Brittany CP 8

Since the last time we met I found out Ali had only 5 days left in Tallahassee, I wanted to hang out as much as possible until then! Because his birthday would be after he left, Ali decided to celebrate early and invited me to join. Truthfully I had no idea what to expect when I drove to University Club apartments (where his friend was hosting the party), and found Ali and a familiar group of CIES students standing outside the dark apartment. After being warmly greeted by some guys I’d met before and some new faces as well, I realized why the apartment was so dark- this party was all about the dancing! Lights out inside, loud music, furniture apart, and a select few students with some celebratory drinks all in the middle of the living room dancing away! Ali was eager to show me a good time and kept offering me a drink or said I should dance, and while I appreciated the offer, I wasn’t drinking, nor am I usually a big dancer… Admittedly, I was a bit nervous, and, as one of only 4 girls (only 2 of us American), I was very aware of how much I stood out, but thankfully most of Ali’s friends were very sweet and excited to ask me lots about myself as well as answer all my questions about them. I was able to spend a good amount of time with Ali, but he was moving about to spend time with all his guests, so I also spent a lot of conversing time with Hassan and Mohamed, also from Saudi Arabia. These guys were so nice and even seemed like bodyguards during a few instances when a few other boys at the party (who’d been drinking a bit too much) became quite insistent that I dance with them rather than stand and talk, or when someone else bumped into me, Hassan, Mohamed, and Ali would check repeatedly that I was okay and apologized over and over for the inappropriate behavior. I tried to assure them all that after 4 years at FSU, this behavior was pretty tame and that I wasn’t offended at all- though they still seemed a bit unsettled by the situation, I tried my best to keep it light and joke that this particular guy would be hurting tomorrow- and they finally laughed about it! Success!

Despite being a pretty different birthday party than I’m used to, I’m so glad I got to spend time with Ali before he goes and got to meet some new friends. This group of guys have been especially welcoming and kind, yet they continually thank me for taking the time to speak with them since it truly is helping them become more fluent. Before I left for the night the guys invited me to come over for them to cook me a traditional dinner- I can’t wait!