Kasper - CP 2

On Tuesday afternoon, I met up with Fahd and Alaa for lunch at the circle K across from CIES. It was difficult for both of us to find something to eat there. The selection of food is quite small, Fahd settled on a tuna sandwich, snickers and a coke. I settled for a smoothie and trail mix. We went outside to sit with the other students and started eating our "lunch". I asked how the tuna sandwich tasted and Fahd replied "First and last!". I told him that most of the sandwiches were most likely old and of low quality. I asked him about saudi fast food places and the usual suspects (McD's, BurgerKing, Subway) are all there. But burgers taste much better in Saudi Arabia he didnt know why but they do. Perhaps they use different spices and toppings. I told him is the same thing in Nicaragua, they also bring your food to you and its more of a sit down place. Not many people can afford to eat there either. Also, we compared places like Chili's and Fridays, are restaurants reserved for special occasions.
Both Fahd and Alaa are anxious to travel to Miami and go to the beach. I told them its great place to go but can get expensive. Also, the media paints a different picture of what Miami is and isn't. They are trying to go before "Ramadan" that starts on August 1st and last through the month. I asked what is the meaning of "Ramadan" and they couldnt give me a straight definition. They explained they eat before sunrise and after sunset and they pray more. I asked if it was difficult but according to Alaa, your body gets used to it. For them its a away to be humble for a month and for that period all Saudi's are the same. Its something foreign to me since I'm not religious at all.
Both of them said that most people think Saudi Arabia is just dessert, oil fields and people walking around in white robes. They told me that their home city is big and looks like a city you can find in the US. The people dont all dress with the traditional white robes. They also commented is the same for the US,movies and tv focus on the big cities and many saudi's think all US cities are like NY. I like comparing the different cultures we have in our group and seeing how people think of the US and Saudi Arabia is seen from the outside.
I'm looking forward to dinner later tonight, should be good time.