Christmas Surprise

Something wonderful happened to me the other day.

In my Educational Research class I have a classmate, a girl from Turkey – let’s call her by the initials SC.  She’s Muslim (or Moslem, or however you prefer to say it) and she always wears a very pretty, colorful scarf that covers all of her hair and neck.  Now there are many Muslims in the University, but being the only one wearing a head scarf that marks you as Muslim still makes you stand out in a classroom where one could safely assume that the majority of the population is Christian.  Add to this the fact that SC is a foreigner, and very beautiful.  I honestly think hers is one of the most beautiful faces I have ever seen in my life, and the scarf accentuates her looks even more.  She is friendly and cheerful, always has a ready smile for everyone in class.  She and I happened to be grouped together during one of our class activities two weeks ago so we got to talk to one another a bit more.  The wonderful part of the whole thing is that last Wednesday as we were saying our goodbyes before parting for the Christmas Break, she came up to me and handed me a Christmas present – my very first present of the year. 

At the end of class that day, I came up to her, gave her shoulders a little squeeze (because I felt shy about giving her a hug), and said, “SC, Merry Christmas!,” and as I walked out of our classroom I suddenly realized I should not have said something that might be considered inappropriate to a Muslim girl!  But then she comes after me and hands me a beautiful woven bookmark, saying “This is my Christmas present for you.  It’s from Turkey.”  Then she held my shoulders as she gave me three kisses, alternately on both cheeks (this must be how they greet each other in Turkey).  I was so shocked I was babbling my incoherent thanks while she gave me those kisses.  I had no idea how to respond. I just kept repeating, “Thankyousomuchit’ssobeautifulI’msosurprised!”  How I wish I had something to give her then, too.  Of course I will rectify this when we see each other again in January.    It always makes me happy to receive gifts, but what made this one extra special was that it came from SC, a lovely Muslim girl who I barely know, who comes from a country and a culture I could only ever visit in pictures and in dreams, who practices a religion so misunderstood and strange to me, wishing me a heartfelt Merry Christmas.  For a very, very brief moment I suddenly believed there could possibly be such a thing as World Peace. 

Merry Christmas to all!