Kim Clauson_ CP 4

                I had the pleasure of meeting with Mohammed on Thursday, November 8, 2012.  His friend and roommate, Mubarack, also joined us.  We met on the walkover and sat on the chairs.  It was an amazing day and the air felt wonderful.  Mohammed wasn’t incredibly impressed.  He was more interested in playing with his cell phone while occasionally adding tidbits to the conversation.  Basically, we talked about his plans for his 18^th birthday that night, and also about the upcoming soccer game that the CIES team was going to participating in.  Mohammed didn’t want to make any definite plans for his birthday, but I learned later on that Alex was going to be tutoring the guys that night and they were excited about doing something celebratory.  I wasn’t one of the guys, so I didn’t pursue the conversation.  I was curious about something that I had recently learned from one of my Kuwaiti friends, so I asked him about that topic to stimulate more of a conversation.  I learned about a duwani recently and so I wanted to know if his family had one attached to his house.  Apparently, every house has a duwani.  It is a greeting room that is always available for friends to drink tea and coffee and eat dates.  I am amazed by the hospitality that the Arabic people exhibit to their friends and family.  Even though not all dwanis are available to women, there is almost always a separate one that is more feminine in its decorations, but serves the same friendly hospitable purpose.