I had my fourth conversation meeting with Jamal last Thursday after TEFL class. I hadn't really thought of any activities for us to do, so I was relieved that he just wanted to hang out at his apartment. He sliced up a couple of apples, which he informed me are one of the biggest crops in Afghanistan, and we talked about how are lives have been going. It's wonderful to be able to chat with my conversation partner on a truly friendly level -- I don't feel like our "meetings" are really formal anymore, it's just like hanging out with one of my American friends. This must certainly feel good for him too, because he's been feeling kind of isolated lately.
We talked about how I'm feeling uneasy about moving to Africa, and he could certainly understand my reservations. He related a story of how his brother's [white Australian] girlfriend visited Afghanistan one time a couple of years ago. She works with NGOs around the world and had been invited to help with an orphanage in rural Afghanistan. Jamal didn't go into the details, but apparently one of the workers at the orphanage had made unwelcome sexual advances and there wasn't really any legal recourse she could take. I know that this kind of stuff happens all over the world, but it seems that law enforcement is probably a lot tighter in the West. I asked if he was planning on returning home after he finished his degree, and he stated that he is a citizen of the world and would probably travel to several different countries before settling down. I'm sure that's a sentiment that many of us share. His learning English, and our learning how to teach it, are going to open doors for us all over the globe.
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