Conversation Partner Intro

She was saying things like "it doesn't have to be anything glamorous" and throwing out ideas like "take your student on the bus ride, to the grocery store, to the gym, out to eat at a restaurant, or to a sporting event".

And I sat in that nothing-fancy conference room around a table with about 15 other volunteers focusing on the projector slides and I knew - I knew - exactly what kind of experiences I wanted to share with my students.  Because, just this past summer, I had been in the same cultural standpoint these students are in right now.

I was attending the short intro/training course at the Texas Intensive English Center for their first ever conversation partner program.  A volunteer conversation program that allows students at the school, most of whom are here with the sole purpose of becoming fluent enough to enroll in college, to interact with native English speakers.  The other volunteers and I were learning the history and demographics of the school.  We were talking about the intricacies of the relationships we are about to form with the students we get paired with.  For the next semester, our focus will be on forming friendships and developing into mentors as these students adopt American lifestyles.  And that's when she starts talking about things to do beyond simply sitting in a coffee shop and chatting about American culture and customs.  Why sit there and chat when you can get up and Go??

An overwhelming majority of the kids in the English School are from the single country of Saudi Arabia.  The Saudi government is heavily promoting their students to learn English by sponsoring scholarships for them to come to the US.  The next largest bucket of nationalities represented in the school are Asians, followed by a few South Americans and a scatter of students from other countries.

While in the 30 minute long presentation by the program director, I hardly chatted with the other volunteers.  I had yet to lay an eye on a student wandering the halls.  But, I felt qualified to introduce these students to my culture.  Having been submersed in European and Chinese cultures for over a month this summer, I started craving the simple adventures.  Only after about a month walking around cities seeing all the 'must sees' can you appreciate the desire to see the 'must goes' - like grocery stores, shopping malls, the doctor office, etc.

I remember being held back from fully experiencing a culture due to my language barrier and also the intimidation of foreign systems.  On Monday, I'll get to meet the student(s) I am paired up with in the program.  As you can probably tell, I am totally pumped.  This comes at a time when I've just gotten several writing assignments for the campus magazine to report on Austin weirdness... food, shops, activities.  It also comes at a time when my interest in other foreign cultures is peaking.  I can't help but be totally psyched.  For once, I feel like I'm qualified to do a good job.  And, I can't help but  wonder how my own personal discovery of Austin will influence my student's impression of American culture.  I wonder... will they come away thinking Americans are even remotely... weird?

There's only one way to find out :D  Stay tuned.