Dominic Hoak CP 1

I met up with my conversation partner, Mohammad, last Tuesday after our CIES course. We decided to meet on campus because it was an easy location. We hung out for about an hour just talking. We talked a lot about the places that we've been and he is extensively more well traveled than me. We met in front of the FSU bookstore and from there went to Strozier Library. He said he didn't really know the campus that well so I tried to show him around some. I got to take him inside the library and show off the study rooms, and smart rooms, and explain the difference between a white board and smart board. I also showed him the William Johnston Building on campus, which I think is a neatly designed building. One thing that was interesting to me was Mohammad said he had a question that might be weird. I said sure ask it, and he asked me <What is the proper way to answer the question "What's up"?> I thought it was funny because after thinking about it, we really don't answer the question at all. I came up that people either say "Nothing" (pronounced "nutn") or just ignore the question and say "How are you?". We were lucky enough to run into two people that I know and as we approached them I told him to listen. People proved me right and each of them provided the responses that I said. It was an interested revelation about English that I hadn't exactly realized as a native speaker.

Kim Clauson_CP 3

I was happy to meet with my newest conversation partner, Abdulmohsen AlShatry, on Friday, November 2, 2012 at The International Center’s Tea Time.  We arrived early, so we spoke outside about our background, interests, and goals.  Abdul is Arabic and he is from Saudi Arabia.  He told me that he was nervous to speak to some Americans because he was unsure of how they would react.  Laughter discouraged him.  I could relate with my experiences in Costa Rica, though I unfortunately felt like his background could negatively affect how people interacted with him.  This thought made me angry and I felt like it wasn’t fair.  I tried to avoid the subject because it made me feel awkward.  I am sometimes embarrassed by how some people in the United States act, especially in the South.  

Abdul was very eager to meet as much as possible and he said that his schedule was always available to practice English.  He was particular about his English goals, and he was very serious about passing the TOEFL.  I admired his seriousness and his determination.

After Abdul left Tea Time, I began to speak to random International students at the event.  I met a really interesting Master’s Degree Asian Studies Scholar Student named Sarah.  Sarah and her friend Chen were from China.  We exchanged stories and numbers, and then I ran into another friend named Clara.  It was so nice to see familiar international faces in such an intimate and non-formal setting.  I would highly recommend Tea Time to anyone who has not yet experienced it.  It is a remarkable gathering of diverse people in a very peaceful setting!     

Kim Clauson_CP 2

After class on Thursday, November 1, 2012, a group of people from the TEFL course, Tyler, Nickie, Alex, and I decided to meet our conversation partners at Café Shesha in a group setting.  It was a really interesting situation, because many different people were all relating to one another through sharing stories and music.  I really enjoyed the chemistry between all of the people that came to meet us.  

First, I had the opportunity to meet Alevaro, and Hamad.  Later, my partner Mohammed brought two of his best friends, Mubarack and Jeseph.  His two friends are really hilarious, and it seems as if Mohammed is more comfortable with them around.  It was also great to see how Alex was able to relate to the guys on a more brotherly level.  They shared soccer stories, talked about women, and discussed favorite music.  We were all interested in what they had to say about their country, and about the types of experiences that they enjoyed when they lived in Kuwait City.  Apparently, many of the Arabic students that are a part of CIES are not actually shesha smokers, but I again felt ignorant to assume that Mohammed, Mubarack, and Jeseph would partake.  They weren’t bothered by the smokers, but they didn’t care to try it. 

I noticed that in a group setting it was slightly more difficult to personally correct Mohammed, but I think he gathered valuable insight by mirroring the modeled conversational structures used by the TEFL students.

Kim Clauson_TP 1

As I drove far north of town into Killearn Lakes on Wednesday, October 31, 2012, I recognized ferries, zombies, butterflies, and action heroes strapped into the backseats of their parent’s vehicles.  “Oh, joy!  I get to experience Halloween in Killearn!” I thought.  I was certain that my new tutoring partner was going to be enthusiastic about the American holiday and so I was ready for his lack energy in regards to tutoring.  

Initially, Woo-Joo and I had great conversations about his interests.  I told him that I want to get to know his interests so that he could practice reading information that was important to his life.  We decided to form a web graph based on his interests.  We discussed favorite books, games, movies, songs, hobbies, and sports.  I realized that like many other adolescent middle school boys, Woo-Joo was interested in adventures, fantasies, and mysteries.  Likewise, he was also interested in the gaming world, and pop culture which included songs that were incredibly inappropriate. 

I was able to notice that Woo-Joo’s English comprehension was certainly around Intermediate to High-Intermediate.  His mother told me that he was a good student and a proficient student, but she thought that he mainly needed to focus on accuracy.  In addition to accuracy, we wanted to prepare him for high school expectations by increasing his academic vocabulary and working on his reading comprehension skills.

Just out of curiosity, what are appropriate materials or lesson ideas that I could share with Woo-Joo based on his interests?  

Kim Clauson_CP 1

On Sunday, October 28, 2012, I met Mohammed Alqallaf.  We had talked extensively via slightly awkward and misinterpreted text messaging so I actually felt like I knew him slightly.  On Saturday, I was invited to meet at the Downtown Get-Down, but had to decline because I had other plans.  Either way, somehow we began talking about football first, then soccer.  We both admitted that we preferred soccer, but football was amusing, especially live games.

Once I met him at the Union, we seemed to have many topics to discuss.  We decided to go get tea and coffee from New Leaf Market, and to check out the festivities at the Cabo’s Annual Celebration.  Immediately upon my departure from the Union, I started to wonder if my Cabo’s idea was actually a bad idea.  I hope people aren’t going to be belligerently drunk, I thought.  It was already 5 pm and the locals at the party were certainly having a good time.  We watched the loud, classic Tallahassee cover band for a moment, and proceeded to get a drink from New Leaf market.  I could tell that Mohammed wasn’t very interested in the music, and I wasn’t either at that moment. 

I felt like Mohammed was slightly shy, but my enthusiasm for learning about him and his hometown, a.k.a. Kuwait City, Kuwait, made our conversations fun and rewarding.  We joked about various subjects, and could share a smile from time to time.  I learned during my conversations with Mohammed that Kuwait City was the only city in Kuwait.  I knew it was a tiny country, but I couldn’t help but feel a little ignorant for not knowing more about his country.

Nickie - CP2

Thursday November 1, 2012

Amr and I have set a schedule to meet Thursday nights after I get done with class, which is great for planning purposes.  However, after our last meeting at Atomic Coffee, I'm hesitant to pick the place in which to meet.  As he is so soft spoken, its best to meet in areas that aren't filled with background music and such.  However, the entertainer in me doesn't find the meeting rooms in the library appealing.  I don't want us both to glance at our watches 100 times during our meetings. 

So, this week I encountered an uncomfortable situation and think I handled it well without anyone's feelings getting hurt.  Because we spoke of food last week, Amr didn't hesitate to invite me to his apartment for dinner he planned on cooking Thursday.  I love food, and hate to be rude, but I don't want to cross any boundaries that may be different in our cultures.  I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea, so I politely declined.  With several people in our class talking about heading over to Cafe Shisha with their conversation partners, I decided to invite Amr.  He wasn't keen on the idea, so the wing place next door won.  We didn't share lamb and rice this evening, but a platter of deep fried American goodness instead.  :)  We talked about sports that were on TV and our interest/lack of interest in different sports.  We spoke of Halloween and our lack of interest in dressing up this year. 

After our food was gone, I told him I would still like to say hi to my classmates at Shisha and meet their partners, and invited him to come along.  He then admitted that he had never been inside the Cafe and in general it isn't an atmosphere he was comfortable.  After seeing one of his own classmates through the window, he decided to come in and at least say hi before heading back to his house. 

Any suggestions on meeting places for Thursday evening times that are quiet, but not completely lame would be appreciated.  Its an added challenge that I'm not familiar with Tallahassee. :)

CP 2

    Thursday night after class I went to Grand Marc to meet up with my conversation partner Hamad. From there we walked to Café Shisha where we would later meet up with other students and people in our class. On the way we talked about school that day and Halloween on Wednesday. We exchanged pictures and stories from the night before. At the café we met up with Kim, Tyler and her conversation partner, and later Nicky. Although I could tell Hamad was shy, I think it was good for him to hang out with such a large and diverse group at such an informal place. Every once in a while Tyler or I would bring him into the conversation to try and get him talking. His shyness wore off as the evening progressed.
    Later Nicky,as well as Hamad had to leave. After they left, two of Kim’s conversation partners and their friend showed up. They were these cool younger guy from Kuwait who, like myself, love to play FIFA. We talked about soccer, weddings in Kuwait, sandstorms, and even Jay-Z. At around 10:45 we all called it a night and took the second picture in front of the café. I walked back with the three guys to Grand Marc to get my scooter and ended up getting my world rocked in FIFA two games in a row…Kind of a depressing end to a fun night…