Is It Prayer Time?

Meshari was the first to join our family. I remember the day he came to our home with his American friend, Ashley. They were paired together as conversation partners, a partnership coordinated by the Intensive English Program at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and it looked like it was a good match. Ashley spoke Arabic. Hey, that was pretty cool.

I remember walking out the front door and seeing an older model silver Honda sedan. From the driver's side there emerged a slim young man with a bright smile and an outstretched right hand poised to shake mine. Gee, I thought. He looks so happy!

We shook hands and entered the house where Meshari was greeted by our small dog, Charlie, and our large dog, Jake. Jake always makes a big first impression, and this was no exception. We tried to reassure Meshari that Jake was gentle even though he was big. It was clear that Meshari had some misgivings about Jake. Apparently, having a large dog as a pet is not very common in Saudi Arabia. When he asked to see the room, we went upstairs and showed Meshari a nice size bedroom that had a large window facing south. He seemed to think it would be fine, especially if Jake would be staying mostly downstairs.

It's nice looking back at that day and seeing how we have blended our lives together.
While moving in, Meshari helped me put some finishing touches on the bathroom he would use. He spoke of his father having tools, as together we figured out how to use a drill and install some cabinet hardware and towel hooks. I wanted to make sure there were enough wall hooks for towels and robes and things...maybe even put a nice picture over the toilet. But Meshari joked that there was enough to look at in the bathroom. It didn't have to look "like a museum." Ah, I thought, a young man of simple tastes.

During one of our first conversations, I asked Meshari when he had prayer time. I wanted to let him know that George and I knew there were certain times set aside for prayer in the Islamic faith tradition...and that we wanted to be aware of when those times were so we could be quiet and respectful. He explained that there are windows of prayer time that have some flexibility...and that the evening prayer time changes as the sun sets later. So we try to be mindful of prayer time and openly include it on our list of "to do's" if we are planning an outing or something. It's become very common place, like, "Don't forget to lock the door when you leave."

What I've come to experience over the last few months is an admiration for Meshari's prayer discipline. Even though I know that millions of people from various faith traditions have daily prayer time, it hasn't been part of my own experience, at least not as an adult. I am a former Christian who currently calls herself sort of a theistic Buddhist, because at this point in my life the philosophy and psychology of Buddhism makes more sense to me than anything else. So when Meshari has prayer time, I remind myself to pause...and be...and give thanks...and ask forgiveness.

Okay, So I Never Got Around To Joining the Peace Corps

Back in 1965 when I was 18, joining the Peace Corps was high on my to-do list. Four years later I took the road most traveled: got a diploma, got a job, got a husband. That was a lifetime ago, but throughout that lifetime I was frequently connected to people from other countries. Some were neighbors, students, colleagues, administrators, restaurant owners, and Mohammed, the sales guy from Sears who helped me pick out the electric range that would serve me well.

So I never got around to joining the Peace Corps and going to East Africa. Instead, I found myself semi-retired, teaching part-time at a community college, married to husband number two for almost 25 years, and living in a 4 bedroom 3 bath condo with Charlie, a rescued poodle with a deadpan personality, and Jake, a large lab-like submissive gentle giant who loves bananas.

I started reading about homestay when I was on the Internet exploring options for travel accommodations. Gee, if we ever did decide to travel somewhere, maybe we could be homestay guests. That certainly sounded like a more interesting and authentic way to visit France...or Italy...or Costa Rica. Within a matter of minutes, however, I learned that homestay in the U.S. is something many international students and visiting professors take an interest in because it helps them improve their English language skills and eases their adjustment to American culture.

Well, one click led to another and I ordered Cheryl Verstrate's book Homestay 101 for Hosts from Amazon.com. After reading the book I thought, "We could do that. We have an extra bedroom. We're both educators and interested in people from other cultures. Hmmmmm."

Then, what did I see posted on Craigslist, but a request for a homestay experience right here in Columbia, Missouri. So I spoke with hubby, George, who gave the okay to contact the young man. We met Meshari, a nice young man from Saudi Arabia, and exchanged several emails. We didn't make any final plans with him, so I put a post on homestayfinder.com, and within just a day or two I received an email from Gahee, a student from South Korea. She said she was already in Columbia studying English and wanted to live with an American family. Ok...one room ready and two potential homestay guests. George had the simple solution. We have two spare bedrooms, so if both want to try homestay with us, why not?

That was November 2009. This is March 2010, and we've been enjoying the company of both Meshari and Gahee since early January. I approached them both with the idea of creating a blog and both said it would be fine. The four of us find it difficult to believe that we live in Columbia, Missouri, home of the University of Missouri, Columbia College, Stephens College, and we have a vibrant population of students who attend the Columbia location for Moberly Area Community College......and there isn't a homestay coordinator or organization in town????!!!!

So...with this blog I'll do some catch up on what our little adventures have been to date and then I'll continue to share our experiences. It's our hope--Meshari's, Gahee's, George's and mine-- that perhaps others in our community--or elsewhere--will become interested in creating homestay adventures of their own.