Carlos-CP1

Initially, meeting with my conversation partner on tuesday did not go as smoothly as I would have hoped. My paperwork was misplaced so I was not partnered with anyone. After sorting things out with Ryan, I walked up to one of the students who seemed to be just as lost as I was. This student's name was Abdel Konate, and apparently he could not find his partner. We sat down and started talking about basic things, such as home and family. He is from Ivory Coast and had just arrived to America last week. I was impressed by Abdel's English and told him I wish I could speak French as well as he could speak English. I genuinely enjoyed our conversation as we continued to learn more about each other. I'm very excited to work with Abdel because of how eager of a learner he is. He always has a notepad in hand to take down notes every so often, yet still remains completely immersed in our conversation. He hopes to be able to talk as quickly as the average American in conversation. Because of this, he even took initiative every so often to ask if I had any more questions to ask him. He did this, not to be rude, but so that he could continue to formulate responses off the top of his head and to practice quicker responses. Towards the end of the conversation, I told him that English is my second language and that I've studied other languages. I reassured him that I understood where he's coming from and I know learning another language is difficult. We've been in good contact since our first meeting and plan on meeting again this weekend for lunch or dinner.