Conversation Partner 2

          Several weeks ago, TCU’s Intensive English Program set up a party at the Recreation Center.

Mary Lauren and I walked to the Rec Center together and met up with our English class gathered by

the rock wall.

          Upon the arrival of the international students, we discovered that Olivia’s conversation parter,

Amber, and my conversation partner, Linda, are good friends. Both of the girls are from the same

general area around Shanghai, China. I asked them if they knew each other before coming to TCU.

They said they met here, but enjoy having a friend that has their hometown in common.  The girls

also introduced us to their friend who just transferred here from an area in South China in the middle

of the semester.

             At the party, they served pizza, soft drinks, and a traditional dish from Saudi Arabia. Being a

vegetarian, I couldn’t eat the international dish, but it looked like a flat bread with a meat-type

spread. We all joked about how “pizza” and “soft drinks” is typical American cuisine. We also had

chocolate cake and celebrated everyone with an October birthday.

             We all scrounged to find a table, but the only available table was not in the shade. Because

Fall doesn’t begin in Texas until late November, sitting in the sun would have been brutal. We all

decided to pull the chairs into the shade and “rough it” without a table.

                I spent most of my time at the party talking with Olivia, Amber, and Linda. They asked us

what students typically do for school breaks, such as fall break and winter break. I replied that what

we do typically varies every season and every year. Personally, I have friends and family scattered  

all over the country, so I travel to many different places depending on what break it is. Linda has a

family friend close by that she’s staying with for winter break, because winter break is too short this

year for her to fly back to China. I thought about how hard it would be to go without seeing my

family for a year, but Linda said she’s used to it because she went to boarding school back home.

Mary Lauren and her conversation partner, Hannah, also sat with us. Hannah is from Saudi Arabia

and is majoring in petroleum engineering.  Mary Lauren and I have always been interested in

camping, and Hannah expressed her interest as well.

                 Olivia and I both had to leave after an hour after the party began because we both had

class. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet everyone’s conversation partner, and I plan on getting

dinner with Olivia, Amber, and Linda in the near future.