I ran into Habib at the CIES on Tuesday, and ended up staying for "Tea Time." It was good to finally have another chance to sit down and talk (briefly about we kept missing each other for tutoring meetings). Habib didn't pass the TOEFL when he took it a month ago, and contrary to what he originally told me, he is going to try to take it again. Gradually, the conversation shifted to more personal topics, and soon I was watching a Backstreet Boys music video ("Incomplete") of one his most recent favorite songs. I thought to myself: How ironic is it that the same boy band I was listening to 10 years ago is now back together and my 25-year-old friend from the Ivory Coast is listening to them? Okay, maybe "irony" isn't the perfect word for it, but I still find it pretty interesting.
Another really great thing about Habib, is that every time he introduces me to someone (even people I already know), he calls them his "brother." At first, I thought it was just because they were also from the Ivory Coast (as the 1st person was), but then he would say the same of his friend from Korea, Saudi, etc. It's wonderful to see that he's connecting with other students from other parts of the world, and I told him so. I asked if he and his Ivory Coast "brothers" ever did anything together, exclusively, and he responded "sometimes." He then went on to explain that while they do meet up every now and then, he doesn't want to spend too much time with them, speaking his first language, when he is here to learn English. That definitely explains his bonds with students from different cultures, and I encouraged him to continue in his wise decision. He does want more specific help though, and we agreed to arrange a meeting, now that my afternoons will be more free starting next week.
Today, I had lunch with Jongouk. When I learned it was "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-fil-a, I immediately decided it would be a fun cultural experience. We went to the Chick-fil-a on Appalachee, and were NOT disappointed--many different kinds of "cows" were represented, including those with ears and tails! He ordered the spicy chicken sandwich, which I thought a good choice, considering the spiciness of Korean food. Jongouk talked a lot about how good Korean food is--I think we need to make it together sometime....
The play-area sparked a conversation about what we did as kids--Jongouk never played in a play-area like the one there, although Korea has plenty in each of their fast-food chains. He never liked fast-food, and I agreed that I hadn't grown up with it either. He loved to swim though (in the ocean, since most Korean homes don't have pools). We had to stop by a gas station when car beeped "low fuel"--and Jongouk estimated that gasoline is roughly $7 USD in Korea!! No wonder hardly anyone drives!
I thanked Jongouk for attending my class on Wednesday, and was pleased to hear that he actually found the lesson valuable and really helpful for his reading. It's good to hear that from "the other side of the classroom"--you know? I mean, you design a lesson plan to be helpful, but it's good when someone in the class actually DOES find it the way you meant it to be.
This is my last "CP" posting for the class--but it is by no means my last encounter with Jongouk (or Habib, I'm sure). I have enjoyed absolutely EVERY minute of our times, including the week we were both tired and "beaten-down"--I feel we have come a long way out of it since then and grown a better friendship from it. These last 3 months have basically changed my perspective on so many things--from teaching theory to cultural ideologies. I am not the same person who started this back in May, nor do I think I'll be the person I am now when I actually start teaching my first class (1 month to go!).
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