Fatema

Fatema is nineteen years old, from Saudi Arabia, and has one of the sweetest demeanors imaginable. She's soft-spoken, curious, and lovely to be around. Before meeting with her, I was anxious, excited, nervous, unsure, and curious all at once. We settled on conducting our first meeting last Thursday, in the BLUU, to grab coffee after class.

When I approached her, she was sitting with her aunt (who actually turns out to be younger than her) and warmly greeted me as we ventured towards the coffee counter to order drinks from a disgruntled and very unpleasant TCU employee. I made jokes with her to break the ice about how unacceptable this behavior was. 'It's Friday, why should anyone be in a bad mood?!' She giggled and I took a sigh of relief, acknowledging that just because she was from another country, does not mean she can't have a sense of humor and find comedy in the same things as me! Throughout our conversation, it was refreshing to hear that we were able to easily talk about many recent movies and I got to hear her thoughts and see which types of movies she found most entertaining. It reminded me that no matter where you live in this world, there are many forms of entertainment and art that are enjoyed and revered by all.

I was also very pleased with her English. I think one of my biggest fears in regards to this assignment was the fact that communication with a new person can be awkward and difficult to navigate, even when meeting someone from your country...so make that a foreign-exchange student who is practicing their English and you get a big heap of intimidation. I was, however, so impressed with Fatema's knowledge of the English language and her ability to concisely speak her mind. She even made very few grammatical errors! Of course there were times, here and there, when I would have to ask for clarification or for her to repeat her question or answer. I, too, had to repeat myself several times, but this is nothing unusual... I have to do this with even my best friends sometimes!

Fatema lives with her aunt and uncle just five minutes from campus. Her aunt is actually in the IEP program, as well, so I think that is very helpful to have someone she can study with. She has one brother back home in Saudi Arabia and texts and Facetimes with her family almost daily. It's so surreal to see someone from a different continent scroll through the same iPhone that you use on a daily basis and which is so prevalent in the American culture. (Reminds you what a powerful force Apple is in this world...).

I found one of the most challenging parts of the conversation to be appropriately asking about family and what life was like back home. It's difficult to ask this respectfully as you do not know their circumstances, what brought them to TCU, and if they have lost family along the road of their lifetime, however, this is just simply a risk you take when getting acquainted with someone new. However, in this instance it felt slightly different due to the fact that I wanted Fatema to feel as respected as possible. The conversation partner concept is so wonderful and invigorating, however, it can be difficult to know how to learn as much about them as you would like, without seeming like you are grilling them, interviewing them, or simply using them as a means to receive your weekly 'conversation', because, for me, my time with Fatema was so humbling and enjoyable.

I learned a bit about Fatema's time in Australia, where she was last studying. She raved about a small town she frequented and showed me pictures of the beautiful beaches there. I expressed my envy for her world experiences, saying how badly I have been wanting to visit Australia, but explaining my trepidation with such long flights. Fatema could not say enough good things about Australia and strongly encouraged me to travel there.

One other tricky area of the conversation was asking about whether she would be going home or not for the 'holidays'. I do not know necessarily what religion Fatema and her family practice, and this is a topic that is sensitive to just blatantly ask about. So I tried to avoid asking specifically about the holidays and instead ask when she would next get to venture home.

Speaking with Fatema was wonderful. She was curious, courteous, happy, and sweet. I'm anxious to meet with her again soon and look forward to continuing to gain more knowledge about her, her family, her culture, and her life at TCU!