Meet Keith

Today was the first time that I met with my ESL conversation partner, Keith Glory.

Upon walking into Union Grounds, I was slightly apprehensive.  What if he doesn’t like me?  What if he can’t understand me?  What if I can’t understand him?  These thoughts plagued my mind with each step I took.

I walked around the counter, towards the tables and chairs, only to find Keith on his phone, about to respond to my text.

Once we exchanged simple “Hello’s” and the normal “Hi, my name is…” I felt at ease with Keith.  I could tell that I was lucky to have him as a conversation partner.

After our introductions, I began to ask Keith about his background.  He is from a city near Shanghai, China.  He is 19 years old, and this is his second semester at TCU.  He wants to study Business and be a businessman like his father.  His mom is a stay at home mom, who – according to Keith – plays with her friends (he said that his mom and her girlfriends like to play card games).  Although he is an only child, he had a pet dog.  In fact, he told me that most Chinese families have a dog.

Furthermore, Keith likes to play videogames and go out to eat with his friends.  He enjoys swimming, as well as playing and watching basketball.  One of his hobbies is playing the trumpet.  Unfortunately, Keith does not have a trumpet with him at school.  I’m hoping I can help him find someway to be able to play again – even if it’s just for 15 minutes.

He chose to attend TCU because he thought (and still thinks) the campus is beautiful.  In addition, he knew that not many Chinese students go here, which intrigued him.  He lives in Clark Hall with another international student who is from Kenya.  Next year, Keith would like to live off campus with some of his friends from China.  He concedes that this may not be best for practicing his English, though.

I then asked Keith what his favorite thing about the United States is.  He told me that he loves the environment.  In China, buildings are built upward (I pictured New York City) because space is limited.  He likes it here because there is so much land, and he doesn’t feel constricted.

Before we ended our first conversation together, I asked Keith what he wanted to get out of our sessions together.  He told me that he just wanted a friend.  This  simply Melted. My. Heart.

I loved meeting with Keith because he reminded me of the important things in life that I sometimes take for granted.  On multiple occasions, I get so consumed in my schoolwork, my jobs, and my other extra-curriculars that I forget to appreciate some of the things that matter most in my life, like my relationships with others.

When I said goodbye to Keith, I told him that I was so happy to have met him.  I reassured him that he was my friend and that I look forward to our next conversation.

I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet Keith.