Second River Reflection

As I sit on this bench with the semester closing, it feels nice to take a step back and reflect on not only this semester but my entire college experience. With finals about to start, it is nice to be out in nature without a care in the world. I can push school to the side and just appreciate this calm time. The weather has cooled off drastically from the start of the semester, so I am not profusely sweating as I write.

When I first got to TCU, I was a young eighteen year old boy who had never been away from my parents for longer than a few days. I did not know the ways of the world. I had jobs, but I had not had to balance any type of budget. My schedule was perfectly laid out for me. If I slept through an alarm, my mom would be there to wake me up. I was in an environment that felt completely natural. I grew up and lived in the same house my entire life. Now, here I was, living in a completely different city without the same support network. I had a roommate for the first time in my life. More time would need to be spent out of class than in class. There were no bells telling me when and where to go for class. The level of difficulty ramped up tremendously. If I had any questions, I had to be resourceful and find people to ask.

As semesters passed, however, I came to love this new found freedom. Sure, it had its consequences. If I stayed up late one night, I would be paying for it the next morning. How I was able to get to high school by 7:30 every day still amazes me. 8 AM classes seemed impossible to make. There was nobody reminding me of the homework that was due tomorrow. My professors didn't come and check on my progress. On the flip side, however, was the feeling that I had made it to adulthood. It may sound cheesy, but it was the greatest feeling. I made new friends from all over the world. I had the privilege to work with professors who have accomplished great things. I learned how to manage my money and prepare for the future. I excelled in my major and set myself up for medical school in the future.

Senior semester is coming to an end closer than I like to believe. I don't like to use the word "graduation" quite yet. In my house, there seemed to be an underlying "something" that all of us were experiencing. Certain things that normally we just let slide seemed to irritate us more. People's tempers seemed to flare up quicker. We came to the conclusion that it was the future. We have all grown so close, both within our house and with friends here, that we don't want to accept the inevitable. Some of us may end up in the same city, but we will all have "big boy" jobs now. We can't decide on a whim to go out a free Tuesday night. Fraternity chapter meetings that bring us all together will cease. Extra effort is going to have to be made to stay in contact. Sadly, there will be people who I likely won't see until college reunions.

Despite all this, I am ready to move forward. I have secured my spot in medical school. I have built lasting friendships that I know will endure. I have made connections with professors that I intend on keeping alive. I have prepared myself for the future and plan on attacking it head on. 

The Titanic

Hemingway is known for his Iceberg Technique in his writing. In this technique, he writes about 10% of the story and leaves the rest for the reader to interpret. The stories are complete, but many parts of the story are left unsaid. There is often not much history given, and the conclusion of the story is left up to the reader.

Initially, I was very excited to read Hemingway. He is a very well known American author, but I have very limited experience with his writing. I had been exposed to Huck Finn and Walden before, but I couldn't think of a time when I had read Hemingway. This initial excitement turned to dread, however, when I heard about the Iceberg Technique. I was not a big fan of trying to interpret what the author meant. It brought me back to high school English days. Teachers only accepted one interpretation for the literature we studied. If your interpretation deviated from the "correct" interpretation, you were wrong. Who cares if everyone has different backgrounds and experiences that may cause them to read literature differently? Clearly, the author only meant one thing when he wrote the literature. This thinking drove me nuts and led to many arguments with teachers.

Anyways, I promised myself I would at least give it an attempt. We started with Up In Michigan, and boy was I completely wrong. I did not expect what I read at all. It covered topics that I had never discussed in a academic setting. Honestly, I was completely shocked when I was done reading the story. After rereading the story, I came to appreciate the fact that details were left out. Hemingway did not need to spell everything out. Loose ends remained, and that was fine. Hemingway did not need to tell the reader how to think or how to interpret his stories; personal experiences and beliefs would handle that. Was it actually rape or not? Personally, I think it was. I drew that conclusion, however, from my belief system. Other people may see it differently, and that is completely alright. Most importantly, it got the class thinking. It was a touchy subject to discuss in class, but it was handled well.

I enjoyed the other short stories, but The Old Man and the Sea stuck out to me. The book is commonly referred to in popular culture, but I had never read it. At just over a hundred pages, it was a relatively fast and easy read. That definitely earned it some points in my book. Regardless, I found the book to be relatable, even though it was written way before my time. Some of the sections while Santiago is out on the sea got a bit repetitive, but ultimately it was a pleasure to read. Coming from a religious background, it was easy to pick out a good portion of the religious imagery. The group presentations pointed out even more than I had seen. Everybody had those "marlin" they have chased; some have been successful and some haven't. Was Santiago successful? I believe so. He may have had the fish destroyed by sharks, but I don't think that was the ultimate prize. Manolin comes back to work with him. He earns the respect of some local fishermen. He proved to himself that he could catch the fish. Through it all, however, a sad realization struck me. Santiago brought himself to the brink of death to catch this fish. His prize was destroyed by sharks. He hangs the carcass up, yet passing tourists believe it to be a shark. They are completely oblivious to everything Santiago went through. The world kept ticking as Santiago was having the battle of his life. I think about that in present day. People may be "fighting their marlin" without anybody knowing. I think this is why the book struck a chord with me.

By the end of the Hemingway section, I had changed my views on this literary technique. I was no longer "the Titanic" being destroyed by an iceberg. I didn't mind using my experiences and knowledge to tie up loose ends. Sometimes, loose ends can remain loose. I was able to interpret the stories in ways that were applicable to my life. I didn't have to fit some grading rubric to earn maximum points.

Sixth Conversational Partner Meeting

Well, the end has finally come. From our initial meeting to now, much has changed. I could barely get in contact with Sari at first, and now we regularly email each other. Communication flows a lot smoother. I rarely have to stop and define a word for him. He has definitely grown in his mastery of the English language. We have learned each other's backgrounds, families, cultures, and day to day life. He has grown from a class assignment to a true friend.

With dead days about to start, we decided to meet for lunch at McAllister's Deli before we got into finals mode. Believe me, I am not ready for that at all. I had been inundated with tests and papers recently, so this was a very nice break from the hustle and bustle of school. It is always nice to just sit and talk with a friend for a break.

Sari had heard a lot about the TCU football success and asked me about it. I by no means am a football expert, but I tried my best to explain what I knew. I told him how we had a great season this year, beating highly ranked teams. I also told him about the new playoff system. Before this year, the BCS committee determined the rank of the teams. They put the top two teams, in their opinion, in a bowl game. The winner of that game was the "national champion." There had been a lot of resistance to that system. The criteria for deciding those teams was not always clear. Sometimes there were multiple teams who seemed good enough for the national championship game. The old system had no way to handle three or four really good yet equal teams.

The new system implemented a playoff system. Every week, a committee of around twelve people met to discuss the current state of college football. They looked at all results from the previous week, and they released the top ten teams. The top four would be the teams that would go to playoffs. TCU had gotten on that list, which was great. At the second to last ranking, TCU was ranked third. Everyone was for sure that we were going to the playoffs. On our last week of football, we defeated Iowa St. easily. Unfortunately, Iowa St. was not highly ranked. Ohio State and Alabama played well. It wasn't so much what we did but how well the other teams performed. We dropped from three to six, and subsequently we were out of the playoffs. Even worse, we were ranked behind Baylor. I explained that if we were a "bigger" program that was more well known, we probably would have stayed in the playoffs. Hopefully, our players use their frustration with the system to come back with a vengeance next year. We are playing a good team in the Peach Bowl, and we need to show how good we are.

Sari seemed to understand about 90% of what I said, which is pretty impressive. I told him that he for sure needed to go to a game before he left TCU. It is such an American sport that can only be understood by directly participating. He promised me he would, so I will have to check next year to see if he did.

Finally, we got to the worst part: the goodbyes. Never easy to say, I was dreading this part. We had grown close, and it would be weird for this to come to a close. We promised we would stay in contact. I told him if he ever needed anything, whether it be football knowledge or places to visit, to shoot me an email. I let him know that all financial questions will be sent to him. I truly learned a lot about his culture, and I am so glad I had this experience.

Fifth Conversational Partner Meeting

The weather has finally started to cool off here in Fort Worth. No more wearing shorts and a T-shirt to class. It is finally time to bundle up, but at least we won't be drenched in sweat by the time we get to class. Sari and I decided to switch it up and meet at Starbucks. He said it reminded him of the coffeehouses back in Saudi Arabia.

Both Sari and I had prior engagements that we had to take care of today, so we were not able to meet for a long time. After briefly catching up on what we had been up to this week, we slowly started talking about family. I realized this might be a sensitive subject with him being isolated from most of his family, but he seemed fine to talk about it.

Sari is here at TCU with his younger sister. They are both enrolled in the IEP program at TCU. Before they are able to move forward with their CFA/CPA certifications, they must be certified in English. Sari did not seem too worried about passing the English exam, but he definitely was apprehensive about the CFA certification. From my understanding, it is a very rigorous exam for native English speakers. I can not even imagine the difficulty to a non-native speaker. As we had discussed earlier, his sister has had some initial difficulties with harassment. Sari actually went home and spoke with her about what we had discussed previously with the harassment. He said that it still happens rarely, but she handles it much better. I told him that he should bring her to one of our meetings. I would love to show her that the prejudices against foreigners are not wide spread. She made huge sacrifices to come to America and further her education. It would be terrible for her view to be tainted by a few jerks.

We also discussed Sari's previous marriage. He informed me that he had been married before, and he even had a boy who was ten. Unfortunately, the marriage was not working out when they got to the United States. They divorced, and she now lives in West Virginia with some family. I did not want to delve too deeply into that sensitive topic. Sari still gets to see his son occasionally, but you could definitely tell that he misses him. I can't imagine how hard it is to be that far away from your kid. As for the rest of his family, Sari's father died when he was young. He doesn't have very many memories of him. His mom is still alive, but she lives in Saudi Arabia. Communication is very difficult.

I told Sari about my younger sister. She is a sophomore at UNT in Denton, TX. She hopes to do commercial real estate, and Sari joked that he could help finance the purchases. Sari seems like a good guy to have on your investing team with all of his experience. I also described the city of Denton to him. With very limited travel inside Texas, Sari had no idea how different cities could be. I told him how different cities like Austin, Houston, and Fort Worth were. Each were known for different things and had completely different cultures.

I also talked to him about my parents. I described my home back in Houston. Both of my parents are from Michigan, so I have spent a lot of time in the north. He understand that culture a little due to his ex-wife and son. Sari was glad that he did not have to deal with all the snow down here. I wholeheartedly agreed. I let Sari know that this would be our second to last meeting. Both of our semesters were coming to a close, but we had both clearly taken away a lot from these meetings.

Fourth Conversational Partner Meeting

Last time Sari and I met, I felt like I was asking a lot of questions. I was very interested in what he had to say, but I felt like I asked the majority of the questions. I see these meetings as a way for both partners to learn about the other culture. Sari was getting the short end of the straw in my opinion. I felt like I was learning so much about his culture, yet he had barely scratched the surface of mine. Hoping to remedy this, I asked Sari to have some questions for me next time we met.

When we met up at Chick Fil A, Sari had informed me that he had "done his homework." He had thought about possible questions, and came up with "What is a typical week for you?" At first, I thought this was a pretty simple question. I follow a pretty set schedule every week. As I thought about it more, however, I realized it would truly reflect American culture. The ways in which I budgeted my time, the places I visited, and the people I hang out with reflect on me as a person.

I started off by telling him about my living situation. I currently live in a house near campus with four other roommates. We all met freshman year and have been great friends since. We may get in fights over who has to clean the house or do the dishes, but we ultimately get along very well. All of us have contributed furniture, electronics, silverware, etc to the house. We even decided to all pitch and buy a real Christmas tree this year. From finance to biology, we have a diverse set of majors that keeps conversations interesting. Sari joked that he would have loved to live like that when he was younger, but he didn't think he could handle it at his age now.

He already knew a lot about my school schedule, so I didn't spend too much time on that. I briefly mentioned research, and Sari's ears perked right up. I'm not quite sure if he was being polite or genuinely interested, but he seemed eager to hear about my research. I tried my best to describe working in a lab to a non-science major. I also don't know how well words like "pipette" and "growth medium" translate.

Finally, I talked to him about some extracurricular activities I am involved in. Explaining the concept of a fraternity to him was interesting. I told him how we hosted different events both on and off campus. We were involved in philanthropy and participated in many events with sororities. Sari likes to stay active, so we talked about the gym a bit. I told him that if he looks running or biking, the trails by the Trinity River offer a great view while you exercise. He seemed very interested in visiting.

After this meeting, I felt like we had evened out the playing field. Sari had asked questions about my culture. He seemed very engaged in the conversation. Hopefully, Sari took something from our meeting today. I can't wait to see what he has to say next time!

Third Conversational Partner Meeting

When we last left off, Sari and I had planned out a list of things that he could try around the DFW area. He was interested in all that Fort Worth had to offer, and I tried to point him in the way of some cool attractions. Unfortunately, he was not able to attend the football game. It was a very rowdy crowd, so it might have been a huge culture shock for him. Hopefully he is able to attend some games in the future. I really think he would enjoy it.

I must have been feeling extra hungry during our meeting, because our conversation started to gravitate towards food. Maybe, though, food is just a universal language that brings people from all cultures together. It doesn't matter your background; everybody can enjoy great food. In many ways, food is an art form. Food is not just about the physical food. It is going to hole-in-the-wall restaurants to try a brand new cuisine. It is the preparation, cooking, and presentation.

Anyways, I started asking Sari about Saudi Arabian cuisine. I don't have much experience with Middle Eastern food, so I was interested in what he had to say. The two main dishes that characterize this culture are falafel and shawarma. Falafel is made from deep fried chickpeas or fava beans. They are ground up and made into balls. They can be served in a pita or flatbread. Falafel can also be glazed with different toppings. Shawarma is a way to prepare different meats, including chicken, turkey, beef, and lamb. It is cooked on a vertical stick over a grill for up to a day. The meat is shaved off this giant block and added to a sandwich or wrap. Different toppings, like tabbouleh or hummus, can be added.

Saudi Arabia is also known for its coffee houses. Sari told me that it was standard to offer guests coffee. It was a sign of generosity. He said that coffeehouse were ubiquitous across Saudi Arabia. Fast food is also gaining traction in Saudi Arabia. They have many of the classics that we have here in America.

Finally, Sari told me that he did not eat any pork. As we discussed earlier, he also does not drink alcoholic drinks. Both of these are due to his religion. I told him we would get along well, because I can't stand most pork dishes. He thought it was funny when I told him he wasn't missing out on much.

With all this talk about his cuisine, I felt I needed to share what I considered to be the most Texan cuisine, BBQ. He had not had BBQ here in Fort Worth, so I pointed him in the direction of Railhead and Angelo's. I explained to him how they slow cook the meat all day in giant smokers. They use different types of woods to flavor the meat. The final topping, the sauce, either makes or breaks the meal. I also explained the typical sides are usually beans, potato salad, and cole slaw. As long as he stayed clear of the pork ribs and sausage, he would easily be able to find BBQ he could enjoy.

I left this meeting hungrier than usual, but I left wanting to try new foods. I will need to find a good Middle Eastern restaurant around Fort Worth. It was awesome watching food bridge the gap between two completely different cultures. Hopefully Sari is able to try some BBQ. I really think he would enjoy it.

First River Reflection

As I sit by the Trinity River, I remember back to my time working with LEAPS. LEAPS is a community outreach program that TCU sponsors. There are two events every year, one per semester. Before each event, you get to pick the area that interests you the most. They usually have around 10-12 activities, ranging from volunteering at a school to picking up trash. Last year, I decided to plant trees along the Trinity River.

Waking up at 7 AM on a Saturday is no easy task. With long, busy weeks full of exams and papers, signing up to plant trees on a Saturday morning did not sound very appealing. My entire lab had decided to participate in this activity, so I felt like I should contribute as well. Once we arrived in the commons, we were placed in our respective buses to go to our sites. We drove around for 45 minutes, hopelessly lost. Our guide had no idea where we were supposed to be. This did little to ease the morning grogginess. We finally arrived at our site, and one of the park workers taught us how to plant trees. All of us paired up, picked up our tools, and got to work.

Initial reluctance to waking up early on a Saturday turned into enjoyment with each tree planted. I felt alert and awake. My mind felt clear. The sun had just rose, painting its light across the park. The air felt clean and wasn't too hot. It was a perfect morning.

Planting the trees reminded me of growing up back home. My dad and I would often wake up on weekend morning and work on the lawn. He would teach me how to use all the various tools. We would dig up old trees and plant new flowers. As I got older, I was allowed to use the power tools such as the lawn mower or hedge trimmers. I'm sure my dad was a lot happier than I was when I could finally mow the lawn. After we finished our work, we always got to jump in the pool. I will forever remember those mornings. I honestly believed this is what contributed to my enjoyment of the Trinity River tree planting. It brought me back to careless mornings with my dad.

With a stressful week behind me, this river reflection was just what I needed. It gave me time to recollect my thoughts and prepare for the upcoming week. Although I found it kind of strange initially, I am glad I spent the quiet time just looking at the river. I can not wait until my next river reflection.

The Big Thirst Reflection

Coming from a science background, my knowledge and experience with water is probably a lot different than most people. While most people just use water for personal use, I have taken classes that have in depth studied the science behind water. I feel like I have learned way more about water than is necessary. When I heard that there was a "science" chapter in this book about water, my ears immediately perked up. I actually sat down and read the whole first section in one sitting.

Being a numbers guy, I really enjoyed the first two chapters. Some of the data is mind-blowing in regards to the amount of water that we use. It is impossible to even wrap your head around how much water is used by a nation in a year. We just have nothing to compare it to. Once Chapter 2 started getting into the scientific details, I really became interested. A lot of the information about the physical and chemical was already familiar to me. The section about the "fourth state of water," however, came as a big surprise to me. I knew compounds could exist in anhydrous or hydrated forms, but I never really connected the dots. Humans have barely scratched the surface of the Earth. We have never drilled down more than a few miles into the crust. We do not fully understand what is going on in the mantle/core. Theories have been developed, but they can not be fully understood and accepted until we drill deeper. With this limited understanding of what is below us, it makes sense that we have all this water in a "fourth state." There are methods of extracting the water, but it is not economically feasible. Until we have a way to extract this water, we must be prudent in our conservation of water. Water never disappears, but if it is unobtainable, then it can not help us.

Going along with the science theme, conservation of water is an important theme that I feel is absent in scientific study. The book constantly refers to water as an "invisible problem." We do not see water being lost. We turn on our faucets; water comes out. People no longer have to go pump water from a well. Water bottles are sold almost everywhere. In the science community, water is obviously a very crucial substance. As Chapter 2 outlined, water is a universal solvent. It is used in countless applications. I currently work in a research lab, and water conservation is not discussed. We have a hood that we conduct many experiments in. Water must be run the entire time it is used to power the vacuum inside it. Sometimes, someone will work in the hood for hours at a time. That is gallons of water just being sent down the drain. Water is often used to clean glassware, but no care is taken in minimizing water usage. Often the sink is just left on, wasting gallons of water. The sad part is that this occurs in a single small lab at TCU. This practice is prevalent all over the world, and we are doing nothing to stop it.

Finally, I enjoyed the debate we had in class about Chapter 8 in particular. The chapter addressed the water issues going on in India. With the river Ganges being held as a sacred body, Hindus flock to the river to bathe and worship. Unfortunately, all waste eventually flows into the river. The dark brown water is in question. Should it be cleansed or left alone? Do the Hindu people have any responsibility in cleaning the water? Personally, I feel like they are free to do what they want with the water. As we discussed in class, water crises are regional problems. We can not reliably and financially ship water to areas with water shortages. It is too cost-intensive to pipe water to areas without clean water. If the Hindu followers want to worship in the Ganges and keep the water dirty, that is well within their rights. They must, however, be ready to accept the consequences of their actions.

Overall, the Big Thirst was a very eye-opening novel. I have always enjoyed non-fiction literature, so this was a pleasure to read. It definitely will affect some of the choices I make regarding water usage and conservation.

Huck Finn Reflections

Like most of my fellow classmates, I had already read Huck Finn. If I remember correctly, we read it in our English class around freshman year of high school. I was not a fan of English, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I used a lot of outside sources (Cliffnotes, Sparknotes, etc) to minimize my time reading. Although there were a good amount of pages to read before each class, I was determined to actually read this time. I have began to actually enjoy reading lately, so I was very optimistic about the assignment.

Although I had read the book before, I was not very familiar with Mark Twain's life. I knew that was his pen name, but that was about all I knew. The short movie we watched about his life definitely helped explain the writing style and content of Huck Finn. Every author is different due to the experiences and culture that they have experienced. Some authors are well-educated while some are the complete opposite. Some authors are very public figures (Mark Twain), but some are like Emily Dickinson, living as a recluse her entire life. All these different lifestyles are going to live imprints on the literature. Understanding Twain was a crucial part of understanding Huck Finn.

An interesting facet of the novel is the prevalence of its censorship. With one of the central themes being racism, it makes sense that schools would not want this book in part of their curriculum. The language and sentiments shared by some of the characters are very offensive. With one of the main characters being a runaway slave, the reader is able to witness some of the terrible treatment he must endure. A part of the book that I love is the authenticity Twain uses with the language. Depending on the background of the character, Twain stays true to how that character actually would have spoken. Since Jim is not educated, he speaks in a completely different dialect than Huck. While I hated trying to "translate" the first time I read through this book, I really enjoyed it this second time through. I felt like it made the story much more believable. It fully immersed the reader in the times.

Another theme that really stuck out was the clash between society and practical knowledge in Huck. Being raised by the Widow and Miss Douglas, Huck is constantly being indoctrinated by them with religion. For example, they teach him how to pray, but he completely misses the point. After not receiving the fishing hooks he prayed for, Huck gives up on praying. Here we see Huck gravitating towards the practical side instead of religion (society). Huck's famous quote "I don't take no stock in dead people" further illustrates this purpose. In this statement, he writes off history and religion in eight words. Huck wants what he can experience now, basically instant gratification. This will mold his actions throughout the course of the book. Perhaps where the reader sees the greatest struggle between these opposing forces is with Huck and Jim. Society would tell Huck to return this runaway slave. Practical knowledge understands that Jim is useful for Huck's journey. Although he doesn't see him as an equal at first, Huck even begins to treat Jim as a normal human being with emotions. Huck struggles multiple times on the river with wanting to turn Jim in. Huck actions, however, always end up keeping Jim safe. He even states that he will do what is "handiest." Through this, the reader can truly understand what Huck is going through. They can see the dichotomy of the forces acting on Huck.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book the second time around. I think I have matured in my English abilities and was able to fully understand concepts that I missed before. I am glad to have put aside the time to actually read the text.

Second Conversational Partner Meeting

After our last meeting, Sari and I decided to meet up every Friday as long as we were both free. Although he was relatively quiet last time, Sari seemed much more engaged in our conversations. I am sure that it was just nerves the first time. He had never met with a conversation partner before, so I am sure he was a bit nervous. Luckily, his English is very good, so we rarely have a misunderstanding. I try my hardest to not use idioms or slang, but that is usually where he gets hung up.

We met at Chick-Fil-A again and caught up about the previous week. He seems to be enjoying his classes and effectively managing his work load. I filled him in on the pre-med class load. He had not heard of "Developmental Biology" or "Mammalian Physiology" which comes as no surprise. It was fun to try and explain those classes in layman terms. "Embryology" or "G-protein coupled receptors" just don't translate very well.

The main topic of conversation though was Fort Worth. Sari was wondering what to do around Fort Worth. He lives in downtown Fort Worth, but he had not ventured out much. He had been to the cinema and mall, but that was the extent of his exploration. After compiling a list of his "interests," here is the list that I came up with for him.

My first suggestion was the TCU vs OU football game. Sari is a huge fan of volleyball, basketball, and soccer. He has never seen an American Football game. I explained to him how big of a game this was for TCU. He had never even been inside of our stadium. I told him that this was the "stereotypical American" activity that he had to do. He also had never heard of tailgating. Although he doesn't drink due to religious reasons, he seemed very interested in the food. I will have to check with him to see if he went to the game. He was a little bit concerned because he did not know any of the rules. I assured him that someone there would explain the game to him.

My second suggestion was the Fort Worth food truck park. Everyone can appreciate food; it transcends all cultural boundaries. The first step was trying to explain to him what a "food truck" actually was. He had never heard of them before, and they are kind of difficult to explain without seeing them. I explained to him that there is a truck park about 10 minutes away that usually has 6-10 trucks.

Finally, I suggested that he visit the Fort Worth Zoo. He had been to a zoo before, but he had never been to the FW zoo. To my understanding, baby elephants were just born a few months ago. That would be really cool to see. Also, the weather is starting to cool off, so the animals will probably be active. During the summer, they usually just hide in the shade to beat the heat.

Sari said that these would probably be good for the next month or so. Hopefully he has the opportunity to visit a few of these local attractions. I hope that he went to the football game, so I can see what he thought about it.

First Conversational Partner Meeting

On Friday (9/26/14), I had the first meeting with my conversational partner, Sari. Although it was hard to get in contact with him at first, we finally were able to meet up in the BLUU on campus. I had no idea what to expect on my first meeting, but I was very excited. I had never done anything like this before, so it was going to be a new experience for both of us.

Sari is a middle aged man from Saudi Arabia. He worked as a stock broker in Saudi Arabia for over ten years. He had a single client who provided him with over one billion dollars to invest over time. He received his bachelor degree in Finance in Saudi Arabia, but his college experience was completely different than his experience at TCU.

According to Sari, college was much less professional overseas. The administration was basically inept. They did not provide much guidance for their students. There were no advisors or counselors to assist with class planning. Nobody used the library. Classes were relatively small (40-50 students), but there were around 300,000 students enrolled in the university. Sari's father passed away before he attended college, which really affected his college career. Sari stated that he was never told to study or keep his grades up. He did not know that his GPA would influence his success in finding a job later in life. He wishes he had spent more time studying and doing homework.

Luckily, Sari was able to find the job as a stock broker where he excelled. After speaking with him briefly about trading, it was easy to see how passionate he was about his job. He understood the market and made smart investments. He did not gamble on his client's money and was very successful.

After working for over ten years, Sari wanted to come to TCU and obtain his MBA. This would allow him to eventually earn his CFA. TCU has a highly ranked MBA program, which was very appealing to Sari. He is currently here with his sister, who is working on her CPA. Both of them must pass their English exam before they can obtain their MBA. After that, they will begin to train for their CFA/CPA certifications. With all of his experience and determination, I have no doubt that he will earn his degrees.

After I had asked him all these questions about his past, I asked if Sari had any questions for me. I felt like I had dominated the conversation a bit because of his shyness, but I wanted to make sure that he was able to ask any questions that he had. The conversation had been very lighthearted up to this point, so the question he asked me caught me off guard.

Sari told me that on three separate occasions his sister and him had been walking in public. His sister wore the traditional head piece worn by Saudi women. While walking, people in cars had stopped to yell and jeer at her. They called her all sorts of terrible names. Sari did not retaliate. When the two were safely back at home, his sister completely broke down. Sari had promised that there would be freedom in America. He had promised that they would not be persecuted. He had convinced her to come to America, and now she was suffering just like she had back home. I felt chills as Sari's first question for me was "Why do they do this to us?"

I would be lying if I said I had a good answer ready. I was at a complete loss of words. I felt sadness that his sister had to put up with this, but even more so I felt angry at the people who did this to them. Here are two extremely successful people who have made the huge journey to travel across the world. They did not know what to expect when they got here. They were not completely familiar with the language, customs, and culture of America. They were going to have to give up family and friends to pursue their dreams. Both of them made this move hoping to escape some of the persecution in Saudi Arabia, and instead we continue that here. I was absolutely disgusted. I explained to him that it was just immature guys who thought that this was funny. These guys had probably never been away from their parents until they got to college, and now they felt "free" to do this. They did not know, however, the impact of their comments. Hopefully, these kids grow up and realize the implications of their actions. If they don't, they will be in for a rude awakening when they hit the real world.

I took away more than I could have ever imagined from my first meeting with Sari. We plan on meeting every Friday afternoon to continue these conversations. I can't wait to speak with him again!

Defining Literature and Civilization

Interview One:

Literature:

"In my opinion, literature is prose or poetry in written form."

Civilization:

"In my opinion, civilization is a group of people living together, usually harmoniously, working to help support each other."

Interview Two:

Literature:

"Literature is written works, regardless of style."

Civilization:

"Civilization is a group living together that has established customs and rules for living together."

Interview Three:

Literature:

"Literature is the written aspect of a civilization. Examples include (but are not limited to) stories, novels, or other written works that are passed through the years in that particular civilization."

Civilization:

"Civilization is the cumulative aspect of a society's culture, work, and economy."

My Response:

In regards to literature, all three responses required the literature to be written down. I thought this was an interesting caveat for literature. I personally feel like societies that keep stories through oral records should count their stories as literature. Also, nobody mentioned anything about art. I feel like art should be included in the literature definition. Art stands the test of time, and some art even includes written words. Just because it falls under the "art" realm, it should not be excluded from literature. As for civilization, nobody used "advanced" (which we discussed in class). All three of their definitions seem to be about the same idea, just worded differently. For the most part, my definition of civilization follows theirs. I believe that culture plays heavily into civilization. I really liked that the third definition included work and economy. I believe these two principles play heavily into civilization. I am not sure if I agree with the fact that a civilization has to live together peacefully. The term "Western civilization" is used frequently, but you would be hard pressed to find someone saying that those people "live harmoniously." War and disagreements are a part of culture, and therefore they are a part of civilization. Overall, I was very satisfied with the answers I received from my mini "survey." I agreed, for the most part, with all of their responses. I just had a few caveats that I thought should be included.