Talking with Hussain

          From the very beginning I knew that this was going to be difficult. I was excited to and at the same time terrified of talking to a non-native English speaker. How would he treat me as an American? I know we don’t exactly have a remarkable reputation, especially since my partner is from Saudi Arabia. Also, what if he hated being here? Our culture is so self-centered and gaudy. Had he adjusted or was American culture too abrasive? These questions and more flooded my mind as I walked to meet up with Hussain, my speaking partner, somewhere in the Rec Center.
            Now I say somewhere for a reason. When trying to establish a meeting place, his first decision was to meet under the third flower near the pool at exactly 12:55. Needless to say, I could immediately tell there were communication issues that we would have to work through. After stumbling around the Rec center for half an hour we finally found each other near the smoothie bar, or cafeteria according to Hussain (I say this all in good fun).
 

 

             As I walked up to say hello, it was immediately evident to me that Hussain was just as apprehensive of our meeting as I was. With this knowledge in hand, I started off the meeting slowly. We started by discussing how each other’s day had been, the weather, and other rather inconsequential topics.

           I had at first thought it would be hard to keep a conversation going, but I quickly realized that this would not be the case. Not only was he excited to talk to me but he also led the conversation and asked about all kinds of different topics. We went into sports, food, and even touched on religion! Just as a side note, when he found out that I was on dining committee for TCU he made it very clear to me that he was upset with the greasy nature of the BLUU.
           It amazed me as an American that we as a country talk so much about acceptance, tolerance, and equality, yet here was a young man from Saudi Arabia, which we are told is narrow-minded and backwards, that is actively seeking to understand and learn from a culture that is so drastically different from his own.
           After chatting for almost an hour we set a date for next week and went our separate ways. This first meeting was definitely an eye-opener and I can't wait to see what we talk about next week.