The tow-truck driver strives to help me restart the car. “I don’t want to tow it if I don’t have to,” he tells me. He urges me to push at the clutch while he pokes at the starter. “These Hondas. They’re great cars. But it’s always the battery or the starter.”

Despite the prodding, the car doesn’t move, so he loads it up on his truck. Along the drive to my mechanic’s shop on Stella Link Road, I chat with Ahmed, who offers more advice.

“It’s nothing but your starter,” he says. “I would fix it for you if I had time. But I’m busy. I have to study for my mid-terms and I do this job full-time.”

Over the 30 minute drive, I learn Ahmed’s life story: His family is from Egypt, and he and his siblings were born and raised in the US.

“We go back to Egypt each year,” he tells me. “As soon as I finish my education, I’m going to live there with my wife and kids.”

By the end of the drive, we’ve concurred that life in the US is difficult.