I am enjoying having a conversation partner from the IEP program! I haven't blogged about our first two meetings yet, so I will discuss them both.
Meeting 1: I was a little nervous about meeting Sueli for the first time. I had no idea what she looked like and we hadn't exchanged phone numbers. Situations like these are always awkward because you have no idea who you are looking for. I was also a little worried about our conversation. Her emails had been a little confusing, so I was afraid understanding her would be a struggle. I had nothing to worry about though because our meeting went great! Surprisingly her English is easy to understand. She is from Angola and did not start learning English until May. I am impressed with how much she has learned in just 5 months. There were a few times where we would have to say what we were trying to say several different ways in order to make sense to each other, but we always figured it out. During the meeting I got to explain my name to her. In the emails she has sent me, she always addressed me as “Badger”. Since my last name is Badger, I can see why she got confused.
We spent the first meeting just getting to know each other. We talked about our families, our homes, our dreams, and our daily schedules. I learned a lot about her country and why she came to TCU. She said her previous school was far away from her home. In order to get to school on time, she had to leave at 5:00 am. Traffic is horrible she said. She also said her school was not very structured or organized, which drove her crazy. She said she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, but she is thankful for the opportunity to come to TCU. I assumed we would have very little in common, but I was wrong. It was easy to keep the conversation moving and we never had any awkward quiet moments. I was really interested in how she was handling the transition of starting school in a whole new country. She said it has been difficult, which is understandable! She has family in Dallas, so she sees them on the weekends. She also has a cousin here at TCU, which she says has made the transition easier. However, she says she feels lonely sometimes. She goes to class and IEP and then spends the rest of her time in her dorm room. I still have no idea where she lives. I have asked her what dorm she is in three times and I have no idea what she is saying. I feel sad about her being lonely and isolated. I can’t imagine living in a country where I am not familiar with the language or culture. I am thinking about getting Sueli and her cousin together with some of my friends. I think she would have more fun if she knew more people. I don’t want her to be out of the loop. She doesn’t know about all of the events that TCU offers. I couldn’t believe she had no idea about the Lady Antebellum concert. She of course has never heard of the band before, but I’m sure she would have enjoyed the concert anyway. It would have been a fun experience for her. I am going to start coming up with different places for us to meet and different activities to do. I asked Sueli what she would like to do, and she said she wants to learn how to drive. I thought that was a funny response. I can understand why she wants to drive (she has to take public transportation everywhere, including to her family’s house in Dallas), but I am not going to be the one who teaches her!!
Meeting 2: For our second meeting we met at the same place, 1873. I was really looking forward to talking to Sueli again. We spent most of our time discussing the types of music we like. She knew many of the pop singers here in the U.S. because she said she watches MTV at home. I brought my laptop, so she showed me YouTube videos of the types of dancing they do in her country. I forgot what the dance was called, but it looked very complicated. She said it is easy to learn and is going to teach me next time we meet. That will be interesting! I also brought my camera, so I showed her pictures of all my friends. She enjoyed looking at my pictures and hearing about my friends. She said she loves pictures and is going to bring some of hers next time. One of the girls I had been telling Sueli about actually walked by while we were talking, so Sueli got to meet her.
I am excited about our next meeting!!!!! Sueli told me that she has always wanted to play the piano. Since I have taken lessons ever since the 2nd grade, I am going to teach her how to play. My parents came to Ft. Worth this weekend, so I had them bring my level 1 and 2 books from when I first started playing. She is really excited and so am I.
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