I'm a Barbi Girl

I met for the first time with my conversation partner on Monday, September 22^nd at the TCU Bookstore! We had communicated back and forth via email a few times just to set the place and time for our meeting but I still had no idea what to expect. The idea of having a conversation partner who is in the Intensive English program at TCU is exciting, and seems like a very rewarding and insightful experience for both parties. However, along with this cool assignment, comes a great deal of responsibility, patience, and understanding. I was very much looking forward to meeting my partner, yet as our meeting time got closer, I become more and more nervous. These feelings were directly related to this new process and my unfamiliarity with students from other countries. I was worried about what to say or how I should act, but once my student showed up, those fears vanished. Upon our first meeting, I realized that she was probably more nervous than I was, and it didn’t help the situation at all that she had gotten lost trying to find the bookstore. She seemed shy, and apprehensive at first, but she handled the situation very well. My conversation partner, Barbi, is from Haiti, and in just one meeting, she opened up to me a lot.

Within the first few minutes of our conversation, it came up that she and her two siblings came to the United States a few years ago in order to escape the perils that exist in Haiti. She said that the last two years were difficult on her and her family, as her father was killed last year by a home intruder and her mother shot in this same encounter. I was shocked that such a horrific act had taken place, however, she was very calm and did not seem as phased by the situation as I would have thought. Barbi was very matter-of-fact when she told me, and so it occurred to me that something like this must be a common occurrence in her hometown. Barbi and her two siblings moved to Maine from Haiti a few years ago where they began to learn English, and Barbi even mentioned that she got her braces on while there, something that she was very excited about. They moved to Texas on July 1^st, and although Barbi said it is hot, she said it reminds her a lot of the climate at home (she didn’t like the cold temperatures of Maine). Barbi’s English is very good, however, she disagrees and believes she has much room for improvement. She is going to school so she can become a business administrator, and I can tell that she is very determined to do well. Barbi and her siblings, who are also in the Intensive English Program at TCU, live with their uncle and cousins in the area but take two buses every morning to get to campus. Their family is very close-knit, and Barbi mentioned that they all attended their first football game together this past weekend! Through our first conversation, I could tell that Barbi is a very genuine, kind, intelligent, and hard-working person. She dedicates a lot of time to her family and her studies, and I hope that I will not only get to know Barbi this semester but that I will also get to become friends with her. I am inspired by her positive attitude, and her determination to succeed. She was so brave and open with me about her story, and I hope that I can make as great of a positive impact on her life as she did on mine in only one conversation.