Betty J TT 1

April 15, 2011

I do not have a tutoring group, but two women I tutor. They could not find a common time to meet. One woman, Bushra, I met at the first Tea Time and enjoyed talking to her. We discussed Middle Eastern cuisine, recipes and spices. She has been here about eight months from Saudi Arabia and her English is a little halting, but her vocabulary is good. When we met our students to tutor, she still did not have a tutor, so I agreed.

When we discussed meeting for tutoring, she invited me to her apartment. I wondered why she did not seem to have a husband and she had not mentioned it. In the Middle East marriages are often arranged when the couple is very young and she seemed a little older. She really did seem to want me to meet at her home. As a nurse I have made many home visits to people and in neighborhoods with which I am not familiar, but am not afraid of, so I agreed.

We met at the agreed time. She was not in her customary dress, but regular clothes. She served Arabic coffee. (No matter where I visited in Kuwait someone seemed to instantly appear with Arabic coffee or tea.) We discussed the spices used and how everyone seems to have their own mix of spices in their coffee. She uses one her mother uses. She also served dates; some she bought and some her mother made. They were very sweet, but tasty.

Shortly a man entered the apartment and she introduced him as her husband. He began to cook in the kitchen. Then I heard a familiar sound. It was like a siren used in Kuwait for call to prayer; promptly at 5:15pm. I think it was playing on her computer. She excused herself in a minute and left the room. In a few minutes she entered the room with a shawl on her head, said something quickly to her husband and again left the room. She returned in a few minutes. When I was in Kuwait someone would go to prayer after the siren sounded.

We discussed what she was learning and what she wanted help with. She has a degree in Neuroscience and plans to get her Masters and Ph.D. She is also taking the GRE soon. No matter what we study, she wants me to correct her speech promptly.

When we finished the session, I was invited to eat dinner with them. By now there was a wonderful fragrance from the open kitchen into the living room. I was afraid I would insult them if I turned them down, so joined them for dinner. The table was already set for three. We dined on Majboose which was rice and lamb and a very finely diced salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and mint with olive oil and lemon juice. I was very surprised that her husband had been cooking and complimented him on his culinary expertise. He said he had been cooking since he was ten years old.

I learned so much from them. Now I need to work on a lesson plan.