around smugly, pulled out his EXPO marker, and walked toward the board. No quiz, phew!!!
On he went about photohalogenation and the Hammond Postulate, and everyone settled into our normal routines of taking down notes as we tried to keep up with whatever foreign concept he was talking about..."The more radical character state on the carbon, the more selectivity because it..."
When suddenly, someone pushed open the door and yelled "IS SEAN IN THIS CLASS?" Indeed, Sean was. Turns out his girlfriend bought him a singing gram from Chords for Kids and asked the singers to deliver her special love song DURING organic chemistry. To be honest, I thought that Montchamp wouldn't be a happy camper...but to our surprise, he stood smiling by the board. It even looked like he was chuckling a little bit. This got all of us laughing much more than the singing, although they did quite a good job. If you knew Montchamp, you'd know that usually we don't get much emotion out of him.
The event definitely seemed to fit the incongruity theory of humor because we experienced two totally different things (organic chemistry and a Valentine's Day singing gram) happening one right after the other. Besides the singing completely throwing our class off guard, it was hilarious because we saw our professor react in such an unexpected way.
After the singers finished their fine tune, the class cheered. As they walked out the door, Montchamp said (very monotonously, might I add) "Don't get used to this. Back to earth now." The whole class busted out in laughter, because usually when he says something that doesn't pertain directly to organic molecules, it's pretty funny.
He continued his lecture..."Like I was saying, the more radical character state on the carbon, the more selectivity because it reflects radical stability..."
Then the door swung open again, and in came Michael, one of the students in the class who was singing in the Cords for Kids group that had left just minutes before.
Montchamp muttered under his breath, "I just don't know what to expect."
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler
Mardi Gras is a huge part of Louisiana culture that I was lucky enough to celebrate this past weekend with many of my high school friends and even some new friends as well. One of my best friends, Melissa, was "Queen of Contraband" for the Krewe of Contraband's Golden Anniversary. 50 years ago, her grandfather started this krewe, which now has a prominent role in the Mardi Gras celebrations of Southwest Louisiana.
Mardi Gras seems like a crazy spectacle to some people...and it really is...but where I'm from everyone enjoys every second of it! With parades, balls, and crazy costumes, for many people it's the time of their life. In my opinion, everyone should experience it once before they die.
In Morreall's book, he talks about humor can be used to "let people mock authority and tradition, and in general, lighten up," and he uses Mardi Gras as an example of this. Over the weekend I noticed that everything about Mardi Gras is so funny; humor is blatantly present in the costumes and the extravagance of it all.
Saturday night was the huge Krewe of Contraband ball, and it began with two "jesters" who were dressed from head to toe in goofy costumes and had masks covering their faces. They set the stage for the queens and dukes that were about to be presented to the crowd. The jesters danced around, hopping and skipping and getting the crowd excited. Many cheered and chuckled at their over-the-top movements and gestures. Then out came the members of the krewe, all male, and their faces were covered so that the focus of the night would be on the queen and the princesses. These men came out yelling, dancing, and handing out beads. All of my friends and I were standing up and hollering in hopes that they would throw beads our way. But thinking back on it, how silly is it that someone would stand and yell and wave their hands like a crazy person just to get some plastic beads around their neck?!?!
The night was filled with laughter and dancing. All of the parents even busted out a few moves...much to their kids' dismay.
The funniest part of the weekend for me was another celebration held for the members of the krewe on Sunday night. They had hired a band, and everyone was having a good time eating and enjoying their music. But once the majority of the people left and there were only a few of us left, the real dance moves came out. Many of my friends sang karaoke and joked with the lead singer, and they even pressured him to dance in front of everyone as we stood whooping and clapping our hands to the beat. And man, could he dance! The singer even called a few adults out and made them dance in the middle of the floor...they really got into it! My friend Savannah's dad had had a couple of drinks, and he got a little crazy out there. He somehow ended up on the floor doing this strange crawling motion as he rolled around the floor. If you want a little illustration just so you can picture this, you've got it.
 |
| In the presence of royalty |
In Morreall's book, he talks about humor can be used to "let people mock authority and tradition, and in general, lighten up," and he uses Mardi Gras as an example of this. Over the weekend I noticed that everything about Mardi Gras is so funny; humor is blatantly present in the costumes and the extravagance of it all.
 |
| A member of the krewe |
The night was filled with laughter and dancing. All of the parents even busted out a few moves...much to their kids' dismay.
The funniest part of the weekend for me was another celebration held for the members of the krewe on Sunday night. They had hired a band, and everyone was having a good time eating and enjoying their music. But once the majority of the people left and there were only a few of us left, the real dance moves came out. Many of my friends sang karaoke and joked with the lead singer, and they even pressured him to dance in front of everyone as we stood whooping and clapping our hands to the beat. And man, could he dance! The singer even called a few adults out and made them dance in the middle of the floor...they really got into it! My friend Savannah's dad had had a couple of drinks, and he got a little crazy out there. He somehow ended up on the floor doing this strange crawling motion as he rolled around the floor. If you want a little illustration just so you can picture this, you've got it.
As we stood around singing along with the band and dancing, I realized that laughter really does serve to bond people. Whether we were laughing at the masked men, our parents' dance moves, or our friends acting a fool, we were bonding. Many of the young people that were there to support Melissa and to celebrate Mardi Gras were people I had never met before this weekend, and through all of our crazy Mardi Gras experiences I definitely gained some new friends.
Mardi Gras seems to come down to one simple phrase:
Laissez les bons temps rouler...let the good times roll!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
My First Meeting with Rayan and Hanah
I wish that I had a better memory so that I could recount all of the awesome things I learned during my first meeting with my conversation partner, Rayan, and his wife, Hanah. Rayan and I decided to meet at Union Grounds on Wednesday, February 6, and as the day came quickly approached, I became apprehensive. But as I arrived at the newly furnished Union Grounds, I spotted Rayan and his wife sitting together, and I became excited to see what this opportunity would teach me. After our introductions, the conversation quickly took off as we talked about their classes. They are both taking writing, speaking, reading, and speech classes in English. Right now they are reading "The Secret Life of Bees," and Rayan told me that after they finish the novel they'll be able to watch the movie in class. He thought it would be cool to know what the characters were going to say in the movie before the scene actually played. Rayan said that they go to school Monday-Friday from 9-1, and that they are enjoying it.
Rayan and his wife moved to the United States last January and began their adventure in Knoxville, Tennessee. There they began the task of learning English, and they decided to come to Texas to get more practice and work up to taking the GRE. One of their favorite things about Texas is all of the cuisine. They especially like Mediterranean food, Terra in particular. I told them that next time they go, they have to try Sweet Sammie's because it's so close! Hanah pulled out her notebook and wrote down the name and then she asked me what type of cuisine it was...I said desert and she wrote down "sweets." I noticed that in her notebook she had other restaurants written down that other people had probably recommended to them. I thought it was comical that for as long as they have been in Texas, they still haven't tried Mexican food!! So I told them that Blue Mesa was the place to go.
From that conversation stemmed a conversation about Spring Break plans. They hope to make a trip to either Las Vegas, the Caribbean, or Cancun. Rayan and Hanah LOVE to travel! When they lived in Tennessee, they made trips up the coast to New York and Washington D.C., and later they made another trip south to Charleston, Atlanta, and Miami (Hanah made Rayan drive, but he said it wasn't too bad!).
They are from Saudi Arabia, and luckily they were able to go back for a month during winter break. All of their family still lives there, but they don't get too homesick since they have each other here.
I asked them what kinds of differences exist between the Saudi Arabian and American cultures, and Rayan responded with a question for me...he said, "Well, what is the first thing that flashes in your mind when you think of Saudi Arabia?" The only thing I could think of were the high temperatures and deserts. He asked, "Do you think of oil and camels and funny outfits????" and then he and Hanah turned towards each other and started laughing heartily. I asked them what it was like there and how they would describe it in a couple of sentences. Rayan said that in Saudi Arabia everyone is so hospitable. He said they are always sharing things with others (especially food!) and that you always feel really welcome there, which he felt was different than the United States. I wondered if he noticed a similarity between Saudi Arabia and the southern part of the US, since we're often associated with hospitality, and he said he could see a little bit of a similarity.
Then they told me about the different regions in Saudi Arabia and the different stereotypes each have. They are from the eastern part of the country which is generally more open minded. Those in the south are known as being especially closed minded, and the people in the East are even more so even though they are exposed to more cultures. Rayan and Hanah speak Arabic, and they wrote out their names in Arabic while showing me what each individual letter looked like. There are over 30 accent marks which is crazy! They are encouraged to speak English at home, but they said they only speak English about 10% of the time for simple words in English that they don't feel like using the Arabic words for.
Rayan showed me his phone and what all of the Arabic characters looked like on their keyboard. Once I was looking at his phone I noticed two different dates at the top of the screen. Rayan told me that they use two calendars in Saudi Arabia, the lunar calendar and the regular calendar we use. The lunar calendar was used in the days before our calendars of today were used, and it is determined by looking at the moon each night and seeing a slight change in the light reflected from the sun. The government in Saudi Arabia actually monitors it, and on days that it's cloudy they make public announcements concerning the calendar so that everyone stays on the same track. I also noticed that instead of having today's date as 6/2/2013 their's read 25/3/1434 so I had to ask what Rayan what this meant. He explained it to me like this..."You use 2013 because that's how long it has been since Jesus died, but our prophet is Muhammad, so we count the years since he walked the earth, and that's how we get 1434." He blew my mind with that, but at the same time it made so much sense!
I absolutely can't wait to continue our conversation next week, as I have already learned much more than I ever would've thought from this sweet couple!!
Rayan and his wife moved to the United States last January and began their adventure in Knoxville, Tennessee. There they began the task of learning English, and they decided to come to Texas to get more practice and work up to taking the GRE. One of their favorite things about Texas is all of the cuisine. They especially like Mediterranean food, Terra in particular. I told them that next time they go, they have to try Sweet Sammie's because it's so close! Hanah pulled out her notebook and wrote down the name and then she asked me what type of cuisine it was...I said desert and she wrote down "sweets." I noticed that in her notebook she had other restaurants written down that other people had probably recommended to them. I thought it was comical that for as long as they have been in Texas, they still haven't tried Mexican food!! So I told them that Blue Mesa was the place to go.
From that conversation stemmed a conversation about Spring Break plans. They hope to make a trip to either Las Vegas, the Caribbean, or Cancun. Rayan and Hanah LOVE to travel! When they lived in Tennessee, they made trips up the coast to New York and Washington D.C., and later they made another trip south to Charleston, Atlanta, and Miami (Hanah made Rayan drive, but he said it wasn't too bad!).
They are from Saudi Arabia, and luckily they were able to go back for a month during winter break. All of their family still lives there, but they don't get too homesick since they have each other here.
I asked them what kinds of differences exist between the Saudi Arabian and American cultures, and Rayan responded with a question for me...he said, "Well, what is the first thing that flashes in your mind when you think of Saudi Arabia?" The only thing I could think of were the high temperatures and deserts. He asked, "Do you think of oil and camels and funny outfits????" and then he and Hanah turned towards each other and started laughing heartily. I asked them what it was like there and how they would describe it in a couple of sentences. Rayan said that in Saudi Arabia everyone is so hospitable. He said they are always sharing things with others (especially food!) and that you always feel really welcome there, which he felt was different than the United States. I wondered if he noticed a similarity between Saudi Arabia and the southern part of the US, since we're often associated with hospitality, and he said he could see a little bit of a similarity.
Then they told me about the different regions in Saudi Arabia and the different stereotypes each have. They are from the eastern part of the country which is generally more open minded. Those in the south are known as being especially closed minded, and the people in the East are even more so even though they are exposed to more cultures. Rayan and Hanah speak Arabic, and they wrote out their names in Arabic while showing me what each individual letter looked like. There are over 30 accent marks which is crazy! They are encouraged to speak English at home, but they said they only speak English about 10% of the time for simple words in English that they don't feel like using the Arabic words for.
Rayan showed me his phone and what all of the Arabic characters looked like on their keyboard. Once I was looking at his phone I noticed two different dates at the top of the screen. Rayan told me that they use two calendars in Saudi Arabia, the lunar calendar and the regular calendar we use. The lunar calendar was used in the days before our calendars of today were used, and it is determined by looking at the moon each night and seeing a slight change in the light reflected from the sun. The government in Saudi Arabia actually monitors it, and on days that it's cloudy they make public announcements concerning the calendar so that everyone stays on the same track. I also noticed that instead of having today's date as 6/2/2013 their's read 25/3/1434 so I had to ask what Rayan what this meant. He explained it to me like this..."You use 2013 because that's how long it has been since Jesus died, but our prophet is Muhammad, so we count the years since he walked the earth, and that's how we get 1434." He blew my mind with that, but at the same time it made so much sense!
I absolutely can't wait to continue our conversation next week, as I have already learned much more than I ever would've thought from this sweet couple!!
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