Stan_CP6

On Tuesday (7/17) I met with my conversation group again. The lounge is always pretty packed out on Tuesdays so we moved to an empty classroom. I invited others to join as well if they would like since they were already sitting in the circle. It turned out to be a pretty good group; 1 from China (Yi Li), 1 from France (Soufiane), 2 from Saudi Arabia (Samer and Amr),  3 from Kuwait ( Nassar, Ahmad, and Rasheed), and of course, 1 from America (yours truly : ).

There was an awkward air in the room as we all sat down in the classroom (much like the feeling of sitting in a small class on the first day). Since there were so many of us, and some who didn’t know one another very well, I figured a good way to break the silence was too do introductions. I started and laid the format by introducing myself, explaining where I was from, what I was doing at CIES, what my major is/was, and what my future plans are. Everyone else pretty much followed suit. Yi Li had to leave soon after introductions, at which point we naturally began our knuckleheaded masculine banter (which seems cross-cultural)! A couple of gentlemen made a comment about Yi Li saying how pretty she was, and another, let’s call him Jake for the sake of anonymity,  mentioned he had no interest in Asian women. I stated that he is on the search for a blonde or redhead virgin, referring to a previous conversation we shared. All of the members that were present in the group were Muslim excluding me. One of the individuals (let’s call him Allen) commented on Jakes desires, stating that there is no reason she need to be a virgin. Jake stated that in accordance with the scriptures that those entering into marriage vows must be virgins (it seems as though there is especially emphasis on the women being a virgin). Allen stated that Allah forgives all things as long as you believe in him. Jake countered by saying then you would allow your sister to marry a man who has been with other women. It seems that Allen was a little reserved in answering this question.  We all ended up sharing our words in this debate. I have found in these two sessions (this one and the one before) that debate is a strong tool in the development of language. When someone is passionate about something, it seem that they work hard to find the words to express their thoughts.