Being a conversation partner with Barbi has been one of the most
rewarding experiences I have had at thus far TCU. From our bookstore dates,
lunchtime meets, campus walks, and conversation partner events, we have become
quite the duo. We text each other often, and Barbi feels comfortable asking me
questions about her homework, assignments, or about TCU in general. I am lucky
to have been paired with such a great partner and our last meeting for the
semester was met with laughter and a great time.
Barbi and I met at the TCU Bookstore like always and
caught up with each other for a few minutes. I asked her about her classes and
she was thrilled to tell me that she is now at the advanced level! She did
extremely well on her final exams and she cannot wait to continue to improve
her English. Barbi’s happiness today was contagious, and she made my day go
from a great one to a fantastic one. I told her that I did well on my
accounting exam for once and she was so excited for me. I’ve loved being able
to share my success and failures with someone else this semester and I know she
feels the same way. Yes, I talk to my parents and friends about my life but it
is nice to share this with someone completely unbiased and caring.
After catching up about our classes, we left the
bookstore and walked to the Founder’s Statue where my sorority sisters were
handing out hot chocolate. Barbi and I got some hot cocoa and walked over to
the TCU Christmas tree in the Commons. We laughed about how much we both love
chocolate and how neither of us thinks chocolate could be that bad health wise when it is in liquid form. Barbi had never
seen the tree and was so excited to see such a masterpiece. In Haiti, people
typically do not decorate with lights or Christmas trees for the holidays so
this was something new to her. She told me that her family spends more time
focusing on what they are thankful for and that they spend a lot of time
together playing games and eating food. Not only did we talk about what she is
going to do over Christmas break, but we also talked about football. She
attended the TCU vs. Iowa State game this past weekend, and she said she had so
much fun. Barbi was glad that she was able to go to a game, understand what was
going on during the game, receive a TCU towel, and storm the field when the
game was over. Overall, she had the typical TCU college student experience at a
football game, and I am so happy that she had such a wonderful time!
My friendship with Barbi has made me more aware of the
difficulties that exist for international students. The cultural and language
barriers make it hard for those in the Intensive English Program to connect
with others and even to connect to TCU as a whole. I enjoyed attending the
Intensive English program events, and my favorite was the party I attended
about halfway through the semester. I got to see Barbi interact with the other
students and truly saw what she is like during class. She was friendly,
approachable, talkative, and compassionate toward her classmates and tried to
help the new students feel more at ease. Barbi’s teacher even came up to me and
told me that Barbi is one of her best students and that I am lucky to be paired
with her. I not only enjoyed this event because I was able to talk to some of
the other international students but I also loved getting to hang out with
Barbi in a fun, group setting. Barbi is not only my conversation partner, but
she is also my fellow horned frog, friend, and confidante. Our personalities
work well together, and we never stop laughing while we are together. I look
forward to continuing to hang out with her long after this class is over, and I
know that we will stay in touch even after college.
