The Eighth Meeting with Hashim

I was a little worried Hashim wouldn’t remember that we agreed to meet today. For the first meetings, we met on Fridays at 2 but I asked him to meet me today at 2. Well, consider him thrown off. I texted him a little after two letting him know where I was sitting and I called my sister while I waited. Ten minutes later, Hashim runs up, keys in hand. Apparently he felt he forgot something but couldn’t remember what until he received my text. I’ve definitely had those days so I hold nothing against him.

I remembered from last time that Hashim was supposed to get his test results in today (for graduating the IEP program). When I asked him, he laughed and told me that he skipped school today and was enjoying a relaxing day. I guess his group of friends just bought a new video game this weekend and stayed up until 3 last night playing. These boys are quickly becoming typical college students. Either way, Hashim is fairly confident that he passed the program. If so, he’ll be a student at TCU next semester! I’m jealous that IEP doesn’t have to take finals. Instead, Hashim asked about the finals I will be taking. He was also curious how I prepare for finals. I told him about dead days and my schedule for finals. He then shared that when he was younger his mom made him study two weeks in advance for finals! I understand preparation but that sounded like overkill for a middle school student. Apparently in high school, his dad told his mom that Hashim needed to learn responsibility on his own. So it came down to Hashim preparing for finals four days in advance. Apparently this was a close call for Hashim – he said his grades started to slip in high school. Well, that is until his father gave him a talk about studying. Things have obviously turned around because Hashim was able to come to America to study.

Speaking of studying abroad, his sister is going to the English program at the University of Texas. Hashim’s grandparents are coming down with his sister and will be staying with her. Hashim is rather thankful that his grandparents will be visiting for a few days then going to Austin. While he loves his family and sister, his grandparents would check on him too much. He also is glad they will be there to support his sister. The culture in America is extremely different than in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, women cannot drive and never just go talk to men. Hashim understands his sister has a lot to get used to and hopes she will adapt quickly. We talked about these cultural differences and how Hashim adapted. It seems like the change was relatively easy for him. He says his sister is smart enough and she will adjust. I think she will be able to find plenty of people, especially at a large school like UT.

Hashim and I talked about a few other things. It is amazing to see where we came from and how we have moved forward as friends. We are able to laugh together and share stories of our different experiences. I’m glad I was able to have this experience and I hope Hashim got something out of it too.

7th Meeting With Hashim!

Hashim and I met at Union Grounds as always. I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but there was a marketplace going on the first floor of the BLUU. Small businesses set up booths and sell small gift. Hashim immediately asked what was going on upon his arrival. He seemed really surprised that there would be a marketplace inside the BLUU. We didn’t talk much more about the marketplace but know he knows more about what TCU puts on.

Moving on from that, we talked about our weekend plans. Hashim planned to take one of his friends to the airport. After that, they planned on keeping busy in Dallas. They must love Dallas and Arlington because I swear he talks about going to Dallas and Arlington every time! They go to Dallas for shopping and activities while Arlington for food and cheap movie tickets. As always, he plans on seeing some movie this weekend with his friends. He wasn’t particularly excited about this one – he only knew Brad Pitt would be starring. I told him the last football game would be tomorrow and that he should try to make it. Hashim was originally planning on going until I told him kick off time – 11 AM. Hashim groaned about waking up early because that is not what weekends are for. He claims to never get up early on the weekends. My sister is exactly the same way – she cannot wake up for an early class or wake up early in general. So, I’ll find out Monday if Hashim ended up at the game.

We also talked about plans for next year. The IEP students took a standardized test to assess their knowledge of the English language. This test is what the students have been working towards and need to pass to complete the program. The results should be in Monday so Hashim will know if he can begin his undergrad at TCU! Hashim is trying to decide between mechanical engineering and chemistry. I told him about the classes I’ve taken and the engineering program. I didn’t have much information about chemistry besides that I did not like it. On the other hand, Hashim likes it because it is “a very logical subject.”  I’m curious to see where Hashim ends up going between these degrees.