The Language of Baklava

Diana returns to the US a few months after Bud, feeling sure that she is “ready to be home again” (316). However, she suffers culture shock, missing Jordan terribly and finding America alien. She resigns from her university position and moves to Portland, teaching at a university there in fall. Meanwhile, Arabian Jazz has been published and receives all kinds of reactions, from positive reviews to letters containing criticisms and complaints. She is accused of writing “depressing things” about Arabs and of being the “disappointing American child” who is not Arab enough (319). She feels alone.

Diana is assigned a tutor to teach her HTML at work: a young man called Scott. Over several months, Scott and Diana meet for private lessons, often in his apartment. He is attentive and they become close. When they finally kiss, Diana walks out in the rain, shaking and “stunned with fear” (321). She eventually buys familiar Jordanian foods from an international shop and takes them back to Scott’s flat, where he is waiting for her. They share the food and she feels “not captured, but saved” (323). The recipe “Ful for Love” follows (323).