Meeting Ailin Part 1

It’s amazing to me how there are over 430 undergrad students at TCU who are from foreign countries, yet until this project with the Intensive English Program, I have had little to no interactions with any of them. I love to travel, and although I haven’t had the opportunity to travel much internationally, different cultures and people intrigue me. Needless to say, I was both excited and nervous when I learned that I would be spending the semester getting to know a student from another country on a level that surpassed sharing an academic class or causally passing by in the BLUU. This was a chance to gain new perspectives, make a new friend, and share life with someone I might not have met otherwise.

I have to admit, I had no idea what to expect for the first meeting with my conversation partner, Ailin. From the few email conversations we exchanged prior to our first meeting, I knew she was from Shanghai, China and a current freshman at TCU. Other than that, we were set to meet at Union Grounds, Friday, September 26 at 2pm. Meeting a new person for the first time can be intimidating because a first impression can set the tone for the course of the relationship. However, as soon as Ailin and I began to talk, my nerves faded and I realized that this was going to develop into a friendship that would last much longer than the semester.

Our first topics of conversation generally included pleasantries, how school was going so far, what career she was interested in, and how she was adjusting to life in the United States. Ailin’s English speaking skills were better than I expected them to be, although there were a few times when I said a word she didn’t understand. In these cases, I supported what I was saying by using simpler, more common words. One example of this was when I said I had two siblings. Ailin struggled with the word “sibling” and even admitted she did not know what it meant. However, I was able to get the meaning across by providing more details about my family, and by classifying siblings in reference to my two younger brothers. There were also a few instances in which I did not understand what Ailin was saying, due to her thick Chinese accent. I responded by politely asking her to repeat what she had said, and once she did, the conversation progressed and continued to flow as normal.

As we became more familiar with each other’s speaking habits and tones, Ailin began to share with me some personal stories about her life and family. One particular topic that stuck out was when she was describing her aspirations to major in media and to be a TV news anchor. Although she does not start academic classes at TCU until next semester-due to her full engagement in the Intensive English Program- she was enthusiastic about the possibilities and classes this major would entail. On the other hand, Ailin also expressed the struggle with her parents accepting this major, as they are both bankers and believe she should pursue a career in business. The pressure that she feels from her parents was an obvious component of this discussion, and a topic that I was able to console her about as we talked about her plans after college.

Overall, my first conversation with Ailin was insightful and provided a solid foundation for us to gain a deeper understanding of each other in the upcoming meetings. While there were some initial obstacles to overcome including pre-meeting nerves and anxiety as well as different speaking tendencies, I am confident that our discussions in the future will further develop and continue to open my eyes to a life and culture different than my own.