"When people talk about what they love most about Medora Wisconsin almost no one mentions the brutal endless winters." "Justin..." " I was gonna eat that." " It's a family banana." "Tempers can get a little short." "Oh, My Goodness!" "It's so cold." "What were you doing outside?" " Shoveling the walk." " How many times did they ask you?" " None, it needed shoveling." "Oh, yeah, it's winter." "The walk always need shoveling." "Your job is to make ...." "so difficult that Mom does it herself." "We have very different views in what is appropriate for women, as your taste in bedtime reading makes clear." "Ok, but did you at least do a bad job?" "Justin, Prophet Muhammed (peace bu upon him) said that, failure to perfect your work is injustice to yourself." "Justin, Raja shoveld the front walk, you can at least take down the christmas lights." "Maybe it was the cold, but Raja's novelty was definitely wearing off." "We were all starting to feel it." "Raja?" "In the future, could I drop you off to be with your friend Ahmad at 15 instead of 16?" "Ahmad is the only other muslim in the 50 mile radius." "He drives Raja to thier mosque." "It is just that I will be standing and waiting for him in the cold for one hour." "Oh, well, why don't you wear warmer jacket over that boy blouse of yours." " Salwar Kameez." " Just stay out from my closet." "Can't understand you eating that in a country that doesn't have cereal Jar Jar, but we do." "He was even starting to grade on my dad." " Who wants to watch "Terror Cell"?" " Gary..." "I'm kidding, I meant yet another dancing show." "Actually, I enjoy seeing people such as myself on television, even when we are portrait as one-dimensional super blades. (scoundrels)" "That it ruins it for me." "Vancouver ... confest enough." "Right now it's 51 degrees there." "50?" "5, 0?" "But the only thing that kept us from tearing each other apart was our upcoming trip to Vancouver." " I'm not getting out of the pool." " You better long enough to go shopping." " Do they have ... in Canada?" " Gary, you and your Canada jokes." "I have you know they've got a Gap there and a Banana Republic." " You don't say!" "Well, it's practically our 51st stage." "You gotta love the price, you know, five people for a night its 3 dollars." "My mom won the trip at a silent auction to support my school choir." "Somehow she was the only bidder." "I know choir sounds dorky but it's not just old church songs." "We do old rock ones, too." "Mainly, choir is it's own little universe where everything is backwards." "Our parents music is cool, I am the team superstar, and puberty mostly passing me by is a good thing." "# Here am I sitting in a tin can. #" "My mom never misses a recital." "Neither does Raja, even Claire occasionally comes." "My dad never does though, he always has a different excuse." "Packers game." "Badgers game." "Galaxy game." "But I didn't care." "One day he'd be old and feeble and I get mine." "Justin!" "Ok, gang." "Is everybody packed?" "You made us pack 6 days ago." "Yeah, I've been using a toothbrush I found in the garage." "Justin, there are 14 perfectly good ones in a gift basket from downtown dental." "My mother pulled her silent auction stand  to get several of the prices." "Come on, hon." "Gotto get a move on." "The Plane is in 4 hours." "So what?" "They've never been to a foreign country before." "Me either." "Canada as barely either but OK." "Announcing the delay of TransCoastal flight 52 to Vancouver." "We're not gonna get there till 7 now." "The stores all be closed." "They even do night landings there?" "Gar, some of these people might be Canadian." "No, they'd be loaded down toilet paper and lighters." "What are you doing?" " Praying." " Here?" "Prior to taking off an iblis it is not a good time to cut .. with God." "Yeah, I get that but it's just a whole incomfortable with Muslims thing, some people have here really gets kick .... at the airpot" "And, please." "I will be brief." " Stop him?" " How?" "Excuse me sir, can I have a word with you?" "Now?" "Security, we have a situation here." "Scripted by:" "Rodrigo" "I have to pray 5 time each day." "We don't, Raja." "And it is forbidden to interrupt a prayer." "Yeah, but those people don't know that and they've to make spot judgements" "Such an advanced country, Americans can be quiet ignorant." "You're the one who couldn't figure that out" "It's enough, Claire!" "And Raja, don't tease America." "I was actually praying for our safe passage." "We know, Raja." "Now, sush." "It's 53 in Vancouver today." "The reason Vancouver was so important to me was without it my dad and I would be forced to talk." "And usually, that doesn't go so well." "It's ridiculous that a small ... team like the Brewers has to compete with a team like the Yankees ...." "200 milion dollar pay to roll we need baseball players to get home runs." "So instead he tries to teach me things, which usually goes much much worse." "You're laying around all day, how about i teach you to drive?" "Well, it's a snow storm." "You learn how to drive in the snow and then you know how in the sun and the rain, too." "This was how my dad approach teaching everything." "From catch..." "Can't we start with the softball?" "It's a bike riding.." "Please, no!" "Mommy!" "To swimming." " Maaaaamma!" "You're 16 already." "What do you wanna..." "Walk around the rest of your life?" "Well, I like to hang on to the option." "This is so unfair." "I didn't need an exchange student to be popular, and now he's cost me my vacation my extra room for clothes and shoes..." " Claire, we were all disappointed by what happened at the airport yesterday, but it was not Raja's fault." "You gotta keep that in your mind front and center at all times." "So your mind goes all kinds of places." " You hold me responsible, too?" " No." "You can't help that you're a very stubburn young man when it comes to your personal habits." "Mrs. Tolchuck, these are not personal works." "We are talking about the fundamental basis of my faith." "You are in America now." "Here, we go to church Christmas and Easter, say grace thanksgiving and that's it." "You are saying your God is better?" "No, maybe less of the diva." "No, just try and blend in a little better, because if you don't, we're the ones who get picked on at school and we're the ones who get our vacation ruined." "I can only do so much." "I cannot uneducate myself, become lazy or not be startled by woman who dressed like strumpets." "I did not mean you in particular." "What's a strumpet?" "No one is saying you're any happier with this arrangement than we are." "I never said I was not happy." " No, you sure, didn't..." " You know this morning" "I thought you were all be concerned with the unfortunate treatment at the airport, but I should not have worried." "No one knew quiet how to act." "So we did what most American families do when things get ...." "It was comforting to watch a show that was at least shot in Canada." "Statte fermo, sa!" "Whatever the case, the next morning our anger was gone..." " We're responsible..." " What's going on?" "and so was Raja." "Oh, where did he go?" "He say he's with people more like him." "He'll be fine and he wants us to enjoy Vancouver." "Yeah, I got up early and saw that." "Vans packed." " But we don't even know when the next plane is!" " 8:45 and 10:15" "Really, 9:31 but i got delayed in St. Louis." " Hey, we can't leave without Raja." " He wants us, too." "What kind of friend are you?" "No, he says he wants us, too, because we made him feel crap for making us miss Vancouver when he wasn't even doing anything wrong." "Justin's right." "You were terrible at him." " Me?" "It's Claire." " You raised me." "Ok, it doesn't matter." "We just need to find him so we can apologize." "Maybe he's with that Ahmad person who drives him to prayers." " Fine we'll go to his Muslim church." " Mosque." "At his Mosque church." "Where is it?" "We realised that for all Raja knew about our lives, we really didn't know much about his." "Oh, this isn't scary at all." "That Mosque in "Terrorist Cell" gave me the ...." " You don't allow woman in here?" " Here, just not in here." "Muslim men and women do a lot of things separately." "Your brother would love this place." "Hush." "We're looking for our foreign exchange student." "Raja..." "Raja" "What is his last name?" "I know what always makes me giggle." " Musharaff." " Oh, that's right!" "." "Raja Musharaff." "Black hair, dark skin, very middle eastern features." " Maybe Justin and me should take a look." " Yes, from the back." "Huma will take your daughter and you to the women." "Oh, no, we don't wanna buy anything." "To lend." "Your clothes are only appropriate for.." "Strumpet." "We've heard." "Hijab." "Well..." "It's not so bad, I suppose." "And that is darling!" "Gotto get a shot." "You would not believe how many pieces that can fly into." "Excuse me." "I'm Dalwah Sadaqatmal, and this is my daughter, Sadika." "Hello, Franny and Claire Tolchuck from Medora." "Omar said you are looking for our exchange student." "What?" "No." "We're looking for our exchange student." " You have one, too?" " Silvio, from Germany." " Where is yours from?" " Pakistan." "Oh, great." "How much are these things gonna set me back?" "Oh, don't worry, Gary." "They're just loan our Hijabs." "Well, who can say if he's in there." "No one will stay up long enough to get a look." "He's not in there, but I..." "I talked to someone who knows Ahmad and he said Raja and him could have closer mosque that's in like, some guys house." " Yes." "Fazal." "Much nearer to Medora." " No women, though." " Well, I guess you can wait in the car." " It's freezing." " Ok, so we'll drop you off double back." "It's not a problem." "Gas is cheap." "Wouldn't it be more sensible for you to wait in our home?" " That's not necessary." " And you can meet Silvio." " Yes!" " That means that it'd just dad and me." "I can teach you to drive." " How'd you get in here?" " There are countless ways in." " Couples use them at night." " Thay do?" "If I were you, I would clean my desk most .... each morning." "I will." "But you're not here with a girl." "Goodness, no." "Not for years still." "You're lucky I'm in a hurry." "I just stop by to get this on the way to the hospital." "My sister just had a baby." "Now, come on." "I was hoping to wait inside." "As my right to the mosque does not come until 4 and I migh freeze to death." "Why can't you wait at the Tolchucks?" "Actually, next week I would like to make inquiries about being placed to a new family." " Step into my office." " But your sister... and her baby." " This is a magical day." " She has one a year." "At this point, it's about as magical as wednesday night poker." "Ok, so I can drive now, thanks." "Should I just pull over here?" "There is nothing to be scared of." " One wrong move and we die." " You won't make that move." "When have I not made that move?" "Yeah, maybe stop up here." " Not here, here." " Dad, dad!" "Don't let go." "Silvio is so different from us." " Raja, too." " We try to make him feel at home." "We cook his native foods, we invite over every German national we meet." "I'm sure you do the same for Raja." "Of course." "What are we, monsters?" "But... there has been beer and the cursing." "and we have caught him with pictures of partially clothed woman." "Oh, he sounds like a boy." "I love how different Raja is, you know, he's so devout and sincere." " He seems like a dream come true." " So does Silvio." "But I just wish sometimes that it was..." " easier." " Easier." " For him and for us." " Yes." " What's wrong with it?" " I hit a tree, that's what's wrong with it, Justin." "It's freezing." " Why did you have to make me drive?" " Why did you have to..." "Mess up?" "Like always, right?" "No, that's not what I said." "I made sure not to say it, Justin." "No, you think I'm just some sort of screw up." "You know, I can't drive a car, I can't" "I am good at stuff." "I know you are, Justin, I know that." "Like what?" "Choir." "Only you woudn't know, because you never come and it sucks." " I'd been meaning to." " Oh, yeah, sure, I'm sure you'll make it when the..." " Bears aren't playing to Bruins." " They wouldn't play." "They're..." "They're too different..." "It is not just me." "I am a burden to the Tolchucks, too." "Every day there are a thousands slides back and forth." "And it is just too much." "Raja, Raja, Raja." "When I came to Medora High" "I was the only African-American on staff." "People had a hard time reacting to me." "Some of them had real problems working alongside a black man." "Those people are now in different professions and didn't know what hit 'em." "Other people..." "Good people... they also said hurtful things, but out of ignorance, so I cut them some slack and they came around." "That is a very beautiful story, Mr. Matthews." "But Medora High has many African-American faculty, and you have been here just two years." "My point still stands." "The Tolchucks are good people." " Mr. Matthews..." " Listen to me." "Have you ever seen Franny or Gary come down on Justin?" "Yes, with enormous spike." "How aobut Claire?" "They have said some unforgivable things to Claire." "And now you're not getting along." "Why?" "Because I am family?" "Yes!" "You see, in America we are only truly horrible to the people we love." "So, why don't you give 'em a call?" "Raja!" "Oh, thank God." "You had us worried sick." " Don't you ever..." " She is quite angry." "...this stupid ever again." "She has just call me stupid." "I think it's time to go home, son." "I don't know where your nearer friends are." "You have gotto keep me more informed." "Please let them know I am allergic to shellfish." "Yes." "Raja is OK." "I think I have a date with Silvio." "Could I ask one more favour?" "It's kinda big." "So, what did you guys sing?" "What?" "What did you guys sing in the choir?" "We sing in Beatles, Madly." "Really?" "Yeah." "I also had a solo "Space Oddity."" "David Bowie?" "I love that record." "Yeah, I know." "That's how I first heard it." "Cause you used to play it when we were younger." "You know, when I first got that I was your age." "My dad was so mad when broght that album home." "He said "Boy, you look like a girl", and he broke the record over my head And said, no son of his..." " He broke it over your head?" " What, is that interesting?" "He was always breaking things over my head." "Then God forbid, you tried to fight back, because .... come out with an uppercut." "Which reminds meTra I'altro, se mai facessi a botte, go for the windpipe." "Cuts off the air supply to the brain." "I'm sorry, dad." "I didn't know that pop-up was like that." "Yeah." "All you ever did to me was pull candy out of my ear." "Yeah." "He had this idea of what a man was and, you know, I thought I came close, too, but I was never enough." "I told myself one day," "I'm gonna have a son, and that's not how I'll be but..." "Maybe I didn't do as well as I hoped so?" "No, it's fine, dad." "It's fine." "It was fine, because sometimes were someone is isn't nearly as important as how far they've come." "So... can i hear it?" " Hear what?" " Your solo!" "What?" "Right here?" "Why not?" "Wow, I guess we're gonna die here anyway." "My dad had come a 100.000 miles and it wasn't the only one to hear me sing that day." "Turns out we were a lot closer to Ahmad's mosque than we realized." "Who is that woman singing?" "Ahmad gave us a ride home and mom's big favour from Dalwah was to have her prepare a Pakistani feast for Raja's return." "And invite a few friends." "Raja, welcome home." "Thank you, Mrs. Tolchuck." "This..." "Maybe some people can't reverse the whole distance that lay between them, but we can all try." "Raja!"