Compare & Contrast.

It's really scary sometimes how, amidst the broken English and misinterpreted body language, my students are capable of talking some sense into me.

So, I have this guy in my class - he's from Saudi Arabia, in his mid 30's and married with two adorable little boys. His wife's studying here too. Given his age, he's one of the smartest students here and we often talk about life, love, experiences and food (he knows how much I love food and he just goes with it, I guess). Anyways, earlier today, we talked about love and relationships and he asked me a few questions about my past. You know how they say; it's easier to tell a stranger your deepest, darkest secrets, rather than telling your family/best friend? Well, they were so right. I ended up telling him about how my ex married my ex-bestfriend and all that jazz. He listened, and then he commented.

(FYI, English has been repaired for comprehension purposes. Thanks.)

Student: See teacher, this is the problem with this side of the world (referring to places that are not in the middle east). You get to choose your own boyfriends/girlfriends and you end up with too many choices. In the end, you start to compare your choices. So when you know this one girl is no good for you, you change, and you change, and you change. With us, it's different. I didn't get to see my wife until after we were engaged. Even then, I couldn't see her face (it was covered with her burka). Before I got engaged, we weren't allowed to "date"- see other girls, to make our own choices. My family chose the girl I was to marry and that was fine with me because I didn't know the difference. To us, it's normal to meet one girl, and fall in love with her. We didn't have to compare. All we knew was this one girl that we love, and we have to marry. When you have too many choices teacher, this is what happens, but then you only have one choice, what you have to do becomes clear. Teacher, I think if you were living in Saudi, you would have been married a long time ago (chuckles). I know teacher, you are still scared that this will happen to you again, right?

*sighhh*

I've developed a whole new level of respect for their way of life. Brings a whole new meaning to "never judge unless it is certain", huh?