My definition of Foreign is something that is out of place in a given setting; something that doesn’t belong, something that stands out. This week’s theme brought back a lot of fond memories from my stay in Dubai, UAE.

Shawarma, as you may be aware, is a middle-eastern staple and you can find someone vending it at every street. Qadir bhai used to work for a fast-food joint near my place and like many others residing in Dubai, hailed from a different part of the world (South of India). A typical dinner for me (i.e. a single man with no family around) consisted of a couple of shawarmas and a can of soda, and conveniently enough, Safwa, the place where Qadir bhai worked, was right around the corner. On my frequent visits, Qadir bhai would bare pieces of his heart to me, telling me how he had not seen his family for almost two years and how he longed to get back home.

It just made me realize how foreign we were in that setting, that even though we were physically there, our hearts were always with the ones we loved. This post is an homage to Qadir bhai and his big heart.

Thank you for all the extra chicken you put in my shawarmas; I will always have fond memories of you.