Conversation Partner
Yesterday afternoon I met my conversation partner Hamad al Shamari at Grand Marc. We went into the Internet Café there where we were met by his friend Will. Hamad and Will are both Kuwaitis. Will introduced himself and we all chatted for a couple of minutes before Will left. Then Hamad and I simply got to know each other asking basic introductory questions. A while later Hamad told me about a café nearby that he and his friends frequent a lot. We went there, hung out, and had Turkish Coffee. Being now in his environment, he felt more comfortable and spoke more freely. At times we would have a little bit of trouble communicating but I either spoke slowly or found another way to explain the concept. The real challenge was explaining the concept of ‘tailgating’ both as a noun and a verb. Nonetheless, I made it work and we had a good time. He even told me about how much he likes the waitress, “a very very beautiful women”.
Yesterday afternoon I met my conversation partner Hamad al Shamari at Grand Marc. We went into the Internet Café there where we were met by his friend Will. Hamad and Will are both Kuwaitis. Will introduced himself and we all chatted for a couple of minutes before Will left. Then Hamad and I simply got to know each other asking basic introductory questions. A while later Hamad told me about a café nearby that he and his friends frequent a lot. We went there, hung out, and had Turkish Coffee. Being now in his environment, he felt more comfortable and spoke more freely. At times we would have a little bit of trouble communicating but I either spoke slowly or found another way to explain the concept. The real challenge was explaining the concept of ‘tailgating’ both as a noun and a verb. Nonetheless, I made it work and we had a good time. He even told me about how much he likes the waitress, “a very very beautiful women”.
He told me more about where he’s
from in Kuwait and life there and his family and how it’s different from
America. Likewise, I told him the same about me and my home in South Florida.
Another challenging, but entertaining concept to explain was the difference
between the ‘The South’ the ‘South Florida’. He mentioned he likes video games
so after coffee we went back to his place and played Call of Duty with his roommates.
This was definitely the most fun and rewarding part of the experience. Not only
did we both have a good time, but we shed any awkwardness or formalities of the
conversation partner relationship. I also got the feeling that normally when he
plays with his friends he speaks in Arabic, but with me present he was forced
to use English. In this scenario a lot of the pressure was alleviated and we
were simply two people bonding over a common interest. I’d point something out
if he made an error while he’d also listen to me speak without consciously
thinking about grammar rules and whatnot. It was a positive experience and we’ll
probably hang out later this week.
I'm glad you guys found a common interest where you could connect. Great idea meeting in a pace where he feels more comfortable as well. Sounds like a typical scenario of a couple of dudes hanging out!
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