Today I met Nedal Abed Kamel in front of the Hecht building to talk. He was very kind and a little shy about speaking in front of his classmates so he suggested we walk around campus. He's from Jordan, but he has family here so he doesn't feel alone. He asked if I knew anything about Arabs and I said that I heard they like cars to which he responded, "No." But he went on to say how he had exchanged cars four times within the 6 months he has been here! Four times! I implied that maybe he was a car fanatic, and he just laughed.
He doesn't like to party, drink, or smoke. I told him I don't do any of those either. He said I was a good person and easy to understand because his last conversation partner had an accent, haha. We hit a few bumps, like he didn't understand what the word "dating" was or "traditional" so I tried my best to explain what they were without having to translate them. I think he likes to push people, but in a good way. He wants to strive and admires others that do as well. He's very serious about learning English and told me to correct him if he makes mistakes and to be honest. I asked if he made any friends in his class and he said he doesn't talk to his classmates much since they are mostly Arabs and would rather talk in their own language. I admired his dedication to learning and I like that he was forward; I told him I would do my best to help as a conversation partner and as a friend. I'm not sure who his tutor is, but it seems like he really wanted to practice his English.
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