Dear Adil

Dear Adil is the first half of the first episode of Season eight. It first aired on with September 15, 2002 with Bitzi's Break Up. This episode deals with stereotyping.

Summary
Arthur is excited to have a new pen pal named Adil and imagines what life would be like living in Adil's home country, Turkey. Unfortunately, his notions about the country are just a tad outdated and he thinks that Turkey is way behind in technology and such. Will Arthur learn about the hazards of stereotyping?

Plot
The episode starts off with an aerial view of a city. It zooms in closer, and a street it seen. A guy with weird glasses and an awesome mustache looks at a watch. He calls for "Adil" and says something in Turkish. Adil talks in Turkish also. He notices the audience so he talks in English. In his room, there is a cat kid named Andhur rolling up a sleeping bag. We find out that Andhur is Adil's best friend. Adil's little sister, Aisheh, walks into the room and yells at Adil. She walks out, and closes the door.

Adil logs onto his computer, explaining that when he is annoyed by Aisheh, there is only one thing he wants to do; talk to other kids online. Andhur asks Adil if Arthur can give answers to his Math homework. His computer makes beeping sounds, and the inter-title shows. ---DEAR ADIL--- Written by: Peter K. Hirsch Storyboard by: Ivan Tankushev

Arthur, D.W., and Dad are in the garage, looking for his olive de-pitter, the one Arthur bought for him in Arthur's Perfect Christmas. It must help him a lot, because the recipe he is going to cook would take hours without one. While looking for it, Arthur finds a stack of letters. He blows the dust off of them. He shows them to his father. It was from some Japanese pen-pal he had in 7th grade. All of a sudden, Dad gets hit by the pit of an olive. D.W. found it.

Arthur is enjoying reading the letters, even laughing at them. By the time he wakes up the letters are all over his bed.

At school, Mr. Ratburn is clapping erasers. Arthur asks him if he knows how he can get a pen pal. Mr. Ratburn just recently found a "webspot" for teachers about pen-pals. Not to anybody's surprise, Mr. Ratburn doesn't know how to turn on the computer, so Arthur turns it on for him. Mr. Ratburn prints out a list of names and addresses. Here's a list, just for interest's sakes:
 * Jose Maura - Cruz, Antigua - 8 - 1290 San Miguel, Santa
 * Alex Tankushev - Sophia, Bulgaria - 9 - 104 Lemin Str.Ap.12
 * Adil Akyuz - Istanbul, Turket - 8 - Murat Pasha, Cad #3
 * Kim Houng Han - Doungsoungpa-Ku,Seoul,Korea - 10 - 71-6Munjung

It turns out that Arthur is reading the list at Buster's Condo. Arthur sees the name "Adil Akyuz" and asks Buster if he knows anything about Turkey. Of course he does! He grabs a bone out of his food cabinet, which was apparently from his first Thanksgiving. Arthur is talking about the country, not the animal. He knows some things about that too. It's where Illinois Jack and the Caravan of Horrors takes place. The comic is a stereotype. Buster encourages Arthur to write to Adil, maybe he'll be exciting like the comic book.
 * There's honey-glazed turkey
 * Smoked turkey
 * and Buster's favorite, Roasted turkey.

Arthur writes his first letter to Adil. Adil and Andhur are reading it in Adil's bedroom, and they do not know what "pepperoni pizza" or a "mall" is.

At the Read residence, Arthur is excited to discuss Adil to his family. According to Arthur, Adil works at his father's grocery store, which sells spices and lambs eye. Dad is surprised that they eat lambs eye. Arthur thinks that because he saw it in Illinois Jack it was true. D.W. said that Arthur is going to get Adil to get his little sister to send him a Mary Moo Cow CD in Turkish. Arthur thinks that his letter was boring compared to Adil's.

While writing another letter to Adil, Arthur imagines that Adil, his father, and Andhur fall asleep because his letter is so boring. Arthur says the letter is even putting him to sleep, so he goes to bed. He hopes that something exciting for him to happen tomorrow.

The next day, it is raining outside of the Sugar Bowl. Arthur and Buster are inside of it playing a game. Buster has eaten 27 cherries; which is his record. Buster suggests answering Adil's questions, but Arthur has already done that. His definitions of "mall" and "pepperoni" are boring according to Arthur. Buster then suggests that maybe Arthur should ask more questions about Turkey. He pulls out an Illinois Jack comic book, and gives it to Arthur for "inspiration".

In the next letter Arthur writes to Adil, Arthur wonders how he gets to school. He wonders if he rides a camel there, like a character in Illinois Jack. Adil receives the letter, asking him if his camel has its own room or if it sleeps in his. Adil finds this question weird. Arthur then asks Adil his favorite food; maybe it is lambs' eyes. Adil finds this question disgusting. Adil does not know what he will write back.

At Arthur's house, the mail comes. None of it is from Adil. The next day, no mail for Arthur. And the next day there is still no mail addressed to him. Alberto sees Arthur's Illinois Jack comic. He thinks they are funny, since they always get everything wrong. Arthur thought that the comic was accurate and true-to-life.

Arthur finally figures out that Adil hasn't written back because he is stereotyping. Arthur is embarrassed. He looked on the piece of paper that Mr. Ratburn gave him, and he finds out that Adil has an e-mail address.

Arthur decides to IM Adil.


 * Arthur: Dear Adil. Just wondering if you got my letters. P S I didn't know you had e-mail. How do you plug your computer in?"


 * Adil: Dear Arthur, I plug my computer into the wall of OUR APARTMENT. I don't live in a tent.


 * Arthur: Oh, sorry. I read this comic and it gave me some weird ideas about how you lived. Is that why you didn't write back?"

Back at Adil's apartment, Adil is online, but he can't talk to Arthur now because it is late at night in Elwood City. Arthur is mad at Adil because Aisheh found the Turkish Mary Moo Cow CD. D.W. is singing it at the Reads' house, despite it being late at night. Arthur tells D.W. to go to sleep.
 * Adil: Yes, I was going to correct you but I thought you would take forever. And then you didn't answer my questions.
 * Arthur: That's because my answers sounded boring. I mean, a mall is just one really big store with lots of little stores in it.
 * Adil: We have lots of those in Istanbul. The biggest and oldest is the Kapali Carsi. That's the covered bazaar in English.
 * Adil: Arthur? Are you still there?
 * Sorry Adil. My pesky little sister just interrupted me.
 * Adil: Aisheh is always doing that and it's always when I really don't want to be disturbed. How does she know?
 * Adil, I think we have a lot more in common than we ever imagined.

'Trivia

 * One of the kids on the pen-pal list has the last name Tankushev, the same last name as the storyboard artist of this episode.
 * D.W. references the "Best of the Nest" game by saying the answer is "do the hokey pokey".
 * Illinois Jack is a reference to Indiana Jones.