Meeting Mohammad

When I received my email from Zhenya with the contact information regarding my IEP student I was nervous and excited at the same time. I quickly emailed Mohammad to arrange a meeting time as soon as possible. We began texting back and forth to find a time that would work for both of our busy schedules. Tuesday at 3:30 it was.

            As I walked up the stairs to the third floor of the BLUU I was slightly concerned because I had no idea who to look for. I continued to walk around for several minutes before I saw a curly haired Saudi casually sitting on the sofa. We shook hands and greeted one another as we sat down to join in conversation. He seemed very nervous at first, but quickly began telling me about himself.

            From our conversation I leaned that he is twenty years old, from Saudi Arabia, and grew up speaking Arabic. In 2010 he went to South Africa to learn English, however, he openly admitted that he was there for the social aspect and to have fun, going out nightly with his friends. His trip was too short to learn and pick up on the English language. Upon his request, his father allowed him to come to the United States to learn English and pursue a business degree. He began an international exchange program at the University of Florida, but soon came to Texas Christian University. He misses his family and six siblings, two older sisters, and four younger brothers. He said it is common for women in Saudi Arabia to have many children and to grow up with lots of siblings.

            He explained how different school, people, families, and social norms are here in comparison to his home. I told him how amazed at how well his English speaking skills were for only learning and practicing English for a year. Although, he is very loquacious he explained how challenging it is to comprehend professors’ lectures when they have such limited time to convey a large amount of material. He has found that recording professors’ lectures and replaying them at home is most helpful. Mohammad is determined to complete the IEP program and pursue a degree in supply chain management. He is currently taking microeconomics and has a test tomorrow which he is worried about because he has not yet received the textbook from Amazon.

            Living off campus, he has rented a car to drive to and from school. I was thrown off guard when he asked if I speed while driving. I couldn’t help from smirking as I told him I that I am guilty and have received a speeding ticket before. He became very enthusiastic when I told him this because he said he was pulled over for speeding while driving from Florida to Texas. He couldn’t help but drive fast in his sleek car as he clocked 120 mph. I encouraged him to be careful and to slow down. He was relieved because he could relate to the feeling you get as soon as you see the red and blue lights flashing in your rear view mirror.

            Mohammad asked me about American family dynamics and so I asked him what he thought the typical American family was like. He described American families as to what he has seen in movies. “When the children turn eighteen, their parents kick them out of the house and they are forced to work and live on their own.” Although, some experience similar situations I tried to portray my image of the average American family similar to mine. I showed him a picture of my mom, dad, sister, and five dogs and told him that my family is very loving, supporting, and motivating. He was happy to hear that there are American families similar to his own family. He described his father as supporting because he helped him come to America and learn English.

            As our hourly conversation came to a close, he was so excited to meet again and asked to arrange a time for tomorrow. I smiled and reassured him that we would meet next week. I couldn’t believe how well he was able to communicate and carry a conversation, there was never a silent pause. I am inspired by Mohammad’s hard work to learn the English language and culture and look forwards to meeting with him weekly this semester.