Final Meeting with Khalifa

Today I had my last meeting with Khalifa. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before but Khalifa takes being late to a whole new level. And by that I mean if we agree to meet at 7 and if he arrives by 7:30 I’m impressed. This time I waited almost an hour (not my longest wait of the semester) but I used the time to get some homework done and he showed up so I was happy. His cousin Abdul sat down and talked with us for a little bit which was neat because I had met him briefly before but we had never really gotten the chance to talk.

Also, since it was our last meeting, Khalifa insisted on buying me something to eat. I told him thanks but that I would buy my own but he was adamant. It was McDonald’s so I didn’t feel too guilty but still only let him buy me fries. It was definitely a kind gesture and showed respect that seems much more common in Saudi Arabian culture than it is in America. I would always try to open doors for him when we were going places but he would never let me. He always insisted on me going in first. In America, we would just take it as a kind gesture and walk right in but it seems like they have certain unspoken rules when it comes to that kind of stuff.

This was the first time that we had met at McDonald’s and for some reason Khalifa seemed much more comfortable in the environment. Soon this began to make sense as he professed his love for American fast food. He said that he goes to McDonald’s for lunch multiple times a week and even had a table at the campus McDonald’s that he usually sits at. He then began to list all of the fast food restaurants that he loves here and trust me, the list was plentiful. As funny as it may sound, this was one of the topics that we were most able to relate to each other with. He thought it was really funny that my first job was at McDonald’s and said that he couldn’t picture me behind the counter. He asked me if customers were mean to me and he thoroughly enjoyed the stories that ensued. He told me that he knows fast food is bad for you but it tastes so good and it’s cheap. He was kind of surprised by how supportive I was of his fast food addiction as his sister always tries to get him to stop eating eat. I will never be one to judge people for eating too much fast food. While I worked at McDonald’s I always got stuck in back drive-through and would regularly sneak burgers, fries, and milkshakes back there. And during my senior year (thankfully I was no longer working at McDonald’s) it got to the point where I would pick up fast food before work pretty much every day. Luckily, at that time I was running cross country or the results would have been disastrous.

The last fast food restaurant that he listed was In N Out and he said it was by far one of his favorites. Since he’s moving to California in a matter of days, I asked him if he was going to go to the original. His eyes lit up. He had no idea that the original was in California but was very excited to go and would be willing to drive hours just to go there once. When I told him that when In N Out came to Texas a bunch of my friends and I drove an hour to get there and then waited another two hours to get our food, I expected him to respond that I was crazy. But he said he would do the same!

The more I thought about us connecting through fast food, the more sense it made to me. When you think about American’s going to foreign countries what is the one place that they always see and are comfortable ordering food at? McDonald’s. Not only was fast food a way for Khalifa and I to connect, I feel like it has become a way for the rest of the world to connect with America and vice versa.

Finally, Khalifa brought up Juha one more time and said that he was wondering if the editor who translated the stories from Arabic to English made any mistakes. When I said that I didn’t notice a single one throughout the book, he was amazed. With all of the difficulties he has experienced in translating things from Arabic to English, he definitely admired Salma Khadra Jayyusi.

After this we got up and got ready to leave. Khalifa made a few jokes about crying as we said goodbye. Clearly, guys from all cultures across the world enjoy joking about feelings. When we got outside I thanked Khalifa for his time and told him that I really enjoyed getting to know him over the course of the semester. Since he’s moving to California in two days, there really won’t be any more chances for us to meet up and see how each other are doing but I told him not to hesitate to text me if he ever needed help with anything.

I have truly enjoyed my time with Khalifa over the semester and it has definitely given me a different perspective on Saudi Arabia and their culture. With all of the faces we see on TV and the negative publicity that the region receives, it’s easy to associate the behaviors of a few with the entire region. Especially since 9/11, I feel that it would be fairly accurate that almost 100% of Americans at least believe at least one stereotype toward people of the Middle East or at least have some reservations toward people of the region whether these feelings are vocalized or remain internal. Honestly, before I met Khalifa and even after our first meeting or two, I was definitely one of those people. But, getting to meet Khalifa, and hear stories about his homeland, and just being able to associate a friendly face with the region has really made a difference for me and has truly been an eye opener. Hopefully, I was able to provide the same type of experience for Khalifa and he will be able to go back to Saudi Arabia and tell people that America is nothing like what they think it is.