Claire CP #3

March 30th, 7:15-9:45pm

Norah’s apartment

I met with Norah for the third time on Thursday. For the first hour or so we sat out under a gazebo in the courtyard of her apartment while her kids played. I brought Norah some cupcakes to congratulate her on getting accepted to FSU for her graduate program. Her husband is still awaiting an admissions decision, and we spent a lot of the evening talking about her family’s dilemma and the stress of having everything be “up in the air” about their future. Norah explained that she has come to love Tallahassee and is feeling like she will really miss it when she goes back to Saudi Arabia soon. Later, when we were inside the apartment, I saw a copy of the Qur'an on their kitchen table. I started to reach for it and asked Norah if it was indeed the Qur'an and whether I could look at it. She said it was and that I wasn’t allowed to touch it—that you must do some ritual washing first as they do before prayer. I was really surprised and quickly flung my hands back (I think I may have touched it for a second before she told me not to 😐). Norah walked over and flipped through some of the pages for me, though, so I could see the text and the decorative designs. It was really beautiful and I told her so and thanked her for showing me. Later I asked Norah about her friends back in Saudi Arabia, whether she had close friends from her childhood still or from later in her life. I really enjoyed hearing Norah describe her 4 best friends, whom she has known since grade school. It helped me put into perspective how Norah’s good friends see her and how she sees herself when she’s in her element.