Conversation Partner Meeting #1

            My conversation partners name is Osama. Osama is from Saudi Arabia and recently moved to New York and then ended up down here in Texas. He is nineteen and once he finishes the intensive English program at the end of the year he plans on starting his degree in accounting. The reason he wants to be an accountant is because that is what his dad currently does in Saudi Arabia. Osama’s dad will be moving out here shortly because both Osama and his mother live in the DFW area. His mom is studying at the University of Dallas and he visits her frequently. We met up at the rec center and sat in the lobby. We spoke for around an hour and a half before we both realized how long it had been and had to part ways. Finding things to talk about was certainly not an issue, which I was worried about the entire time. I have met some people from the Middle East before and I was nervous that he would be like them. Very arrogant and this sort of Americans are dumb I’m better than you kind of attitude. I was very surprised to learn that he was not like this at all which helped me settle down and enjoy the conversation and his company. One of the first things we discussed were our hometowns. This of course led into a discussion of all the wild stereotypes of both our birthplaces. He said that most people ask him if they live in little huts or tents in the desert and ride camels. Obviously this isn’t true and he informed me that his city is much like Fort Worth with high rises downtown and suburban neighborhoods surrounding the area. Coming to Texas he thought there would be a lot less trees and it would be a desert landscape, much like you’d see in a western movie, and that people would be riding horses. He was also relieved/surprised that it was similar to where he is from. When I told him I was from Colorado I mentioned that everyone thinks it snows year round and that all we do is ski. I also mentioned how that isn’t true and it gets hot in the summer. Maybe not hot by Saudi standards but hot to people that don’t live in the desert of the Middle East.

            Osama and I then started to discuss sports we like or have played. He enjoys playing soccer and basketball and even used to play tennis. He still has no opinion on football and I plan to change that. Then things got a little more on the serious side and we discussed the certain culture and customs of our two nations and some of the stark contrasts. For instance men and women can’t show any affection towards one another in public whatsoever. In restaurants there are separate seating sections for women and their families and single men. The dress is indeed very conservative for women. Some people might take offense to this and say that they are stripping them of their freedom. After discussing with Osama, as well as some previous studies I have done on the Muslim religion, I came to the realization that they are trying to respect the women so they will not be looked upon in a lustful way or put a man and a women in a situation in which she could be disrespected. Sure this seems a little extreme but we just have to take a step back and realize we are two completely different cultures. When he asked me what I thought of Saudi Arabia I brought up sharia law and Islam but told him that I like his country and how they have been a valuable ally to the American’s for many years. When I asked him about his or the Saudi’s thoughts on America, to my surprise he actually said that they like Americans for the most part. I was somewhat taken back by this and told him that I was under the impression that a lot of the world, especially the Muslim countries didn’t care for Americans. After talking about all of this (including Israel and all of the baggage that comes along with that) we both agreed that the media portrays pictures of only a small group of extremists in either country or culture and we really just need to experience the culture for ourselves and meet the actual people that make it up. We also agreed that every one should get along (Christians, Jews and Muslims) because we all come from the same roots but branched off in different directions.