A Mad Conversation

As a second year honors student at Texas Christian University, I am taking an English course titled Literature and Civilization Two.  One primary goal of this course is to expand students’ mindsets to think on a more global level.  In order to broaden our horizons as globalized citizens, my class was assigned the task of meeting and speaking with students in TCU’s intensive English program and to reflect this in a blog.  Initially, when given this assignment, I had an array of mixed feelings.  I was uneasy with the thought of having to meet a total stranger with whom I figure I would have little to no mutual interests. While uncertain and nervous of what to expect, I was also very eager to be able to meet someone from a different culture.  About a week ago I received the long anticipated email stating my conversation partner from the program was going to be Emaad Baader.  I immediately emailed him asking for his contact information and for a convenient date/time we could meet for the first time.

On Friday the thirteenth, I had the unique opportunity to converse with Emaad for the first time.  As soon as I walked into Union Grounds, I immediately realized that I have meet Emaad a number of times before.  Emaad or Mad as he goes by in the U.S., often comes to climb at the recreation center rock wall where I work.  Recognizing one another enabled us to quickly dive into an intimate and fluid conversation. It felt as if we spoke for only 10 minutes but in reality it lingered on towards a little over an hour.   I learned a great deal about Mad during this time.

 Although everyone was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, Mad’s family comes from a region of Mongolia giving him a unique Asian appearance.  It was just over six months ago that Mad moved to the United States to get a degree in Computer Science.  He is on a full four-year scholarship funded by the Saudi Arabian government.  The academic scholarship also comes with a $1,500 monthly allowance for living expenses, which he is completely dependent upon.  Although generous, the scholarship comes with a number of requirements both academic and extracurricular.  Mad says that he feels an immense amount of pressure to meet these requirements.   Compared to the Saudi Arabian education system, the one in place here in the United States is far more rigorous. Other than academic challenges Mad often faces social barriers.  He has made very few American friends and often feels alienated. 

Hearing of Mad’s hardships made me feel an immense amount of compassion for him.  For myself, having a father who is an Italian immigrant and a mother who, for all intents and purposes is a 2^nd generation Japanese American (though factually she is a 5^th generation Japanese American), and being far from my home I feel that in many ways I can partially relate to Mad’s experiences. With an empathetic heart I hope to reach out to Mad as a friend, helping him become acclimated to the U.S., within the upcoming months.

It’s not often that a course could have such immediate and profound resonance…