"Try" Something New (Conversation Partner Recap #5)

Thursday, my conversation partner and I each tried out new things. I went with her to the bookstore for her first time, and she watched as I supported the rugby team and learned what a “try” was.

My conversation partner and I met at the rec center Thursday when I mentioned seeing a green tent outside. Both curious about what was in the tent we went outside to check it out. It turns out that it was to support the rugby team and students were being filmed while they completed a “try.” It was a giant green tent with a green turf covering thick mats for us to fall on. At first, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to “try”, but eventually decided that it was something new, so why not? However, I couldn’t get my conversation partner to come and “try” it out (I apologize for the puns, but there is no way around them.)

I stepped up onto the green mats and immediately started to sink into them. It was really interesting “trying” (sorry!) rugby. I landed extremely hard when I lunged across the white line and rammed into the ground right in front of the camera. The wind was completely gone from my chest and my brain slammed into the top of my head, but the victory dance was a lot of fun.

After I was done embarrassing myself by attempting to play rugby, we walked over to the bookstore. On our way there, I asked her about convocation. We were both at convocation this morning. She went with the IEP program and I was with the honors kids in my possibly graduation/possibly Harry Potter robes. She said that she understood everything at the convocation, but couldn’t understand why we were talking about water. It was interesting and fun explaining why we were studying water this year and what projects and classes I had personally experienced.

Once we were at the bookstore, she told me that she had never been to the bookstore before. Since I am an English major, and therefore love books, we ended up walking upstairs by the books. While we were around the books, we discussed what our favorite books were. We both love classic books. My favorite is Pride and Prejudice, and her favorite book is Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac. I had never heard of this book, so I promised to read it during the summer. It is really exciting getting to talk with someone who loves books and has read many different books. We also discussed Crime and Punishment, and how we both loved the book.

After talking books, I asked what her favorite part of starting school every year was. Again we found another similarity. We both loved getting new school supplies and would take any opportunity to get new school supplies like notebooks.

It is really cool getting to meet someone who is from a different country, speaks a different first language and yet has so many similarities with me. We even like the same types of books. It is always fun to meet with my conversation partner because it feels like meeting with a friend. For our next meeting we are going to walk around TCU again. What better way to finish up our meetings than to walk around the school just like we did during our first meeting? Hopefully, I will still see her around campus until she transfers at the end of the year. It has been really great making a new friend that I can learn so much from.