About 2 weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet with my conversation partner from China, Chen. He has only been here for a little while but his English was very good. I only had to repeat myself a few times and that's my fault, I talk way too fast!
Hannah went with me because her conversation partner hasn't emailed her back yet. For about 15 minutes we sat alone at a table at McAlisters. I kept telling Hannah "I don't think he's coming!" I had emailed him a couple days before and he had just said yes so I was nervous he wasn't going to show up. Little did we know Chen was sitting right behind us the whole time. We didn't realize this until we were the only 3 people in the place. This made for an awkward introduction as you can imagine.
However once we got the conversation going Hannah and I learned a lot about his life in China and his life here. The first thing that struck me as amazing was the fact that he came here all alone. He didn't know anyone coming to America! Now you tell me, would you be able to do that? Maybe I'm just a baby but I don't think I could. Especially to a country that didn't speak your native language. I was really impressed.
We learned about Chen and China. He told us that he along with most of his friends didn't have any siblings. He also told us that most of the families live in apartments in the city with their extended family. Can you imagine? I love my grandparents but if I had to live with them in a tiny space, the relationships might be a whole lot different.
My favorite part was when we got to talk about food! I mean who doesn't love a good meal? I thought it was very interesting that his favorite meal so far has been BBQ. It just struck me as strange because BBQ is the complete opposite of Chinese food. When it comes to "American Chinese" food Chen told us that it didn't even come close to the food his parents made at home.
I really enjoyed talking to Chen and I look forward to our next conversation. I admire his courage to come here all alone and I admire his confidence in being able to hold a conversation with us!
I found the fact that you and Hannah did not realize Chen was right behind you, for fifteen minutes quite funny. I did not quite LOL, but you got a good giggle out of me because I can relate to the whole circumstance. It is always awkward meeting strangers, especially those you can not identify and are expected to have an extended conversation with.
ReplyDeleteI can not agree with you more regarding the courage these transferrer students possess. I have the utmost admiration for their willingness to move away from home for extended periods, while being submersed into totally foreign cultures and in many cases, alone.
I found it interesting that Chen has no siblings. I wonder if it has to do with Chinas One-Child Policy, economic rational, or it was merely by choice.
Last but not least. I found it quite comical that Chen said that "American Chinese" food dose not even come close to the traditional staple meals he has at home, because I have come to find that this is true for a majority of foreign quinines. I know that at least when it comes to Japanese or Hawaiian foods American stereotypes, in no way accurately portray typical home cooked meals of natives.
Great post! Keep up the work!