So after the grand confusion (obscure movie reference) was cleared up by Abdullah last weekend and I found out Faisal did not work at Cafe Shisha, but instead went there all the time, Faisal invited me to join him there last Friday evening.
I've smoked Hookah before, but it was awhile ago and so at first I thought I was doing something wrong cause nothing was coming out. A friend of Faisal's (Salim, I believe) tried to explain the problem to me but I was oblivious! ---You have to get the charcoal going at first through a lot of long drags. Faisal and I ordered Double Apple, and let me tell you, it was quite fine--- not as sickly sweet as some of the other flavors I had tried in the past.
We also got Turkish coffee which was served in itty-bitty cups. The grounds settle to the very bottom so you have to be careful when your cup starts to run out. All the smoke and coffee made my heart race!
I found out Faisal has two daughters, 2 and 3 years old, named Razan and Rawan (Hey, I said, I know a Rawan). He told me that he talks to his family every day on Skype.
I asked Faisal what english sounds he had difficulty with and he said it was hard to distinguish between f's and v's as well as between b's and p's. Abdullah (who showed up along with about seven other guys, including the CIES student who winked at the camera and made us all laugh) told me this was a common problem for Arabic speakers.
After this Abdullah and I had an interesting discussion. I asked Faisal if he could write better than he could speak and Abdullah mentioned that usually it was Asain speakers who had this distinction. The point he made was that arabic employs sounds that are closer to english than the sounds used in Asiatic languages. He also told me the name of a guitar looking instrument-Oud- and I had fun pronouncing it.
So as not to advertise falsely, we played spades. I made a few bonehead mistakes (it's been awhile!) and my partner was obviously awestruck at my lack of strategic understanding.
At the end Faisal payed for me! It was completely unexpected but I was very thankful (don't got a lot of dough to roll around in) I think I'll see if he wants to check out First Friday...
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cool. Another, Rawan huh??! Glad some people still have good taste.
ReplyDeleteMiddle Easterners generally show their generosity and pay for the group, but they take turns treating each other unless they invited you...don't let your walett get too tight ;D kiddin'; Sounds like ya'll had a good time..!