Wrapping Up: Eighth Meeting

           Yesterday was my last meeting with Ibrahim. I brought him a Christmas present filled with typical Christmas candies: candy canes, chocolate Santas, and a candy cane twisted tree. He was excited as soon as I handed it to him and he gave me a big hug. He told me, “This is my first one.” Assuming that he meant his first one of the year, I was quite surprised when he continued by saying, “I’ve never gotten a Christmas present before. Last year we were in the process of moving when the holiday came around so I didn’t get anything.” I couldn’t believe it! I will always be glad that I went out and got him that gift. I know it meant a lot to him but it also meant a lot to me.

            Ibrahim found out this week that he was accepted to Texas A&M at Commerce and he will be moving to Dallas next semester to start his college. He told me he will be moving with his sister but he wasn’t excited to be leaving Fort Worth because he doesn’t like Dallas. He also expressed the fear that he won’t be able to do all the homework that is assigned to him because of the difficulty of writing in a foreign language. I told him that I am sure he will do fine and let him know about the writing centers that most campuses have in case he needed help with his papers. Although he is nervous, I am sure he will do great as he enters his new studies.

            With semester break coming up quickly, I asked Ibrahim if he had figured out his plans yet. He was excited because his parents had surprised him and bought tickets to come visit here in Texas over the break. They are flying in next Tuesday and staying for a few weeks in order to help Ibrahim move and go on a vacation. He told me that they planned to visit Santa Fe, New York, and Chicago while they were here and he couldn’t wait to see his parents again. I told him that I hadn’t traveled much even though I had lived in Fort Worth for about 10 years. He seemed shocked and I explained that my parents didn’t have enough money for us to go places a lot when there was five of us. Ibrahim told me that he didn’t think this was an excuse for not taking the time to see different places because it was worth the money to go and see everything the world had to offer. Although I agree with him and believe that it is worth it to travel, it was hard to express to him the differences in expenses for someone who was trying to pay for their own tuition at an expensive private university.

            As we finished up our coffee, we talked about the university experience that he would be having soon and I reflected on the experience that it had been to talk with him. I generally lead a fast-paced schedule and the coffee break I got to have with Ibrahim every once in a while really helped me to de-stress and recuperate for the rest of the week. It was an amazing experience to help Ibrahim as he finished up his English learning tests and learned more conversational English. I am so proud of all that he has accomplished and I could see his English improve on a weekly basis. It was interesting for me to get to know someone from a different culture who was adapting to America on a firsthand basis and I will look back on our meetings as an event that was vital to making me globally aware in my community here at TCU.