Casey CP #2

For our second conversation partner meeting, Dakhil and I met at Starbucks again on January 28th, 2020. To begin our conversation we made casual talk about what kind of Starbucks drinks we like to have which led us into a deeper conversation about drinking coffee, having sugary food and beverages, and fast food are all a part of the American diet. Dakhil told me about some of the popular foods eaten in Saudi Arabia, especially in his city Riyadh, like Kabsa. We talked about how there is little Arab cuisine to choose from in Tallahassee which is disappointing but not surprising. In our first meeting, Dakhil mentioned how he had lost a lot of weight over the last few years which he explained today was from him getting a gastric bypass surgery in his country. He recalled his past health and believes he is much happier now than before.  He felt encouraged from seeing his own brother have the surgery done and to see him as a much happier person. This conversation led us to discussing the healthcare system in Saudi Arabia and just how advanced their social systems are for the citizens. It is amazing to me how fast the Saudi citizens can have surgery done all at little or no cost out-of-pocket. I learned a lot about the technology used by the government to track all services offered by the government through one "portal". Even attendance documentation at the religious capital Mecca is listed under this portal. Dakhil told me people were even beginning to get married over a facetime-like system with officiants that process marriage licenses online. I was shocked to hear this and thought it was quite amusing. Dakhil and I set up our next meeting for February 4th, 2020.