Conversations with Ali #1

My first conversation with my conversation partner Ali Alnasser was at first slightly awkward then turned smoother. I had to say I expected this. Meeting someone for the first time can always be awkward, especially if it is an arranged meeting. I imagine it’s like an arranged marriage. You are thrown together and told to get along! Not that I have a problem with is, I am enjoying the challenge of relating with someone very different from me.

 I asked Ali to meet me at Union Grounds, I figured it was a common place we both knew. I showed up a few minutes early, I like to think because I am on time person but this isn’t true. My nerves got to me a little bit so I figured get there early and scope the place out. Turns out he had the same idea. He was even their before me! We shook hands and said hello. Then conversation started. There was stops, starts, awkward laughs and funny moments.  We started out saying where we were from, your “typical” college conversation. He is from Saudi Arabia and has a cousin here at TCU. He is planning on becoming an engineer but has not gotten into regular classes yet. This really interested me. The students take English classes only to improve their English when they get here. For example they take reading, writing, speech etc.  Once they have mastered English they can enroll in classes to start regular school. I really know nothing about their program; I figured they would head straight into classes and try to learn English at the same time. I think about how hard that would be. Ali said it’s a lot of English.. like a whole lot. But he has noticed his vocabulary is getting better. He came to American at the beginning of January not knowing any English.  He has been here then over a month and a half. Ali seemed to me very good at English! Maybe he didn't understand what I was saying half the time but understood social cues to laugh and nod his head.

I did realize at some points my words were unfamiliar to him. I made a reference to someone being my role model. I could tell this word was unfamiliar therefore I gave him a few examples and a few other words for role model. He got the hang of it pretty quickly and told me his father was his role model. We were similar in that arena. My father is also my role model. Ali said his father worked hard, loved his family and was a good man. I have to say my father was the same. We both found similarities between us, we both like Beyoncé, Tom Cruise, most popular movies. I figured they had similar movies and celebrities and they do.  It will be interesting to see how he learns words from me and I learn more about his culture. I know barley anything about Saudi Arabia; I hope to learn more just as he hopes to learn English words from me. I know Ali gets typical English words from class but I hope he picks up our slang words that will be used by his classmates and teachers later on.

Today we are meeting again. I hope we have a good conversation like last time! I want to ask him what he’s reading! Any English books, if so what ones? Either way I am looking forward to it! He calls me “short girl” as a humors term. Therefore if anyone stops around outside the BLUU at 2 we will be there.. “short girl” and “tall boy”. Crossing my fingers that conversation number two goes just as well.