Peterson Weller is a six-foot-tall, brown-skinned and green-eyed, athletic and breathtakingly handsome young man who is trying to make a difference in the world. That's right, this brother isn't just pretty, he wants to make the world a better place. Born in the City of Detroit, Michigan, to a Jamaican immigrant father and a white mother, he is the son of two completely different worlds. Peterson is studying anthropology at Wayne State University and wants to celebrate anthropology within the African context. To that end, Peterson is spending a semester at Balbala University in the Capital region of Djibouti. This is the tale of his adventures...
A lot of Americans make the mistake of doing the fish out of water thing when visiting countries where the dominant language isn't English. Peterson isn't like that. The brother spent a year studying Arabic prior to coming to Djibouti. The lovely nation of Djibouti used to be part of Somalia until the French partitioned it ages ago. While Somalia continues to have problems such as rebels, warlords and Peterson read somewhere that Djibouti is home to the loveliest ladies in the world. The brother has got to come explore this stuff, in the interests of science and cross-cultural understandings.
There are quite a few great schools in the nation of Djibouti, such as the University of Djibouti, located in Djibouti City, the nation's capital. Peterson opted for the less well-known but just as lively Balbala University. Upon enrolling in classes, Peterson surprised the local students with his charm and his knowledge of the Arabic language and Islamic culture. Peterson soon became quite popular. This caught the attention of certain high-ranking Balbala University academics, especially the Dean of Students.
"As Salaam Alaikum," Peterson said as he entered the Dean's Office at the Balbala University campus. As always, he was polite and friendly. Dr. Fatima Aden, the Dean of Students, looked at the brother standing before her. Educated at the prestigious King Khalid University in Saudi Arabia, as well as Cambridge College in the United Kingdom, Dr. Fatima Aden is a formidable scholar. After working in the United Kingdom and America for a decade, Dr. Fatima Aden returned to her homeland of Djibouti to educate young minds. This lady doesn't tolerate fools.
Dr. Fatima Aden looked Peterson up and down before replying. There was something odd about this young man. Peterson reminded Dr. Fatima Aden of handsome Afro-Arabian men that she encountered while visiting Mauritania and Qatar during her younger days. The American accent dispelled all such notions the moment Peterson opened his mouth. Yeah, even though the young man spoke Arabic decently, he still sounded foreign as hell. Oh well, nobody's perfect.
"Walaikum Salaam, is our campus to your liking?" Fatima Aden asked as she licked her lips. The tall, curvy and brown-skinned, forty-something Djiboutian Muslim woman looked at the biracial young man and frowned. Peterson had a habit of staring whenever a pretty Djiboutian lady so much as looked her way. In the Islamic world, men and women are respectful of one another but certain norms are not meant to be transgressed. Americans are a bawdy people and their manners are often lacking. Fatima was willing to give Peterson some leeway but only up to a certain point.
"Yes, ma'am, the Balbala University campus is awesome," Peterson said with a grin. Fatima nodded and once more took the measure of the man before her. The seemingly ingenue young American was quite popular with the ladies on campus. In fact, according to Fatima's good friend Zahra, the administrator at the Al Hamid dormitory, where the young men sleep, Peterson has a habit of sneaking young women in after hours. The American stud is good in the sack, if the gossip on campus is to be believed.
