Date/Time: 11 April
2017 @ 6:45 PM
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Not so surprisingly,
this week Saeed and I again met up at Starbucks. We spent the bulk of our time
talking about Saeed’s recent trip to the beach with CIES, and how he did not
enjoy the camping experience as much as he expected. Saeed has always stated
that he loves the beach, his favorite holiday is any that takes him to
Thailand, but that he was expecting a bit more activity while on an American
adventure. While we were talking some of Saeed’s friends happened to walk by
and he introduced us; it was nice to see Saeed interact, but I was a bit sad
that it was in his native Arabic. This quick break brought us onto the
conversation of friends. Saeed said that he finds it difficult to make friends
in America. He argued that in America we have small circles of friends and that
it is very difficult for an outsider to join in those friendship circles. He
even talked about how he finds people in America a bit rude and aloof when he
tries to interact with them on the street or at other public locations. I told
Saeed that their behavior says more about them than it will ever say about him,
and that people who are truly worth being friends with won’t discount him. It
broke my heart a little to hear Saeed reflect on the poorer sides of being in
Tallahassee. We then talked about ways he could make some new friends; with me
suggesting he join intramural sports or another club. In the grand scheme of
things Saeed has only been in America for a few months, so I’m hoping that as
he spends more time here, and gains more experiences, he’ll find his friend
group. Until then, I’m proud to be his friend.
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