a cultural experience

Without having English class the past week and half, I didn't get many questions answered. I was unaware as to why we had to meet Wednesday afternoon in a completely different building then usual. Eager to find out what we were up to next I walked into the CESL for the first time. I overheard a teacher point to a chinese speaking student and say "we are meeting in room 203 today," which caught me off gaurd because that was the class I was told to go to. I walked in to find not only my classmates but a bunch of students who were in a different position then most of us. They had each traveled to Tucson from their home country excited to learn more and more about English, writing, and the American culture. They were completely outside their elements and comfort zone much like how I felt on my trip to Israel. We were paired up with a student where we interviewed each other and where I got to play a short role as a teacher. I was first paired up with Bardi. He was so excited when interviewing me and showing me how good his grammar and punctuation really was. I was truly impressed. I just kept thinking that if I was in his position I would be not only be stressed about learning a new language, but also about being so far. So as class went on, I tried putting myself in his shoes. I am currently in Spanish 102, where I feel completely out of my comfort zone, not to mention my family is in Dallas as I am miles away from them too. I might not be as far as Bardi, but it was exciting to see him so happy about English. We were handed a piece of paper with a variety of questions to ask one another, but one question really stood out to me. I asked "What about your upbringings made you the person you were today?" He answered the influence of his parents. I think it was kind of real and cool to see that even though he was brought up in Saudi Arabia and I was brought up in Dallas, Texas, we both had the same upbringings as younger men and women. I think it was a great experience to switch up class for that day and do something that was meaning full to me. I think I made a new friend, and learned a lot about culture within one class period.

-Haylee