Goodbye Mansour

            Well, Mansour and I met for the last time yesterday. It was bittersweet. I really enjoyed getting to know Mansour and the culture he comes from. However, it was nice to not have to worry about getting in contact and meeting up with him anymore.

            We sat in our normal spot outside of 1873. It was a really nice afternoon. Small gusts of wind would blow by, keeping the temperature manageable.

I started talking to Mansour about what he would be doing over the summer. He was not sure whether he would return to Saudi Arabia for a little bit or not. He is going to start in the fall at University of North Texas, so he said he would probably spend most of his time searching for apartments closer to Denton. I told him he would have fun there, but it was a lot different that TCU.

Throughout these conversations, I would definitely say that I have grown as a more worldly person. To research topics about the cultures of the world is one thing, but to really get in depth with somebody who has lived another culture is completely different. It gives more of a sense of reality.

Despite never having met before, I felt an unspoken bond of trust between Mansour and I. I’m not sure why I felt that or what made me realize that feeling, but it was just there. I think the realization that Mansour was somebody whom I would never be involved with again made me more apt to telling him personal things that have shaped my world, so that he could further understand our culture.

This was definitely an exercise that I benefitted from, and even though Mansour was already skilled at speaking English, I’m sure that he enjoyed the meetings as well.