Shokufeh is... home

How we met

People often ask how Sam and I met. The short answer is, "At school." The amusing short answer is, "In the elevator." This week marks six years since we met. We're not sure of the exact date, just that it was the first week of the semester, which followed Martin Luther King Day. People also often ask, "Did you know he was the one?" The answer is no, not at the time. But I think it's interesting that we both remember the meeting, since that can't be said for everyone we know.

We were both in the elevator after class.
"Hi, I'm Sam. I think we're in the same Infectious Disease Epi class."
"Hi, I'm Shokufeh." I'd seen him a little while before, in the classroom, wearing his red plaid flannel shirt. I wasn't drawn to him. Just curious. Who's that guy? What's he doing in this class? The rest of us have already been here a semester, and I've never seen him before.

Five minutes after the brief and inpersonal encounter in the elevator, I went to the copy center, and there he was.
"Hi, again."
"Hi," I said.

From January 1998 until October 10, 1998, the above was the sum total of our conversation. I observed him in our class over the semester, and he seemed like a nice guy. There was a part of me that regretted not appropriately responding to his overtures. Don't get my hubby wrong, these were not, "Hey, Baby," overtures. These were, "Hi, I'm new in school, and don't know anyone," overtures. Either way, I'd missed my chance in the elevator. And in the copy room. And my lack of social skills, the knowledge that I would be leaving the country in a few months, and my satisfaction with the friends I already had, meant that I didn't make the effort to strike up another conversation with him.

Luckily, I got another chance. Peace Corps in the Gambia wasn't my cup of tea, and I left after a few months, going back to Tulane to take a few more classes. A few weeks after my return, one of my friends threw herself a birthday party. I was one of the first people there, and when Sam walked up the stairs, I walked up and said, "Hi, I'm Shokufeh." From there, our friendship developed, and eventually grew into more. But it all started in the elevator.