Last Saturday we visited Mohammed's cousin Ali in Sweihan, at least thirty kilometers from Al Ain after you take the exit for Sweihan and Al Saad from the Al Ain-Abu Dhabi highway. As we approached the oryx round-about where we were to meet Mohd., we passed a long train of army trucks hauling tanks, at least nine of them. When we got to the round-about we didn't at first recognize Mohd. because he was not wearing a kandoora, he was in shorts and sandals wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and a bandanna on his head. He was driving the same vehicle his friend was driving in California, a dark red Nissan Titan, which he had subsequently shipped to the UAE. We greeted each other and just at that moment the caravan of army trucks reached the r/a and an army officer officiously directed the convoy to go through without stopping, temporarily closing off the r/a though there was no traffic at all since we were in the boondocks of the eastern region of Abu Dhabi emirate.

I had first met Ali in Ohio where he and Mohd., who I had met before in Denver, were passing through on the way back to Colorado from Cleveland. I remember they were tired and prayed in one of our bedrooms upstairs. Mohd. was impressed by the view of the farmer's field of crops adjoining my backyard. He seemed to take it in with a deep breath.

Ali's farm we visited later that afternoon, but we first went to his brother's farm and were welcomed in the 'majlis' with cheese, hard-boiled egg and 'zatar' sandwiches, boiled chickpeas, beans ('fool' in Arabic), tea, and fresh dates. We sat on the floor with cushions, the food placed on the floor as well, in the traditional style. We first met Ali's two younger sons, one sporting a camouflage cap that is common these days for children and adolescent boys despite the strange juxtaposition with the traditional kandoora, and the other with a red and white checked cloth wrapped around his head. We talked mostly about the construction of the house we were in, whose walls were made of red sand and white cement, and my brother's straw bale house in Colorado, and alternative and herbal medicine. Khalid, the eldest son then came and Mohd. made a joke about him, saying that he was the brother of Ali since he is taller than his father. Khalid was not shy like his younger brothers because he spoke English well. He even used the expression, 'I didn't get your names' after he shook hands with all of us. After he offered us dates I noticed that he washed one in a bowl of water before he ate it. I did not know this custom and after I had eaten one without washing it, I caught him out on it