Every
afternoon Brett, who is another Naval Academy student, and I have a 2-hour PF (peer
facilitator) session at the Center with a 23-year-old aspiring journalist named
Ahmed. Last Monday, Ahmed invited to drive us to visit his college, Kuliat al
Bayan, and walk around there. The Arabic topic of the day would be media and
journalism in Oman, and Ahmed said he’d introduce us to some of his friends.
Little did Brett and I know what was going to come with this simple invitation.
Ahmed arrived promptly at the Center at 1230 and we headed off in his silver
Lexus to his college, about a 30-minute drive away. On the way there, Ahmed
lectured us on famous Arab singers like Rashid el Magid, Umm Kulthum, Ali Bahr,
and Omani native Layla Nasib. He then introduced us to the world of media and
journalism in the Arab world and how it all works. By the time we arrived to
his college, I was thinking of how strange that car ride was. It was almost as
if he was trying to get Brett and I to memorize everything right then on the
spot. I brushed that thought to the side as we walked through the main college
doors.
As
soon as we walked in, a girl in her mid-twenties walked towards us, looked at Ahmed,
and said, “Are they ready?”
“Ready?
Ready for what?” I thought.
We
were quickly ushered into a large room with a sound booth and a few cameras off
to the side. In the middle and in the spotlights was one long couch and two
sofas on either side of it. To be honest, I half expected to see Oprah Winfrey
sitting there. Well, after shaking everybody’s hands, they motioned us to sit
down. They’re probably just being nice, right? I had never been on a talk show
before, but I never really had that desire either… let alone in a different
language. After a five minute talk with them about what was going to happen
next, I started to sweat. We were going to be on camera. That one day where
your hair just isn’t sticking the way it should and you realize you forgot to
do the reading for the lecture class that starts at 3.
Before
they started filming, I asked the obvious, “So… are we going to be on national
television?”
Everyone
laughed, and the talk show host then explained that we would be on the school’s
daily television program that is streamed live during lunch break, so that
people eating in the cafeteria can entertain themselves. And I’m sure they did.
3-2-1!
Here we were on TV – yes, I’m basically famous. The biggest highlight of the
hour was when the host asked me what my favorite Arab singers were. I then
realized why Ahmed had schooled me an hour before on popular Arabic singer
names. I remembered all of them, and the people in the studio went wild when I
mentioned their favorite Omani singer, Layla Nasib. Towards the end of the
program, they asked Brett and I to sing a song for them. We decided that I
would sing the first part of “Amazing Grace,” and she would sing the last. They
absolutely loved it, well at least, Brett’s portion of it. I’m thinking maybe I
should just stick with my shower routine.
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| Ahmed al-Hitali |
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| Nice park job there... but I guess he can do that - he's the president of the student body |
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| My vantage point (you can kinda see me on the color tv screen there off to the side) |
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