Eugene Lee (Janelle)

Professor Frances McCue

Honors 205
November 24, 2014
Word Count: 2639
Sophies Summer

In a small town in northern California called Ferndale, an eleven-year-old girl

named Sophie lived with her parents and her little brother. Sophie was an ordinary girl
with ordinary hobbies: she liked to play ball outside with her neighbors, have sleepovers
with her girl friends, and watch Disney movies. She had a pretty face with large blue
eyes, cherry red lips, and silky blonde curls. Her heart was even prettier than her face.
She cared about the people around her and wanted to help them. She would volunteer to
do chores for her parents. She would be the first to comfort her brother whenever he burst
into tears. She would sit by anyone who was alone during lunch at school. She would
always brighten peoples days with her cheerful smile. Everyone who knew Sophie saw
her kindness, and wondered whose day she might make better next.
Sophie had a grandfather who lived in Oman. She knew that Oman was a small
country south of Iran, east of Saudi Arabia, and west of India. She had last seen her
grandfather when she was five years old. She didnt know much about him, except that
he had gray hair and a handsome smile and that he went to Oman to do research and to
help people. Sophie was proud of her grandfather.
One sunny day in May, Sophie came home from school, humming a song from
Aladdin, her favorite Disney movie.
A whole new world... A new fantastic point of view
Hey, Sophie, called her mother.

Yes, Mom? Sophie hurried over to the living room. Something about her
mothers voice told Sophie that there was good news. Sophie sat down on the sofa next to
her mother.
Hi, sweetheart. I have good news for you!
Oh, what is it? Sophie asked, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.
You can visit your grandfather this summer in Oman for two weeks, said her
mother. He mailed us a plane ticket so you could fly over there. He says he misses you.
Sophies eyes widened with excitement. Mom, that is so awesome! I can finally
see Grandpa again. This will be the best summer ever! She exclaimed with joy. She
started to think about all the fun that she would have in Oman with her grandfather. Go
shopping, go to fancy restaurants, play at the beach Wait, but how was that any
different from having a vacation in California? Sophie wanted to know how Oman might
be different.
Mom, what is Oman like?
Mmm, her mother thought, you know Aladdin, your favorite Disney movie? It
takes place in Arabia. Oman is an Arab country, so it is kind of like the place where
Aladdin and Jasmine live. Its a very different place from here.
Where Aladdin lives! This made Sophie so much more excited for Oman. She
imagined the belly-dancing women, little monkeys like Abu running around in the streets,
the elephants, the camels, and the beautiful castles. She thought of buying clothes that
will make her look like Princess Jasmine. Maybe, she thought, Grandpa would let her get
a pet monkey of her own.

But remember, her mother warned, a lot of people in the U.S. think that Arab
countries are dangerous. The people there are very different. But even if they look
strange, dont stare; I dont want you getting in any trouble. Always stay by Grandpas
side, okay?
Sophie nodded. She promised her mother that she would be very careful.
Because Sophie was so anxious to go to Oman, the next few weeks left of school
passed by very slowly. Finally, on the last day of school, Sophies parents took Sophie to
the airport. Sophie, only eleven, didnt know much about flying on her own, so a friendly
stewardess named Clarissa was to look after her throughout the plane ride.
Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! Sophie gave her parents a last goodbye hug. This was
the first time she would be away from home, alone, for more than a few days. Still, she
was more excited than worried about her trip. She looked back one last time at her
parents, gave them a reassuring smile, and was off.
The plane ride went by rather quickly for Sophie, thanks to lots of movies and
sleeping. Awoken by a womans voice announcing that the plane had arrived at Oman,
Sophie scrambled up and got ready to get off the plane. Clarissa guided Sophie out of the
airport. On the way, Sophie noticed men with cloth over their heads and women covered
in colorful clothes. She became sure that this place was Aladdin and Jasmines home. She
wanted to be friendly and say hello to these people, like she would to everyone back
home, but she remembered her mothers advice and decided to look away. Soon, she was
out of the airport and was standing in front of a huge crowd of people. Her eyes searched
for her grandfather.

Grandpa! Sophie shouted, spotting the familiar face. Her grandfathers eyes
soon found her, too.
Sophie! He called, with a huge grin on his face.
They ran to each other and embraced. Sophie remembered the smell of his shirt:
the smell of fresh leaves mixed with the scent of old books.
Youve grown so much! Much like a lady, now. Grandpa stroked Sophies hair.
This made Sophie happy. A lady! She liked Grandpa very much, and knew that her
summer vacation in Oman was going to be a great one.
The next day, Sophie and her grandfather went out to the market. Sophie expected
to see all sorts of foods and items that she had never seen before, women in colorful
clothes belly dancing, people playing music on the streets, monkeys and camels and
elephants roaming about, and pretty buildings like Princess Jasmines castle. She
expected to see a magical world.
But when Sophie arrived at the market, she was surprised to find something
different. The market that was supposed to be magical was a lot more familiar to Sophie
than she had thought. She saw ordinary objects like shoes, t-shirts, snacks, and toys on
sale just like at markets in California. She saw mothers and daughters shopping for
clothes just like she and her mother would back home. She saw some women belly
dancing and some people playing strange musical instruments, but not very many. She
didnt see animals like monkeys or camels or elephants. A lot of the buildings she passed
by were not much different from what she was used to seeing: rectangular with windows
and signs. She even saw some billboard signs with advertisements.

Confused, Sophie looked up at her grandfather. Grandpa, isnt Oman where the
movie Aladdin takes place?
Grandpa paused and looked down at Sophie. What makes you say that?
Well, Mom said so. So I thought Oman was supposed to have a lot of belly
dancers, monkeys, elephants, and camels. And also pretty castles like Princess
Jasmines, explained Sophie.
Sophies grandfather chuckled. Is that what you expected to see when you came
here? Well, thats understandable. I had a similar thought when I first moved here, too.
But learning more about the people and culture here made me change my mind, he said.
Did you know that the town Aladdin and Jasmine live in is not a real place?
Not a real place? What do you mean?
The people who made the movie made up a fake city called Agrabah in Arabia,
the part of Asia where all of the Arab countries are. In Agrabah, people ride camels,
women belly dance, men wear turbans, and thieves live on the streets. In the beginning of
the movie, Aladdin himself actually steals food and clothes to live off of.
Is there no real place where all of those are true? asked Sophie. It made her
rather sad to think that the story of Aladdin doesnt happen in a real place. Coming to
Oman, she had wished that she would find a place that was exactly like Aladdins town,
called Agrabah according to her grandfather.
These things do happen in a lot of the Arab countries. But Aladdin exaggerates
those patterns of Arab life without basing them on a city that actually exists, said her
grandfather. It makes the Arab way of life seem exotic and uncivilized, very different
from the normal and better way of American life. This way of describing Arab

peoples and cultures is called orientalism.

Orientalism? Sophie had never heard of the word before.
Yes. It is a term for how the WestEuropean and American peoplesees the
EastAsian, Middle Eastern peopleas strange and lesser than the West. It makes
Western people think certain things about Eastern people that are not always true: that
they wear strange clothes, ride strange animals like camels and elephants, and live in
buildings that look different and older.
Listening to her grandfathers explanation, Sophie could see why those things
were not always true. The Omani market that they were at sold all kinds of clothing like
shirts and pants that were similar to American clothes. The people didnt ride camels or
elephants. Most of the buildings looked very familiar.
The two walked along the streets of the market for a few more minutes. Sophie
remembered to hold tightly onto her grandfathers hands to stay safe. Then, she felt a tug
on her hand.
Sophie, lets go check on that girl over there, her grandfather suggested.
Sophie looked the way her grandfather was looking. She saw a girl around her age
dressed as a belly dancer. With long black hair, the girl reminded Sophie of Princess
Jasmine. But instead of dancing, she was sitting on the ground. Her face looked sad.
Sophie immediately felt the need to go help the girl, and make her day better with an act
of kindness. But then she remembered her mothers warning. She didnt know what to
do.

Grandpa, Sophie tugged at his shirt, is it safe to talk to people here? Mom told
me to be careful because people in Arab countries are different from us and can be
dangerous.
Her grandfather let out a sigh and smiled. Sophie, I must tell you that a lot of
people in the U.S. think that way about Arab people. That is another part of orientalism:
people in the West think that those in the East are unsafe and should be avoided.
Then people here arent actually that dangerous? Sophie asked, hoping in her
heart that this was true.
I mean, there will always be bad, dangerous people, just like in Ferndale, just
like in any place in the world, her grandfather answered. But that also means that, like
anywhere else in the world, there are good, kind people in the Middle East. In fact, the
chances of meeting a good person here are higher than the chances of running into a bad
one. And Im sure it is the same case back home in California.
Sophie thought about this. It all made sense! People were people, and it didnt
make sense to think that people in Eastern countries are any less friendly than people in
Western countries just because they live in a different place. Then she thought of her
mother, who had warned her that people in Oman were dangerous. But Grandpa just said
that that wasnt always true. How could this be? Sophie thought her mother was always
right.
But remember, her grandfather added just in time, I dont mean to say that
people who are affected by orientalism are bad people. Most of the time, they cant help
it because the culture that they belong to believes it. I just hope that you, Sophie, can
understand that often times those beliefs are not true.

Encouraged by what her grandfather told her, Sophie decided to walk over to the
girl sitting on the ground.
Hi, Sophie held out her hand. My name is Sophie.
Luckily, the girl spoke good English. Hi, she took Sophies hand, looking a
little surprised. My name is Zaida.
Zaida, what are you doing here? Sophie asked. Youre dressed as a belly
dancer. You remind me of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin! I dont know if you know that
movie.
Aladdin! Its my favorite. It reminds me of home, even though some parts of it
dont seem quite right. Thank you, I love Princess Jasmine. I would love to remind
people of her. Zaidas deep, brown eyes grew happier.
Aladdin is my favorite movie, too! Sophie shouted, happy to find that they had
something in common. But how come youre not dancing?
Oh, I was, but I kept messing up. I really want to dance well, but its hard.
Zaidas face became sad.
This reminded Sophie of the time when she really wanted to shoot a basketball
into the hoop but couldnt. When she was about to give up, her neighbor Sean had come
up to her and offered to practice with her. Sophie remembered how Sean had helped her
gain confidence and become good at basketball. She wanted to do the same for Zaida.
Dont worry! Once, I couldnt shoot a basketball right, but when my friend
started practicing with me, I got better at it. Would you let me practice belly dancing with
you? I would love to learn.

Of course! I would love to have a friend to belly dance with. I can teach you the
basics! Zaida agreed. All the sadness was gone from her eyes.
From that day on, Sophie met with Zaida everyday to belly dance together.
During their time together, they found many similarities that they shared. Not only did
they both love Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, but they also were eleven years old, had a
younger brother, wanted a sister, and loved to help people. During the two weeks of
Sophies time in Oman, the two girls grew very close. Sophie did the same things with
Zaida that she had done with her friends back home: they had slumber parties, went
shopping, ate ice cream, and watched Disney movies. They became like sisters to one
another that they both had always wanted.
Sophies new friendship with Zaida helped Sophie realize that she could make
friends with anyone, no matter how they look or dress. Even in such a far away country
such as Oman, she had found someone who has many things in common with her. To
Sophie, Zaidas friendship made far away places seem closer, and the world seem
smaller.
Two weeks flew by, and it was time for Sophie to say goodbye to Oman, to her
grandfather, to Zaida. At the airport, Sophie hugged Grandpa and Zaida one last time.
Bye, Grandpa! Bye, Zaida! I will visit you again. Or maybe you guys can visit
me next time. The three of them smiled. Sophie joined Clarissa once again for her flight
back to California. She was sad to leave, but happy that she was able to spend two weeks
of her summer in Oman and make wonderful memories.
Once she got on the plane, Sophie slowly walked up the aisle to find her seat.
When she finally found it, she was surprised to find a Middle Eastern man in the seat

right next to her. He was dark-skinned and wore a turban. Because he looked different, it
would have been easy for Sophie to be scared away from sitting next to him. But Sophie
had learned something these past two weeks. She reminded herself that this man was
probably as friendly and caring as any person she could meet back home, and that they
most likely shared something in common. Where most people would have been afraid,
Sophie saw an opportunity to make a friend. She took a seat and held out her hand.
Hi, she smiled. My name is Sophie.