Despite the gray, rainy weather outside, Naida Yasub sat cozy in her two-bedroom apartment as her eyes gleamed with pride and she confessed that never in the 28 years of her life has she held a relationship with a man; let alone kissed one.

Yasub is a strong Muslim international student visiting Pierce College from Gilgit, Pakistan. Her beliefs about physical contact towards the opposite sex were strong in face of the huge cultural shock that is the United States.

“I was surprised about American culture. If I compared myself to them and they’re so advanced,” Yasub said.  “During my first day at Pierce College, I saw a couple making out right in front of me. I was surprised! I was in shock, like, “Oh My God they do that openly here?”.

Yasub’s sudden exposure to the harsh reality that enveloped Pierce did not settle down as her first days went on. She exclaimed with surprise that during the first classes on campus she was involved in group discussions about love, sex, and dating. The women in these discussions were perceived to be no older than 18 to 20 years old, and all the while they leapt into a pool of relationships while Yasub hadn’t even dipped her toes in.

At 28-years-old Yasub has been on only one date. “It was my first and my last date,” Yasub said with a sly smile.

This date that Yasub referred to was one for the books, a story that a reader may think is fabricated but Yasub declared it as 100 percent true. She described the situation she was in as simply “interesting”.

When Yasub was a few years shy of 22 years old, her father received a proposal for Yasub’s hand in marriage. At the time Yasub was living in another city separate from her hometown to attended school. Yasub’s father called her with a proposition; she should go and meet with this man, who was coincidently in the same city as Yasub’s school, and have dinner to get to know each other and Yasub eventually agreed.

“My friends prepared me for about an hour by ironing my clothes for me, and they washed my hair repeating excitingly “Oh Naida’s going on a date today”, Yasub said chuckling.

Unlike American cultural of going on dates before even the talk of marriage, Yasub’s marriage proposal was presented before the couples first date.

“I don’t believe in dates to be very honest. I believe that if the person really likes you then he will send a marriage proposal for you first,” Yasub said. “He should never bother to go out with you or talk long hours on the phone and there will be no physical contact with you until marriage.”

When Yasub’s date for the night came to pick her up from her apartment, he asked her where she wanted to go first before dinner and she startlingly answered with “the cemetery”. Even though it was after dark he agreed and they went to pray before dinner.

“After we prayed there at the cemetery, I was in his car’s passenger seat and mistakenly, while on the phone, he grazed my leg as he leaned over to change the car’s gears,” Yasub said.  “All of a sudden my leg was not working and I asked him why he touched my leg and he said that it was unintentional.”

Yasub was asked to be driven home where she was greeted by her friends who were so surprised and asked why she was home so early. Yasub just looked at them unable to speak and slowly fainted to the ground losing color in her face with every second, her body falls closer to the floor. Yasub ended up in the hospital for three days.

“After that date I was scared from continuing to date,” Yasub said with a look of dismay.

Yasub’s life was very sheltered in Pakistan. She had a small group of friends that she spent a lot of time with; they picked her up in the morning for work and then dropped her off at home afterwards. Other then the brief interactions with coworkers and her small group of friends Yasub hardly ever spoke to other people about relationship and dates so she had not known what to expect.

“I’ve always valued my body for my self I don’t want to make my body common for everybody,” Yasub said. “My body is for my husband he can only touch me.”

Yasub has high expectation for love and marriage proposals. Her sister’s husband sent a proposal for sister’s hand a minimum of 600 times; he had waited 6 years for his wife and never gave up asking because he felt that she was “the one”.

Yasub’s brother waited for his wife for three years and during those years he hadn’t dated other girls because he believed that current his wife was his true love.

“If someone asks me who is the ideal man for me I will obviously say my brother-in-law and my brother is the ideal person for me because they loved the girls and they took a stand for them,” Yasub said.

Her body is her temple and her wedding kiss will be her first kiss she will have, but until then Yasub will relay on her religion and friends for love.