Four gentlemen from the English language program waited for me around the pool table, already in the middle of a heated game. Youness introduced me to Ali and Nadir, both from Saudi Arabia, and Chan from South Korea. He informed me that since they all came to Texas for the program they had spent most of their time together, to the point where the teacher referred to them as "the foursome". They were all very gracious, trying to offer me the snacks they had brought and even restarting the game so I could begin to play right away. Nadir, Youness, and I did win two (out of five, but that's a minor detail) games of pool, and while it was an absolute blast the most interesting part of the afternoon was watching the four of them interact.
Youness, Nadir, and Ali all spoke Arab due to their backgrounds, but they spoke it very rarely while I was with them (I'm assuming so Chan and I would not feel left out). I loved watching how casually they all interacted while using a foreign language, acting like any other group of friends I see around campus. They joked with each other, trying to mess up one another's shots and teasing their technique. They even used some American slang, saying things like "come on, man" and having their own inside jokes.
When they talked about how they were going to take their shot, they would always say "tick, tock" to indicate where the ball would hit the table. At one point, and this is not an exaggeration, they have a four minute conversation that only involved these two words. The experience was so fascinating to me because it showed that even though the American culture was foreign to them and even amongst themselves they had different backgrounds, they still hung out and bonded like any group of twenty-somethings. I'm not sure why I would have expected them to interact in any other way then just average guys, but watching it happen right in front of me was a growing experience.
Youness and I planned on meeting again and I told his friends they were more than welcome to join again. Maybe, if I'm lucky enough, I can become part of their "gang" and grow my cultural experiences even more.
Thanks for the good post, and thanks for being so gracious to interact with 4 IEP students at the same time!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like so much fun! The one thing I always think of with my conversation partner is how difficult it would be to be an international student where not only do you don't know anyone, but you don't speak the same language. It's so great that these four have found friendships with each other and are able to experience the American culture together.
ReplyDeleteI think this is such a great representation that it doesn't matter where you come from or your background, everyone has the ability to connect in some way. Whether it's through playing pool or laughing together, there is a way to connect with those in the world around us!
Couldn't figure out how to edit my already published post...but I meant "not only do you NOT know anyone.." rather than saying don't!
DeleteThis does sound like a lot of fun and maybe in class today we should talk about having a large group get together with our conversation partners before the semester is over. I think it would be a blast! I am not surprised to find out that these guys became such great friends because I am sure that they have similar schedules and I bet not speaking english is bonding in itself.
ReplyDeleteIt is great to hear that meeting with your conversation partner is like just casually meeting with a friend, rather than trying to fulfill an assignment! What a great idea to bring friends along, too. Getting to know someone one on one is one thing, but I feel like a lot can be learned about a person from the way they casually interact with their friends that they feel comfortable with. How cool is it that this group of guys have become such great friends? I can only imagine what it would be like to go to a foreign country, thousands of miles away from home, to learn a different language - but I bet finding a group of friends has been a real help to everyone in "The Foursome"! One of the things that I found most interesting and relatable about this post is that Youness and his friends were just hanging out and joking around like typical 20-somethings… For some unknown reason, I similarly thought their interactions might be different due to cultural differences or something of that nature. Their interactions exemplify the fact that though they are culturally different from us and each other, we can all still relate on the grounds that we like to hang out and have fun together.
ReplyDeleteLet's have a huge ping pong tournament with the whole class and our IEP students!! That sounds like so much fun! I love meeting these students because their backgrounds are all so different and interesting to me. It's crazy to think that even though we're all from different places most twenty-somethings all act in a similar fashion. I think it's good to be reminded that we're all human!
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