She was young, white, married, and a student at a large southwestern university. Having helped her husband get his degree, now it was her turn and she was busily cramming as much into as short a time as possible to finish her degree. This semester she was required to take a philosophy course to meet the requirements for graduation. As she settled in the classroom for the first time, she noticed that this was not going to be one of the large impersonal classes she had seen so much of in her short time at this university. Rather there were only about 20 students in the room. As she took her seat, she spoke to those immediately around her and was greeted in return. One of the young men near her was a black man with an intriguing accent. Later, she discovered that he was Nigerian, the son of a high-ranking official in that country.
The course progressed and soon they were assigned to write their first research paper. The papers were required to be typed. Alas, as befitted a Nigerian man, her friend did not type. In Nigeria, men do not type or do other things relegated to women. What was he going to do? Being new in the United States, he did not know how to find a typist on such short notice. She volunteered to type his paper for him saying that it would be no trouble at all as she had been an executive secretary and was a fast typist. The only requirement was that he give her his draft copy as soon as possible to give her time to prepare it and get it back into his hands for proofreading. Finally, he agreed that this would be the best solution and at their next meeting he handed her several pages of neatly printed copy expounding on his ideas. As she typed them, she was amazed at his thoughts on the subject and his command of the language. She thoroughly enjoyed reading it. She returned the typewritten paper to him at their next class meeting. He was extremely pleased with her work and wanted to pay her for it. She refused payment, saying it was no trouble at all. He insisted that some form of payment was necessary, offering, at least to take her out to dinner. She tentatively agreed, saying she'd have to clear it with her husband and saying that this would only be acceptable if she were allowed to type the remainder of his papers during the class.
Their class discussions were continued afterward as he walked her to her next class, even though his next class was nearby and hers was on the other side of the campus. He said he couldn't allow her to walk around campus unescorted as long as he was able to attend her. She was very impressed with his old-world courtly manners and way of speaking which had also come through in his writing. They made a unique couple as they briskly crossed the campus, deep in discussion of some point or other. Many others stared as they passed but the two were totally unconcerned as they probed each other's minds and shared their ideas. Several times, he invited her to visit his apartment and continue the discussion, but as they had such different schedules, it never developed that they could do this.
At last, he became insistent that he was imposing too much on her time by having her type all his papers, and said he must be allowed at least to take her out to eat. She discussed this with her husband who said he had no objections but requested that she let him know when it was to be so that he would not be expecting her to be at home when he arrived there. She agreed and finally, a date was selected when they both could go. They met after their last class at the Student Union and took her car to a nearby restaurant where they created a minor sensation as they entered and were shown to a table. Mixed race couples were not usual even in this college town in the early 1970's. They talked as they ate, enjoying each other's company, as always. She truly appreciated his insightful comments on various subjects and was entertained by his stories of life in his homeland.