Jacqi CP 1

So meeting my partner was a very interesting experience. I have never had a conversation partner before so I guess I was expecting someone who was going to be really horrible at English. I just kept remembering what my experiences had been like with Arabic and I know that even now after studying it for two years I probably wouldn't be as good as Alaa is with English in just two short weeks. It was quite a shock to realize that the person I had been communicating with on the phone over the past couple days had only been studying English for such a short time. Talking with him was actually very relaxing and I didn't feel much anxiety about talking to another person from another culture. It was helpful that I am a Middle Eastern Studies major so it gave us something to talk about. His wife is in the program as well and I was able to meet her and she was adorable. I guess my advice for everyone else with there conversation partner is to spend some time on the internet if you don't know much about where they are from. I found that they were quite appreciative that I was somewhat knowledgeable about their culture and history.