Fourth Meeting With Hashim

     Keeping things consistent, Hashim and I met outside Union Grounds on Friday. If you don’t remember, Friday was a Texas version of freezing. Hashim definitely felt as I did! While winters are getting colder in Saudi Arabia, he said Friday was colder than he would like. To get the conversation going, I asked him how the parade was last week (this is why he couldn’t meet). He was so excited over the parade. Hashim thought it was a great way to celebrate homecoming. We both loved the firework show at the end of the night. I was surprised to hear that he stayed around campus for all the events considering he lives off campus. Inversely, he was surprised that I had only watched the fireworks from my dorm window. Hashim also didn’t know that homecoming was an annual event. I am assuming they don’t have an equivalent in Saudi. We talked a little about the game. Hashim and his friends left 5 minutes before the last quarter ended and heard screaming after they left the stadium. I couldn’t believe he had left before the game ended. But then again, soccer is the popular sport in his country. Although he follows soccer, Hashim is getting more into football. We ended up talking about Pachall. Hashim is still surprised that Patterson took him out of the football program. Furthermore, Hashim was surprised we are having a freshman, Boykin, play quarterback; he thought there would’ve been older players to choose from. Our opinions differed on who should be playing but we're both are impressed and proud of Patterson’s decision to remove Pachall for Pachall’s best interest.

     Moving away from that conversation, Hashim brought up that Friday was a holiday for him. IEP gave the students a day off in respect for the Islamic students. For Friday and a few days prior, a pilgrimage known as the “Hajj” took place. The fifth pillar of Islam says everyone must go on a pilgrimage, a duty that must be carried out once in his or her lifetime. Hashim’s sister had sent him a picture of the large crowd gathering at Mecca. When he first showed me, he only explained that it was a pilgrimage. When I asked him the name of the pilgrimage in Arabic and he told me, I told him that I had learned about it in school. Hashim was shocked that I had been taught about the Hajj. He was especially surprised that I knew it as Hajj, not just a pilgrimage. I am glad I was able to share that with Hashim because it widens his opinion on our education system. After more talking, we started talking about a book his class is reading, The Life of Pi. It was a day for surprising Hashim. He was amazed that I have read the book, not only once but twice. The first time I read the book was with my grandfather when I visited in middle school. The second time was in high school, in the same class I had learned about the Hajj. While I agree that the United States does not have the best education system, I am glad Hashim was happy to hear that I have learned about Islam in school and read The Life of Pi. I hope Hashim and I can continue to teach each other about our cultures and gain respect for the other’s.