Food and Home

I didn’t get to meet with Nasser last week since it was cut short and we had some scheduling conflicts for our original plans, so I was looking forward to meeting with him this week. We were going to try and play tennis, but we realized that we didn’t have time so we decided to postpone tennis to a later date.

I usually try to think of some suggestions of things to do or places to go so Nasser can get the full Texas experience. These conversations usually turn into a mutual exchange of ideas since Nasser does some pretty good exploring himself. One of the first things that came up was restaurants since we both like to eat. He told me about a Mediterranean place that was just down university that he really enjoyed, so I’ll be sure and check that out. We then traded restaurants for various types of food: Steak, BBQ, Italian, Asian, etc. I think we both came away winners there, and we talked about maybe trying out one of those places for our next meeting. I didn’t bring up the food politics of our last conversation, yet I am curious to see if his views have changed or not.

I asked Nasser if they finish their English program when we finish school, but he said he wasn’t sure when they would finish up. I told him that I was excited for the end of the semester so I could get a break from school. I thought he might be going home to visit over the summer, but he told me that he probably wouldn’t be going back for another seven months or so.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to live half a world away from in a completely different culture and then only be able to go home once a year. Luckily Nasser has his sister and his brother-in-law here with him so he does some family to be with. Even then I'm sure it would be difficult to do though.

I think Nasser has adjusted well to life here, and even though he admitted to wondering how he would manage when he first got here I think he is feeling more at home. I can imagine the difference in coming to American from Saudi Arabia, but then on top of that you come to Texas. I will have to ask Nasser what he thought Texas would be like before he got here. I know there are still people in this world that think we ride horses and chase around Indians. Not that I think Nasser would make those presumptions, but I am just curious to see exactly what he had in his head.

I am disappointed that my visits with Nasser are coming to an end, but fortunately he isn’t going anywhere and neither am I for the most part so we should be able to stay in touch. As always, I look forward to meeting with him next week.