The Ignorance of the American Dream

Yesterday I sat down with a fellow English teacher to discuss a project of his.

A married man with two children, working two jobs and trying to finish his PhD dissertation, Najib is more than just a little busy. But he agreed to help me with my Arabic in return for my help on his project. My end of the bargain requires me to transcribe English newscasts and write questions for students of English, the results of which Najib will examine in his research.

After we worked out the details for my transcriptions and his Arabic help, we sat in the cafe and chatted as if time did not exist.

Unlike many of my other Moroccan co-workers, Najib lived in the United States at length. He won the US visa lottery and spent a number of years in North Carolina and the Northeast.

Leaning back, his right ankle propped on his left knee, he took a long drag from his cigarette. "You know, I almost married an American girl."

"No, really?" I smiled, eager for the story.

"Yeah, I was younger then. Long hair...a soccer player. Her mother hated me, and she let me know it."

I mentioned the negative attitudes of the parents' of one of the other American teachers towards her Moroccan boyfriend. Najib, sporting a crew cut and stylish business attire, affirmed the similarities.

Staring off towards the corner of the cafe, he continued, "I was really attracted by America. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life there...America..."

"But you just liked it too much back here?"

"Well, I was going to enroll at UNC, get a degree...but it was just too expensive. I had to work two jobs just to live. I couldn't afford tuition."

"That's true for a lot of immigrants I think...they have big plans but then they just start working and a few decades later they're doing the same thing."

Najib paused for a moment, "I worked in a kitchen for a while." Then he looked at me directly. "It was a good job," he said waving his hand away. "But it wasn't for me. I moved to New York and worked as a taxi driver for a while. And then I decided to come back here. I applied to teach English, got the job. I got married..."

His voice faded as he stared once again into the furthest reaches of the cafe.