Sarah TP#10

When I arrived at Ali's apartment this past Wednesday for our tutoring session, he was busy praying. He asked if I wouldn't mind waiting while he finished his prostrations. I had never seen this done before, and it was really quite touching. When he finally sat down with me, Ali wasn't as cheery as usual. He told me that he'd only had a few hours of sleep because he had been up all night writing a paper, only to lose all of his work when his laptop malfunctioned. He wasn't feeling up to doing anything academic, writing or otherwise, but asked if I would stay and talk with him. We spent our hour together talking about life, love, and family, while chipping away at the ice cream he had made with little plastic spoons (it was less cream and more ice). Ali told me how much he misses his kids, and that he can't wait to see them again. He plans to go home to Oman in June for Ramadan. He said that the days are longer here, and that fasting would be very difficult. He asked if I remembered his conversation partner, who had shown up during our previous session. He told me that his friend "liked my beauty," and we both had a good laugh. I know that it was just poor English, but I like the world view that suggests--in which the question of whether a person is beautiful is removed.