conversation meeting #1

I met with my conversation partner Adel over coffee at the TCU bookstore mid September. It was funny because we played a bit of phone tag, neither of us knowing what each other looked like. I was surprised when I first met Adel. In my mind I pictured a younger undergraduate student like myself. I learned Adel was in his thirties and was actually at TCU to earn his Ph.D in linguistics after already earning a Master in it at a school in his hometown in Saudi Arabia.

He told me that everyone in his family had gone to college in the United States. His cousin just returned home after graduating from the University of Virginia and Adel explained that his father, his uncle, and most family members that were older then him had graduated from different universities from across the country. I found it interesting and inquired about where his family went upon graduating. He said that all of them went back home to Saudi Arabia. This made me wonder if most people in other countries grow up concentrating on their studies so they can come to America and experience our higher education system.

It was interesting to discuss with Adel his hunger for communicating with other students to better his English. He explained that most of the people he meets on the different college campuses he has been on (he has also taken some classes at University of Texas at Austin) are only interested in social drinking and only invite him to bars or parties. Adel explained that being a devout Muslim he refrained from consuming any alcoholic beverages, it being against his religion. I could see how the typical college kid could only socialize when alcohol is involved and I empathized with Adel on not having as many opportunities to perfect his English.

It was amazing to see how Adel’s mood perked up when we discussed his family. He explained that he was married and showed me pictures on his phone of his daughter Yara and Abdullah. He showed me cute pictures of his son and daughter playing with the parrots at the Fort Worth Zoo! Adel was explained how his son was having a hard time adjusting to kindergarten and how the only person he seemed to trust at his school was his homeroom teacher and he never left her side. I told Adel that I thought most parents of kids who are from other countries must experience this and that I hope his son gets to feel more comfortable here in America.