My weekend with Saudi Arabians

During the weekend my roommates, myself and a few friends were invited to our neighbors’ apartments for lunch and dinner.

It was one of the most eye-opening and delicious experiences of my life.

The neighbors who invited us are Saudi Arabian men studying abroad in the United States.We met them a few weekends ago as we were all walking back to our
respective apartments.

Last Friday, one of them invited us to dinner Saturday night. Not to be outdone, another invited us to lunch first.

We had dates with Arabian coffee and Middle Eastern-style chicken and rice and salad with lemon juice as dressing, which became my new favorite thing.

We ate on the floor from big, ornate plates. They showed us how to eat properly with our hands, how you mash a ball of hot sauce and rice and the thanks you say when you are done.That night we had a meal with lamb and vegetables that smelled like curry and tasted like stew.

The best part was the conversation.

I wanted to know about religious law in their country, and my roommate majoring in history wanted to know about the wars their brothers had died in. Several had lost family to sieges and bombs. They were open and honest, without judgment.

They wanted to know about our culture. They wanted to know about hand gestures they’d seen Americans do, like “I know,” “come here” and “I don’t care.”

It was fantastic, and the food was amazing.

It wasn’t like the ethnic food on Fourth Street, which is delicious but American-ized. It was real, authentic Saudi Arabian food prepared in Saudi Arabian cookware with old-school recipes these guys got from little Middle Eastern grandmothers.

I’ve always appreciated the diversity on IU’s campus, but I’d never had a chance to really experience it first-hand.

As students, we are always told to accept each other.

It’s difficult when students gravitate toward people from their own cultures and close themselves off to others.

I’d always heard you learn so much when you are open to new people and ways of thinking, but I’d never been able to figure out how to do so here on campus.

I think I had my misgivings about my about Middle Eastern classmates — even though I knew news we get about the war on terror is not exactly the greatest representation of Middle Eastern culture.

Now, though, I happily get to tuck my prejudiced tail between my legs, and say I’ve grown and learned.

I can say, from experience, amazing things can happen when you open up and accept new ideas, cultures and ways of thinking.

Plus, there’s free food.

­— ewenning@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Emma Wenninger on Twitter @EmmaWenninger.