Yesterday
was the fourth conversation partner meeting of the semester. It started off as
all of the other meetings have with the typical how’s it going. However, I was
surprised that this initial awkward meeting up period where we are both trying
to settle in and get comfortable was significantly shorter than it had been in
the past. I guess we are to the point where we are comfortable enough with each
other that there isn’t a need to work into a comfortable place, we just start
at one.
With
Thanksgiving only a few days away I began to talk about how excited I was to go
home to my roommate’s house and finally get some real food. I haven’t been
eating very well lately so a nice home cooked meal is going to be amazing. Mohammed
said that he hopes I will be able to relax because he will be studying all
break for finals because the intensive English programs last week is the one
right after break.
I
asked him how he was doing and he seemed a little sick, and it turned out he
was. The stress of moving into a new apartment, along with preparing for finals
and the cold weather got to him. I told him I’m the same way. The last time
this semester when I was super busy and stressed out I ended up getting sick
the night before two big tests. This was most likely due to the fact that I ran
myself down worrying/preparing for them.
I
asked Mohammed if he was excited for the semester to be over. He said that he
was and wasn’t all at the same time. He said he would be happy that he is
finally done with the extensive English program but worried about the testing
he will have to do in January. He said that in order to study at an English
speaking university he has to pass this test that makes sure that he is competent
in reading, writing and understanding the language. Mohammed voiced his concern
about the American version of the test saying that he likes the format and the
style of the British one much better. I reassured him that his English was
exceptional and that he surprised me when we first met. I was impressed at the
size of his vocabulary and that I only had to explain a few words to him. His
conversational English is very good which was initially surprising to me
because usually in English classes you learn the traditional language much like
how you’d right a formal paper or letter. When I brought this up he made the
excellent point that the only way you can truly learn a language is to be
forced to read it and speak it. He said reading helps his vocabulary and
writing style while speaking it helps with the flow and slang words that are
typically only used in conversation.
Once
he passes the English exam Mohammed told me that he will be very excited to
start school in the spring semester and especially his supply chain management
courses. This came up in our first conversation I believe, but he wants to
learn supply chain so he can go back to Saudi Arabia with the knowledge to
combine with his skills, that he had obtained growing up, to run his late
fathers business with his brothers. I told him that his English was very good
for someone who just started learning at the beginning of the semester. It
seems like he has his head on straight and is very goal oriented. I told him
that if he keeps up his hard word that he is going to go a long way with his
fathers business or anywhere else life decides to take him.
No comments:
Post a Comment