Conversation Partner #2

My second meeting with Saeed took place in the BLUU. The meeting started off on a high note with a bit of humor. We had scheduled and cancelled so many meetings in the BLUU that finally getting to actually meet there was a little weird and caused us both to laugh. This served to break the ice and ease us into the easy-going conversation we had experienced in our first meeting. I continue to marvel  at how we have been able to talk so effortlessly despite our lack of time together. I credit this to the Intensive English Program at TCU as well as Saeed's commitment to the program. This commitment is impressive because, as I learned during this meeting, he is not the typical college student. Saeed is close to thirty years old so he not only faces the stresses of being a student, but must also work to support his wife and the family they are hoping to start soon. On top of that, he is also taking business classes at night. Saeed talked a bit about how all these commitments can sometimes become rather stressful, but he also mentioned how supportive his wife is of him and that they both know that many good things will stem from his studies. After hearing about the business classes, I asked Saeed what he wanted to do after school. When I asked, his face immediately lit up and he began to talk about his dream of owning his own business. Back in Saudi Arabia, he worked as a banker because he has always been very good with finances. It is his hope to take this skill and the knowledge from his business classes and open a self-run business. This was one of the main reasons he came to the United States. Here is able to get the education he needs at a reasonable price, something that he could not do in Saudi Arabia. He did mention that one thing he did not like about business in the United States was having to take the GMAT. We were able to connect over this because I, being a premed student, will eventually have to take the MCAT so we were able to complain to each other about the stresses of taking these standardized tests. Because of the age and cultural differences between us, this was the first topic we really had in common. It just goes to show that the hatred of standardized tests is recognized all around the world.