Seldom will I ever had the chance to talk to a beautiful mind. Seldom will somebody can really connect you to something that stimulates your senses and make you stop and listen to what he or she might be saying. These are special times and quite a rarity.
In a conversation to a new acquaintance, I am having a hard time cracking myself open and start a little chatter about something that of little importance. I am so shy, unless there is something in this person that lightens up and usher me to strike a line, a joke, just to break the ice.
Something that tickles an interest. I must confess, making yourself interesting is hard, but it is a lot harder to be genuinely interested to somebody who is opening up to you for the very first time.
And I met this beautiful mind in a far-fetched place somewhere in Fujairah. He is a Syrian. His name is Wajdi. A simple man. No pretensions, contented of who he is. And though his present status would allow him to choose his friends meticulously, he would rather not. No prejudices of whatsoever. And I must say that he have this. A beautiful mind.
When I visited Ann and there he was, interestingly fragile, is aloof at first. If not for Ann and Beth (Ann’s friend), the connection might have been lost somewhere. And how in the world that an Orthodox would comfortably mingle with a bunch of Filipinos like us. I believe there would be some cultural clashes in between.
But wait, he doesn’t look like an intruder. He looks like a lamb who is not fond of complaining and whining about his life’s travails. When he talks about his country and his way of life, he can vividly describe it in words. It’s such a wonder to imagine that you are seeing it first-hand in your mind like a map. I never had imagined how he eloped some of the traps I have made during our conversations. This I intentionally do, just for the purpose of cutting short a probable senseless chatter, if the case maybe.
But amazingly, he would come up with a fresh perspective on a topic, and he can keep up with the task to make the conversation flowing and interesting. Then unknowingly, the hours would stretch longer due to the countless exchanges of opinions and anecdotes.
Wajdi is not your ordinary guy. He is someone, who never eats red meat, shuns too much eating especially rice. He would just be contented of his Arabic bread with some unknown herbs on it. Though, in between his stories of childhood, it was quite clear to me that he is used to this eating pattern. One time, I sarcastically told him, that he might end up as tasteless to me if I would be a lycan or a monster ready to devour him. And he would just smile innocently.
And on my last day in Fujairah, I told him that if I would be given a chance to bring him to Dubai, for being a good conversationalist with his witty and intelligent arguments, I said, I would chop him part by part and put him on my luggage. And he just smiled there. He nodded, and said that I can do so if I really want to. That was meant for a joke.
Read Full Post »
Solitude Amidst the Maddening Crowd
Beautiful Mind
Posted in Current Affairs, Essay, Memoirs, Prose, Relationships, Social Commentary, Society, Travel, tagged anecdotes, beautiful mind, bread, conversation, culture, Essay, fragile, herbs, ice, joke, lamb, luggage, map, ordinary, perspective, Prose, senses, time, words on August 22, 2008| 3 Comments »
Seldom will I ever had the chance to talk to a beautiful mind. Seldom will somebody can really connect you to something that stimulates your senses and make you stop and listen to what he or she might be saying. These are special times and quite a rarity.
In a conversation to a new acquaintance, I am having a hard time cracking myself open and start a little chatter about something that of little importance. I am so shy, unless there is something in this person that lightens up and usher me to strike a line, a joke, just to break the ice.
Something that tickles an interest. I must confess, making yourself interesting is hard, but it is a lot harder to be genuinely interested to somebody who is opening up to you for the very first time.
And I met this beautiful mind in a far-fetched place somewhere in Fujairah. He is a Syrian. His name is Wajdi. A simple man. No pretensions, contented of who he is. And though his present status would allow him to choose his friends meticulously, he would rather not. No prejudices of whatsoever. And I must say that he have this. A beautiful mind.
When I visited Ann and there he was, interestingly fragile, is aloof at first. If not for Ann and Beth (Ann’s friend), the connection might have been lost somewhere. And how in the world that an Orthodox would comfortably mingle with a bunch of Filipinos like us. I believe there would be some cultural clashes in between.
But wait, he doesn’t look like an intruder. He looks like a lamb who is not fond of complaining and whining about his life’s travails. When he talks about his country and his way of life, he can vividly describe it in words. It’s such a wonder to imagine that you are seeing it first-hand in your mind like a map. I never had imagined how he eloped some of the traps I have made during our conversations. This I intentionally do, just for the purpose of cutting short a probable senseless chatter, if the case maybe.
But amazingly, he would come up with a fresh perspective on a topic, and he can keep up with the task to make the conversation flowing and interesting. Then unknowingly, the hours would stretch longer due to the countless exchanges of opinions and anecdotes.
Wajdi is not your ordinary guy. He is someone, who never eats red meat, shuns too much eating especially rice. He would just be contented of his Arabic bread with some unknown herbs on it. Though, in between his stories of childhood, it was quite clear to me that he is used to this eating pattern. One time, I sarcastically told him, that he might end up as tasteless to me if I would be a lycan or a monster ready to devour him. And he would just smile innocently.
And on my last day in Fujairah, I told him that if I would be given a chance to bring him to Dubai, for being a good conversationalist with his witty and intelligent arguments, I said, I would chop him part by part and put him on my luggage. And he just smiled there. He nodded, and said that I can do so if I really want to. That was meant for a joke.
Read Full Post »