Grateful

Well, the semester is winding down... finally. People are stressing, people are busy, and people don't like it when you forget to put your phone on silent while studying in the library basement (but that's a whole other story). Though we all may be running around like chickens with our heads cut off, it is a good idea to still make time for others. Luckily, Jeff and I were able to meet at the end of last week for our final get-together.

As it turns out, Jeff is going to be able to go home to Taiwan this summer, and he is incredibly excited. He hasn't been home for an entire year. As a Texas resident, it's hard for me to imagine that long of a time away from my family. Fort Worth is forty minutes away from my hometown, and I see my parents almost every other weekend to catch up, have dinner, and laugh about our lives. I love living close to where I grew up; it's comforting. 

Jeff doesn't seem to have a problem with living so far away from home. He likes Texas, and he likes the adventure of living in America. When I asked him what the hardest part was, however, he told me that it was difficult being away from his family for so long. Jeff acts mature about his situation, though, by focusing on the positives of living here and of the excitement he will feel to step back into his home country.

Learning about Jeff's situation has made me wonder how or if I would be different had I attended a college in a different state. I was incredibly close to committing to Vanderbilt for NCAA swimming in the SEC, but I instead chose to be born again as a horned frog on the TCU NCAA swim team. How would my life be different in Nashville? Would I be a more mature and responsible version of myself? It's interesting to think about. Not only are ESL students sent across the world to attend school, but they are immersed into a country which speaks a language unknown to them. My hypothesis is that ESL students are forced to become more mature, responsible, and adaptable than if they had stayed at home to receive university education. Even Jeff agreed that he thinks he has grown a lot as a person over the two year period he has spent in America.

I've learned quite a bit about Taiwan, Jeff, and cultural differences over the course of the semester by merely talking with Jeff seven times. This assignment was a great way to make a new friend and learn something new about a differing culture or country. Jeff loves to talk about his home country, and it was fun to listen to and learn from him. Though we may never see each other again, I'm grateful to have met such a confident and good-humored person as Jeff.