Allison CP #2

Conversation Partner 5/14/2018

I met with my assigned conversation partner today, Fahad. We met in Strozier Library, where I realized that the Starbucks had been closed. Therefore, we sat in the big red chairs in the Strozier Library lobby. We started off by introducing ourselves, and I had my laptop opened so we could google the map locations and images of our home towns. Fahad is from Kuwait, so we pulled up images of Kuwait and discussed what our homes have in common, like beaches. We also discussed what kind of cultural activities we each do, so he described going hunting with falcons in the desert. Then we talked about the differences in family size, as I only have one sibling and he has fourteen. This led to a really interesting conversation shift to how American students get married later in life after getting degrees, where in Kuwait, people get married much younger. Fahad explained that he is here to learn English so he can attend an undergraduate institution in America. He would like to study Computer Science, maybe somewhere in California. We were able to talk about education systems, and our priorities in life. My take away from this first meeting is that Fahad has really well developed speaking skills; I understood everything he was saying. Therefore, I am excited to meet with him again next Monday to work on more nuanced vocabulary since he has a strong grasp so far.

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