McAlister's Adventure (Second Meeting with Khalifa)

I’ve had this blog entry sitting in word for over a week and completely forgot to post it. Sorry for the delay! My second meeting with Khalifa was on Monday October 1. We were supposed to meet at 6 at McAlister’s but he lost his keys so he wasn’t able to arrive until around 6:45. He was so apologetic and really felt awful for making me wait. I reassured him that it wasn’t a big deal and that I used the extra time to do a little bit of homework. Plus, I lose my keys at least twice a month so I assured him that it happens to everyone.

Once we got to McAlister’s I realized that he had absolutely no idea how or what to order. I felt really stupid for just assuming that he knew the menu and, the situation was made even more awkward because I forgot that because of his religion, he can’t eat anything that comes from a pig. This ruled out bacon and sausage which are seriously a part of over 50% of the items on the menu. Luckily, he loves potatoes so I told him that the grilled chicken spud would probably be a good choice. Being a stupid uneducated American, I proceeded to order a bacon spud without making the connection that I had just ordered something that was against his religion to eat. However, it was his time to reassure me, just because it’s against his religion doesn’t mean that I can’t eat it. I then made the connection that on Fridays during Lent when I can’t eat meat, my friends regularly order burgers and I’m not offended. So that’s how I justified it to myself and Khalifa agreed.

He loves our food and ever since he got here he has had a strong desire to try bacon and sausage because they look and smell so good. Up to this point, he has fought the urge valiantly. However, he did have an incident his first week here that we both found hilarious. He went out with some family members to a restaurant off of Hulen and ordered a dish that the server recommended. Halfway through his meal, he asked the server what the delicious meat was because he didn’t think he had ever tasted it before. “Oh that’s sausage,” the waiter replied. Khalifa’s jaw practically hit the table and so did his sister’s. Obviously, he was disappointed in himself but the meat was so delicious that he figured hey I already broke the rules why not at least finish my dish. But his sister was absolutely appalled and wouldn’t let him take another bite. And this is how Khalifa was accidentally introduced to sausage and he will never forget the experience. We both laughed hysterically throughout most of the story, which from my perspective was reassuring because we’ve all eaten foods we’re not supposed to eat before and it was an honest mistake, I didn’t want him to beat himself up over it. The whole ordering and no pig fiasco surely displayed the immense cultural differences between us but the fact that we were able to work through it and still enjoy our meal was a very cool experience. Plus, he loved his potato and said he would definitely come back to McAlister’s sometime soon so that made me feel like I accomplished something.

Once the conversation got a little more serious, he told me that he is adjusting well. He loves our food, especially the really spicy Mexican food because it’s somewhat similar to the food from Saudi Arabia. He has gotten even better at speaking and is approaching becoming a level 5. However, writing is still a major problem and he is still stuck on level 1. He talked in length about his frustrations with learning how to write and how he just can’t comprehend how everything is written so much differently than it sounds. He also brought up how he learns so much just from communicating with native English speakers. But, practicing speaking with native English speakers also adds to the difficulties of writing because a lot of the stuff we say is slang and shouldn't be used while writing. This started out as a very odd concept to him but he has gotten used to it.

Probably the saddest part of our conversation was when he stated that he might be moving to California. He admitted that it was a gorgeous state and that he would love to go there but his main reason for the move is because they have a better writing program for ESL students than we do. Apparently, we have an extremely good speaking program but we are really lacking when it comes to the writing aspects. His goal might be to move as soon as the end of this semester. My advice was “Hey, I don’t blame you. See as much of America as you can before you have to go back. California is gorgeous. You’ll love it.” I’m anxious to see at our next meeting if any major decisions regarding the move have been made.

He invited me to play soccer with him and some of his family after we ate dinner but regretfully I had a group meeting that I had to go to and wasn’t able to join them. Hopefully next time I’ll have the chance. During our next conversation, I hope to talk about cultural differences a lot more and hopefully this time they won’t be awkwardly thrust upon us as soon as we walk into a restaurant!