Core Questions and Answers

1.    What could SCSU do to make your stay on campus better?

I like staying at SCSU. Although there is this one thing I wish they could change. Parking lots are so expensive for students who have long hours to attend. I suggest to give the student an offer per semester. Like $50 for the whole semester. By that we can go to our classes without worrying to pay $6 or so on parking each day.

2.    Could you tell me a secret about yourself that very few people here know about and that shows us well, who you are and what you stand for?

There is a secret that no one might know about me, I hate high places. I cannot go to very high building and look down. I got that from an accident that happened to me when I was a little kid. I was on the roof of my house playing soccer with my cosine. The ball stocked in the edge of the roof, I tried to pull it out of there and I almost fall! Luckily my older brother was coming up and he pulled me out of there. I got punished of course but I believe I deserved it!! 

3.    Which country`s food do you like the most? What are the similarities and differences between it and your own culture`s food?

I personally love restaurants foods more than homemade. Italian food is my favorite of all times. I love all kinds of pastas not that much with pizzas though. Italia foods are very different from my culture food. We in Saudi Arabia idolize the rise. We do all kind of meals with rise. I think the only similarity between the Italian and the Saudi food is that they are both delightful.

4.    What are the typical greetings in your culture and what do they mean?

We usually shake hands to the stranger or even to a close person just to say hi. We kiss on cheeks to those who are really close to us, or the ones that we haven’t see them in a while. It kind of means that you really miss them. We also do hug the people that has a special place in our hearts. For example, my mother, father, brother, sister, and a really close friend.

5.    What kind of government is in charge of your home country, how did it affect your life and how has democracy in America been a change?

It is a kingdome system. The son take the leadership after his father. We do not have the same democracy like the US. Thing do not get done just by voting, the government decides everything and hopefully for the best.

6.    What different modes of transportation are used in your country?

We only have one train in the whole country. It sounded funny while I’m writing it. He use buses for the long distance traveling. The main transportation is the car. Only a small persantage of people do not have car, so you will not see that much of taxi drivers.

7.    At what age do you start school? Are you under a lot of stress in school??

We start at age 5 or 6. It depends on the parents when do they want to assigne their children. Some of them go to school early and take the class twice just to get a better education in it. I do not remember that I had lots of stress in the beginning. However, as the years pass by the classes get more difficult. My favorite period in the school life was high school, I can’t forget those beautiful memories with my best friends.

8.    What religious holidays or other cultural events do you or others celebrate; can you explain your traditions for each? 

We do have to main celebration in our culture. We have what called “Eid Al Futer” which comes after fasting the month “Ramadan” We eat food in the early morning because we were fasting the whole month, so it is kind of award for us from Allah “God”.

The other celebration called “ Eid Al Adh’ha”. We celebrate that after we go to the Holy mosque and do “Al Haj” Muslims do that every year. But it is only required ones in your life. What we do in that celebration is we kill cheeps and donate the food for poor people.

9.    Do you have any daily rituals in regards to your religious beliefs?

Not other than praying 5 times a day. We pray at the early morning before the sun rises, at noon, after noon, at the sunset, and ngiht.

10.How would you describe famous sports in your country?

The only sport in my country is Soccer. You will not see a lot of people loving basketball or so. I personally love basketball, not a big fan of Soccer. When a soccer event comes, everybody will go and watch it.

11 .Can you describe a typical day for a child in your country?

If you were a middle class childe, like I was. I get up in the morning. Go to school, and come back home. The fun starts when my friends call to play soccer out in the street. We play for hours and after that we go to be a normal kid who watch kids shows. I was a big fan of kid shows. I stay in front of the TV for hours without feeling that.