I expected it to be awkward, and I expected it to be forced. But what I didn't expect was that the first meeting with my conversation partner would be neither of these things, nor did I expect an immediate friend request on the ever-so-omnipotent headwater of social media, Facebook. Jeff was super nice, had a sense of humor, and kept the conversation going when I ran out of things to ask him. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, neither of us had any trouble understanding the other.
Jeff is from Taiwan, and he is 21 years old, exactly like me. Though he lived most of his childhood in Taiwan, he went to high school in Austin. This fact sparked a ten-minute conversation consisting of many comparisons between Austin and the DFW. Both of us agreed that Fort Worth was better - less traffic, less people, and less division between the rich and poor areas. Austin is exciting for short period of time, but it is also extremely wild, hence the perfectly apt "Keep Austin Weird" motto.
An interesting aspect of our conversation was the similarities between our families. Jeff's parents and older brother live in Taiwan, but they visit him in Texas every year around springtime. My perception of most Asian cultures is strict competition and drive by the parents for success, and I found this to be true in Jeff's family. His parents own a business that makes security cameras. Both his father and brother have engineering degrees. When Jeff expressed his interest to go into engineering as well, his father encouraged him to pursue a different field. I can definitely relate to this. I have an older sister in medical school, and I am also pre-med. Throughout our lives, our parents have compared us to one another. I've found that it's often difficult to live up to expectations that someone else sets for you, because his or her ideas of success are almost always different from your own. Jeff decided to major in computer science at TCU. He plans (eventually) to go back to Taiwan and work in the computer programming branch of his father's company.
Another fascinating conversation we had was initiated when Jeff told me he that is actually a transfer student. He went to USC for a year and did not enjoy California... because they are "racist." This statement got my attention. Jeff remarked that the customs at LA always gave him trouble, and he became frustrated with this. In comparison, DFW is a complete one-eighty. Customs are easy here. The people are nicer. TCU is pretty.
I'm glad Jeff likes Texas. I'm Texas born and bred, and, though I might stray away for medical school, I'm planning to live here for the rest of my life. Most Texans are the same way, I think. It's a wonderful place, and TCU is truly a beautiful campus. It makes me happy that Jeff has found a home here.
Jeff and I finished off our conversation by making plans to meet again next Tuesday. We exchanged phone numbers, and Jeff suggested we exchange Facebook information, too. Once we became friends on Facebook, I remarked, "Now it's official!" This made him laugh nod in agreement. A couple of genuine smiles later, we said goodbye and each continued on with our Tuesday in a more cheerful mood than one hour earlier.
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