Love your enemy

The culture in which we’re living is definitely hard to understand. That's why I certainly don’t mean to analyse it, I just try and share my discoveries, which to me are still like little stones building up an edifice of which I still don’t manage to get an overall view. Hope I will someday…  

The nation suffering the most stereotypes in the US is probably Saudi Arabia. But while you’d expect the Saudis to nourish hard feelings towards America, they’re actually fascinated by their culture and way of life! (Sounds familiar does it? Hint: I'm thinking about a US neighbour! Nooo, it's not Canada!)

The large majority of Saudis speak English; most of them learn it at school from a very young age. My French student Sarah mentions being much exposed to the English language and refers to the many American movies they watch. Wait a minute, aren't we talking about a country where there’s no public cinema?!

She tells me they watch a lot of US movies and series on TV or on the computer, using streaming or downloading websites! (no Hadopi law over here!) I ask her which TV series she likes watching, and she tells me she currently watches “The good wife”, the most recommended TV series of the moment! (Which I still haven’t started to watch by the way…!). 

Would you have expected that from a covered-up lady you’d cross on the street? I honestly wouldn’t have, and that’s what I love about these experiences, they bring me closer to a group of people who are not so different from us, whatever the US media want us to think.

Sarah’s oldest son went to study to the US for a year, and her second son is in Boston at the moment, he’ll stay there 5 years to study his whole university career. Of course I couldn’t help asking her if it’s complicated for them to get a visa for the US, which she confirms is a long, complicated procedure, but at least they do obtain the visa in the end. She’s relieved as I tell her we Westerners are not treated any better when it comes to US visas! She’s really glad to hear that since she thought it was a "special treatment" towards Saudis!