Keith CP: Week One

I walked into the tea time completely overwhelmed. It seemed there were upwards of a hundred people packed in that small room. I was ready to meet my partner Yasser. I waited in line to see Ryan, with his list, so he could point me in the right direction. When I got there he told me that Yasser hadn't shown up yet but "that guy, over there" had been waiting awhile. After introductions, Faisel said he only knew "little english," making a gesture with his fingers. That's cool, I let him know, that's what you're here for.

Faisel and I headed out of the packed room, looking for a place to talk. We ended up on the balcony outside.

First I asked Faisel what courses he was taking. He indicated he didn't understand. I tried to rephrase the question a few times, but eventually gave up. I found out that he had been in America for three weeks and was working at Cafe Shisha on Tennessee street.

I was very anxious, feeling a pressure to make some connection to him. Our attempts to communicate were mostly frustrating, however. I tried to talk about the weather (ah!) trying to recall the categories of vocabulary I had leaned early in Spanish class. I tried to explain the word "desert" through "sand. no water."

Eventually we shared a bond when I found out he is from a big family like me. He has eight siblings: five sisters and three brothers, while I have four sisters and one brother. He also told me he is the seventh born. He is 31 years old. This is about all I got.

There were a few more attempts to communicate before Faisel asked for my email address and phone number. We agreed to meet on Friday at Cafe Shisha. He was going to call me.

Friday came and went and he never returned my text messages or calls. I haven't heard from him since then either.

I was disappointed we didn't get another chance. I had thought of bringing a note pad along, maybe to draw pictures and the like. I realized I probably talked too fast because of the awkwardness. I do feel if we had had more time we could have gotten on the same page.