Bas hadra tek! Saleh taught me those words in the English as a Second Language class where I was supposed to be the one teaching new words. It’s an Egyptian Arabic idiom that loosely translates to “Listen to me!”

My low-intermediate ESL class in downtown Chicago was full of unruly Saudi teenage boys giddy with their first taste of freedom, American-style. Saleh, wearing a beanie stylishly cocked on his head to protect against the bitter Chicago winds, was sympathetic to my plight. He was the mature one who sat still and listened when I tried to explain English’s overwhelming number of irregular verbs. When I couldn’t bring order to the restless class on a particular Friday afternoon, he slyly told me to yell out Bas hadra tek! I did. Everyone stopped and listened, stunned by my sudden Arabic-language outburst.

Saleh later hid a Valentine’s card on my desk, thanking me for listening to him. I kept the card in confidence, knowing that the other guys would make fun of him if they knew he dared show vulnerability. After writing a few sincere sentences in his endearingly sloppy English handwriting, Saleh ended the card with a flourish of Arabic script, repeating those simple words we all want to say to each other, to the world: please listen to me.