Ford Brodeur CP #1

Date : September 7th / Around 7:30pm
Topic : Introduction and our backgrounds
Cultural/ Linguistic Topics : My conversation partner was Abdulaziz. He forgot to mention his last name and I was so focused on our discussion that I forgot to ask him (I'll make sure to ask him this next time I see him). Our conversation took a rocky start because there was linguistic issues on where to meet. However, we ended up meeting at the Dunkin' Donuts on Tennesseee Street. This is very close to his apartment and it was very convenient to him. I was very excited to meet Abdulaziz. I am an International Affairs major so the chance to talk about differences in culture was intriguing. During our long (~1 hour  30 min *) conversation , we talked about differences in American culture, usage of American slang, and hurricane Irma.

His skill level : Abdulaziz did not have that high of a skill level orally. I did not ask him for his skill level, but I would place him in the range of elementary. He was very attentive to my questions and he would try his best to convey his answers/questions in english.

General Notes of the Conversation : I would ask simple questions about where he was from and then he would ask me about my major. He would also ask questions about students of FSU and his issues of finding people that would like to speak english with him. He was especially excited that my major was international affairs. He was almost blown away that I "study differences in culture and politics". Abdulaziz is a computer major and I did not have much to say about that. (Computers are not my strong suit). Abdulaziz would write down words or phrases that I said that he did not understand on his notes page of his iPhone. I did not know that I used that much slang in my daily vocabulary and by speaking to Abdulaziz, I tried cutting it down so he can understand the conversation easier. Abdulaziz would also employ google translate to help comprehend words that he did not understand. I asked Abdulaziz about life in Tallahassee. He replied that he really enjoyed it and it was a smaller city than where his other friends were staying (Denver).

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