First Conversation with Alex

After receiving the contact information for Alex, I emailed him with potential times to meet up.  However, I did not hear back from him.  Zheyna suggested that I try texting him, and as soon as I did, there was an instantaneous response!  We decided to meet today, Wednesday, September 5, at 2:00 PM at Union Grounds.

I am always nervous when it comes to new situations and meeting people, and my first meeting with Alex was no different.  Some concerns I had were being able to recognize him and what we would talk about.  Luckily, we were able to guess who one another was, and so we began our talk! Alex was very talkative which helped subside my reservations. 

First, I learned that he was from China (the Shanghai area) and he is thinking of majoring in Business.  He told me a lot about where he was from, such as the weather, and described the nature.  Besides the awful heat, he enjoys the landscape of Fort Worth more because there are trees and green space, as well as a very blue sky; due to the amount of pollution in China, this is not the case there. 

What I found most interesting from our talk is the Intensive English Program.  He explained what he has been doing these past three weeks and what the classes are like.  He says that he is good at speaking, but his writing and grammar needs work before graduating from IEP.  What was interesting is that in China, Alex learned British English, not American English, so this is a bit of an adjustment for him.  Also, Alex said that he feels lonely sometimes at TCU because he doesn’t feel like he fits in with the other students on campus.  He wants to fit in with the American culture and life that we are so accustomed to.  This made me feel a little empathetic for him; I can’t imagine going to another country, away from my family, and trying to learn and understand a whole new language and lifestyle.  I hope that our talks help him feel a little more comfortable and included at TCU!