I had just sat down at my desk when I heard the “pssstt” right behind me. I turned around and saw my good friend Omar. “Mr. Evan, we’re having a private breakfast next door” he said in a whisper. My heart jumped because I immediately knew what waited for me. Like one of Pavlov’s dogs, my mouth started to water. The sheer thought of what I was going to participate in was enough to get my salivation glands working over time. It’s not the first time I’ve had the invite, but each time I get the invitation, I relish the opportunity to start my day with my Arabic morning breakfast.
The spread is awesome. It’s not fancy nor is it eye catching, but it’s good. Usually they’ll take regular paper, newspaper or any other large throw away paper and spread it on the floor and then they put the following down on the paper. The food in front of me includes the following:
1) Fresh loaves of khubuz or Arabic bread, meaning pita or any other flat bread
2) Feta or white cheese made from goat milk or ewe's milk
3) A bowl of olives, black and green
4) Labneh, a cream cheese-like strained yogurt
5) Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
6) Peanut Butter, Honey, Melon Jam
7) Hummus
8) Hard boiled eggs
I walk in and offer the salutation, Assalam’Aleikum or “peace be unto you” and they offer back “waleikum’salam or “peace be unto you” and then its followed by some who say “Sabah al heir” or “Good morning” to which I reply, “Sabah al noir” or “Good morning to you too”. I remove my shoes and find a place to plant myself. All the men are sitting on the ground and they immediately make a spot for me and there’s no doubt that I’m the minority. I’m the only non-Muslim in the group as well as the only westerner and non-Arabic speaker. But is this an issue? Nope, they accept me as one of their own. They are wonderful people, and they are a mix of Indian’s, Pakistani’s, Saudi’s and me. I eat the food with my right hand only because my left hand is used for something else that has to do with food, but its cleaning up after the food has taken its course, so you can see why I don’t use my left hand.
Breakfast with Saudi’s isn’t just about the food, which is wonderful, but it’s about the people and the purpose. To get invited to breakfast means that you are part of the group and that they group see’s you as a part of them. In other words, you’re welcome with them no matter who you are. While Omar is usually the one that comes and get’s me, I can’t let this moment go by without mentioning my good friend Ahmed who is the “leader of the group”. He is a great example of what a manager should do to build team spirit and loyalty. He encourages time together as a team. GREAT guy.
They offer jokes to me and about me, and I get the feeling that they do it because they like me and consider me a friend, I hope. We eat, talk, trade barbs and jokes and maybe even a philosophical question or two about God, religion or politics. As they finish they one by one get up and leave and the process dwindles until there are only Me, Omar, Ahmed and another great guy by the name of Abdulaziz. These men are among many who have made my time here in Saudi Arabia a positive and wonderful experience. They show me what a good Muslim is. They are not what most people would think of when they think of Muslims. These are good God fearing men who are married with children and want what we all want, the best for their family. They don’t want to destroy you and I but they do want to live in peace and harmony with others.
Well as we finish I stay to help clean up and Ahmed say’s to me, “You are a good American” he then smiles and says, “Perhaps it’s because you have Spanish in you which means you have Arabic in you”. I take this as a compliment after he winks at me.
I go back to my desk 45 min later and finally start my day……..My morning Arabic breakfast……..what a great way to start the day.
The spread is awesome. It’s not fancy nor is it eye catching, but it’s good. Usually they’ll take regular paper, newspaper or any other large throw away paper and spread it on the floor and then they put the following down on the paper. The food in front of me includes the following:
1) Fresh loaves of khubuz or Arabic bread, meaning pita or any other flat bread
2) Feta or white cheese made from goat milk or ewe's milk
3) A bowl of olives, black and green
4) Labneh, a cream cheese-like strained yogurt
5) Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
6) Peanut Butter, Honey, Melon Jam
7) Hummus
8) Hard boiled eggs
I walk in and offer the salutation, Assalam’Aleikum or “peace be unto you” and they offer back “waleikum’salam or “peace be unto you” and then its followed by some who say “Sabah al heir” or “Good morning” to which I reply, “Sabah al noir” or “Good morning to you too”. I remove my shoes and find a place to plant myself. All the men are sitting on the ground and they immediately make a spot for me and there’s no doubt that I’m the minority. I’m the only non-Muslim in the group as well as the only westerner and non-Arabic speaker. But is this an issue? Nope, they accept me as one of their own. They are wonderful people, and they are a mix of Indian’s, Pakistani’s, Saudi’s and me. I eat the food with my right hand only because my left hand is used for something else that has to do with food, but its cleaning up after the food has taken its course, so you can see why I don’t use my left hand.
Breakfast with Saudi’s isn’t just about the food, which is wonderful, but it’s about the people and the purpose. To get invited to breakfast means that you are part of the group and that they group see’s you as a part of them. In other words, you’re welcome with them no matter who you are. While Omar is usually the one that comes and get’s me, I can’t let this moment go by without mentioning my good friend Ahmed who is the “leader of the group”. He is a great example of what a manager should do to build team spirit and loyalty. He encourages time together as a team. GREAT guy.
They offer jokes to me and about me, and I get the feeling that they do it because they like me and consider me a friend, I hope. We eat, talk, trade barbs and jokes and maybe even a philosophical question or two about God, religion or politics. As they finish they one by one get up and leave and the process dwindles until there are only Me, Omar, Ahmed and another great guy by the name of Abdulaziz. These men are among many who have made my time here in Saudi Arabia a positive and wonderful experience. They show me what a good Muslim is. They are not what most people would think of when they think of Muslims. These are good God fearing men who are married with children and want what we all want, the best for their family. They don’t want to destroy you and I but they do want to live in peace and harmony with others.
Well as we finish I stay to help clean up and Ahmed say’s to me, “You are a good American” he then smiles and says, “Perhaps it’s because you have Spanish in you which means you have Arabic in you”. I take this as a compliment after he winks at me.
I go back to my desk 45 min later and finally start my day……..My morning Arabic breakfast……..what a great way to start the day.
2 comments:
Nice to read what you posted Evan or as we love to call you (Abu Max).
The most important part for me is your positive and honest imprission about us as Saudis and as Muslims, this part our media is still failing to pass it to all ppl around the world, so we will try to pass it ourselves and only by one way:
Being as we are!!
Khalid Al Dossary
I am really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your weblog.
Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself?
Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it's rare to see a great blog like this one nowadays.
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