Ben CP #5

I met with Ali my Saudi conversation partner on Wednesday in the CIES courtyard. We had a pretty good conversation about politics in America and Saudi Arabia. It was interesting to hear about the Saudi royal family from his perspective. When the Saudi King died last year Ali and his family were on vacation, and when they found out they tried to hide this information from Ali’s father because of his strong feelings for the King. When the father did eventually find out they cut their vacation short so that Ali’s father could mourn. That same scenario happening in America would be a lot less common. I was also interested to hear that the Saudi Arabian “third in command” is in his early 30’s, which is in contrast to the majority of the other leaders of Saudi Arabia who are at least in their 70’s or older. We talked a little bit more about international football which Ali is very much into and happy to talk about. I’m more of a casual fan but loved having a conversation about it with someone who is more passionate and knowledgeable about the subject.