CP #1 Caitlin

A First Meeting and an Unexpected Extra Conversation Partner

I met Ayoko at CIES last Wednesday and it went well. Ayoko is from Japan and is here to practice her English before her last semester starts up in October.  I talked with her and her friend Belen about where we are all from, how they are liking Tallahassee, what there is to do around here, and fashion… typical girl talk. It was a little crowded in the lounge so it was hard to hear each other but we still had fun getting to know each other. Belen walked away and not long after a girl named Sepideh sat down near us and started talking with us about what was going on in the room and she opened up about feeling homesick. Ayoko and I were encouraging her that it was ok to feel homesick sometimes and giving her advice on what we do when we feel that way. Sepideh is from Iran and doesn’t get along with the other Iranian students that she has met here. We told Sepideh that we had just met and were conversation partners and Sepideh wanted to be conversation partners too. I thought that was a good idea and we exchanged contact information. The highlight of this meeting was when Sepideh had Ayoko and I try the lunch she had made. Ayoko and I were both hesitant to stick our fingers in someone else’s food but Sepideh wanted us to try her homemade food and it was delicious! I’m looking forward to more one on one conversation with both girls.