On Tuesday April 5, I met with Adil once again, and this time the conversation was one of the most difficult I have had. The conversation started with him talking about his new neighbors. Two new families moved into his housing complex, one above him and one below him. He told me about how loud the person above him is and how the new person below him complained to the landlord that Adil and his family are being loud. Adil was very frustrated he had to deal with this situation because he has never had a complaint in the past year he has lived there. With two kids, ages two and four, he and his family are clearly not making a racket at 12 o’clock at night.
This story prompted him to tell me about his living situation in Saudi Arabia. In his country, families build large houses so everyone in the family can live there. He told that the families have to save up money for around 15 years to buy a house. The living situation is expensive because the entire house is built with concrete and the houses often have over 10 bedrooms. I was surprised to hear how big the houses are. The houses, though, have to big because of his religion. The rooms are not meant for all the family members. Rather, they are there for guests. According to Islamic law, a guest visiting the family is incredibly important, and the family has to make every effort to make the guest comfortable. Additionally, Islamic law states calls for men and women guests to be separated, which means that an multiple guest rooms is a must.
When he was discussing this, I was fascinated. In America, most families buy houses that will accommodate the immediate family, not the extended family or guests. If families in America have guests in their homes, they will usually offer a couch, a blowup mattress, and if the guests are lucky, the homes will a guest bed. I really appreciate the hospitality the Islamic faith teaches its followers. I think people in America can learn a lot by the Muslims’ focus on treating visitors with unyielding hospitality and generosity. It is sad that many Americans never learn about these little things about the Islamic faith. I feel lucky that I have learned about another culture and religion through Adil.
After we talked about housing in Saudi Arabia, Adil started talking about the economy. He talked about growing cities in the Middle East, which I thought was fascinating. The rich people in the Middle East are very wealthy and like to build extravagant skyscrapers and homes. The architecture is amazing. As the conversation continued, Adil started talking about his beliefs about an open economy. He told me that Saudi Arabia is becoming more open and that he would like to see other countries open their doors to other countries outside of the Middle East. As he kept talking, though, Adil spoke very quickly. I kept interrupting him because I did not understand what he was saying. We were both becoming very frustrated. After 10 minutes or so of this, the conversation ended, and our meeting came to a close. For the first time, I think we were both frustrated to the point that it was hard to continue for any longer. I have been waiting for a meeting like this because I knew it was inevitable for the language barrier to become such a obstacle that it would be nearly impossible to overcome. I don’t think this frustration was a bad thing, though. It is an obstacle that I will face when I meet different people and that Adil will face when he is done with school. I look forward to the next meeting to see how we overcome the situation.
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