On the Tuesday
before Spring Break I met with Hissa, my conversation partner, for our third
meeting.
Like many of us, I
could immediately tell Hissa was very tired and was ready for a break. At first
she seemed rather shy and didn’t want to talk very much, just ready to take her
week off and relax. However, after a few minutes of small talk I was able to
make her feel comfortable again, and we continued our discussion. She told me
all about her plans for Spring Break, sounding really excited about her trip to
California. Having been there before, she was very enthused to return and enjoy
the beach and the sun. I asked her where exactly she was going, but she said
she didn’t know where her friend lived (being from So Cal myself made me
curious).
As for her studies, she has been quickly
progressing through her English classes. She still wishes to graduate in three
years and return to Saudi Arabia to become an English teacher, but is willing
to stay in America as long as she needs to finish her degree. I really think
she is dedicated to her learning, even if it is challenging at times. Socially, she has started to really become
integrated with her ESL community as well as the Dallas-Fort Worth community.
She has started to make friends outside of the Saudi Arabian group (I got to
meet her new friend, an ESL student from Morocco), and as a result is getting
different practice and experience with her English. However, as she jokingly
commented, she thinks the Saudi Arabian group still has the best accent,
considering she sometimes has difficulties understanding the English of those
from other places. All in all, she continues to grow her knowledge of English,
something I can attest to firsthand. I look forward to our meeting after Spring
Break.
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