Matt CP #2

My first conversation with Mubarak went well. I met him at Starbucks on Tennessee about thirty minutes after we had been scheduled to meet. Turned out we were both waiting at different Starbucks and both had thought the other had flaked. So after I realized the error I sprinted over to the other Starbucks and we introduced ourselves, me gasping for breath.

Mubarak, like my tutees, is from Kuwait and has been in the U.S. for about a month. His English was good considering how short of a time he's been here. He seemed to understand me very well, even though I was talking fast and informally. His own speech was somewhat limited but we were able to communicate pretty well, and we spoke generally about life in the U.S. versus life in Kuwait. Mubarak attributes his strong English to being well-traveled, having visited Thailand, Japan, Bali, and many countries in the Middle East. Furthermore Mubarak served for two years in the Kuwaiti army, traveling a lot and interacting with many English speakers. Mubarak enjoys living in the U.S., and when I asked him what Kuwaiti people thought of the U.S., I was a little surprised to hear that they pretty much unequivocally support us. We talked a little about why I might have thought that, and about how many Americans tend to stereotype Middle Easterners and regard them as one whole mass of people, despite differences in nationality, culture, and personality. He himself is a testament to such individuality, an internationally-ranked billiards player with interests that range from studying to traveling to partying. On that last note, Mubarak showed me some pictures of his apartment in Kuwait and they were seriously incredible. He has a full bar and a DJ booth in the living room, complete with blue and purple disco style lighting. No wonder he seemed jaded when I asked him about the bars here .

In short, I really enjoyed talking with Mubarak. For our next meeting, I'm thinking about asking him to come school me in a game of pool.