Marina CP-6

Yesterday I briefly met with Fatih for the last conversation partner meeting that I need for the certificate. He was assigned to me again for the summer term so I will continue meeting with him once a week as previously.

I haven't seen him in about two weeks so he told me that the week before he was studying for his TOEFL exam since it was his last chance. He said that since he did not have CIES that week he utilized every hour to get better and I was glad to hear that it worked out for him because he got a higher score than he was required to.

From that conversation, I realized how difficult it must be to start a new life at an adult age when you are struggling with the language. I started experiencing that more as this semester began. I'm taking a class in Spanish Cinema, which is entirely conducted in Spanish. Although I have a pretty wide knowledge and control of the language, it is still difficult for me to spontaneously participate in the class discussions. So after Fatih told me how happy he was that he passed the exam, I realized that it was a significant achievement in his life.