Meeting #2 with Convo Partner

Last week, I met with my conversation partner for the second time. After our bond over Dunkin Donuts last time, I told myself I would find out his favorite drink, and bring it to him at our third meeting. Since Americans are viewed negatively in some countries, I wanted to make sure he knew that Americans were nice, caring people. I was pleasantly surprised when in fact he showed up with a gift, which was one of those on the go Dunkin Donuts coffee containers. Not only was this something I really need and will enjoy, I was happy to see that he too thought of bringing a gift. That shows me that people in other cultures are also caring when it comes to establishing business, relationships, etc.

During our talk, I asked him more about his classes and his experiences here so far. I learned that his class is structured by days, where three days a week he has a speaking class, and two days a week he has a writing class. He was hoping they would get a fall break just like TCU students did, but they still had classes. I asked him about the attendance policy for his classes, which I learned is pretty much nonexistent. He said many students are unenthusiastic about learning, and hardly come to classes. For him, things were starting to get difficult as far as memorizing words. They learn about 3-5 new words a day, which he used to be really good at. I think he is starting to learn a lot, and maybe the process of memorization gets more difficult as you know more information. I am happy to say he is still enthusiastic about learning, which I think helps him stick out from his classmates. He also voiced appreciation for his teachers, saying they may be old but they are nice, understanding, and willing to stay after class to help anyone out. I told him of my similar experiences with the staff here at TCU.

He mentioned watching a video where people had British accents, and said he had trouble understanding them. He also told of a time at a fast food restaurant when an African American woman was talking to him. He had trouble understanding her, but got through it. When he went to his car, he opened the lid to his drink and discovered a bug of some sort. He went inside to ask for a new one, and I guess the staff there was very rude. Eventually, he just left after the woman starting laughing at him. I felt bad hearing this, and tried to emphasize the fact that not everyone is like that, and sometimes I can’t understand fast food people either. Hearing about various situations where he may have been under scrutiny have made me really appreciate the opportunity to get to have speaking partners, and develop relationships with these people so they can see what the typical American student is like. It can be too easy for people to base opinions on negative experiences, rather than positive ones. I look forward to hearing more about his life here in the United States.