Part 6

“Are you sure you don't want to eat something?” I ask.

”I am going to have a bowl of chicken soup and some roast pork with potatoes and vegetables.” I am really hungry. I haven't eaten since yesterday.

“OK, if you insist,” she says, “I'll just have spaghetti with meat sauce.”

She leans over. Her face is close to mine. I can smell the beer on her breath.

“Why did you go to Egypt last year?” she says in a loud voice. She sprays a little beer in my face. I don't really mind, but I don't want to answer.

I just say, “I have always been interested in Egypt.”

“Oh, is that why you started studying Arabic? “ she asks.

“You could say that,” I answer. “That is certainly one reason. When you get interested in a place, you want to learn the language. It also works the other way around. If you learn a language, you then want to visit the country where the language is spoken.”