My last Ramadan in the States was right before my graduation.  While checking my mail, I was surprised to find a letter from the president of the University of Iowa, in which he invited all graduating students to a graduation reception held at his house.  The reception was an open house type of dinner that extended for few hours that night.  I was so excited and was curious to know what a graduation reception at the president’s house would be like. So after I broke my fast at 9:00 p.m., I walked to the president’s house.  To my surprise, the president and his wife were standing at the entrance of the house and were shaking hands with every student entering and leaving the house.  They were so humble, so courteous and so friendly.  They stood there for hours.  Some students took pictures with the president and his wife. Before I entered the president’s house, they shook hands with me, smiled and congratulated me on my graduation.  As I entered the house, I was amazed by the crowds of students who came to the reception.  They were all dressed up in formal clothes.  All the rooms leading to the main hall were open to the guests.  The students could go around and look at the different rooms in the ground floor.  They could look at the furniture and the paintings.  In the main hall, large tables were set up and all kinds of food and drinks that any one could imagine were laid on the tables in large quantities.  Chefs were around taking care of the banquet.   As soon as a kind of food was finished, they would pick the platter or bowl up, take it to the kitchen and replace it by another bowl or platter full of the same kind of food.  In addition, I was impressed by the degree of self-discipline and respect the guests had for each other and for the place where they were. They did not talk or laugh in a loud voice, nor did they spill the food on the floor or tried to mess up the place.  We all felt at home although we did not know each other.  We were all uninhibited by the fact that we were at the president of the university’s house.

The president’s house was impressive and what impressed me most was the large amount of books surrounding us in the hall where the food was served.  Wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling antique bookcases were holding all kinds of books.  The president’s house belongs to the university, and all university presidents, since the university was established, usually live in that house.  To be invited to a graduation reception hosted by the president of the university was an honor and an unprecedented experience that I would never forget.