I had some difficulty meeting with my original IEP partner. So after some discussion back and forth with Dr. Gayle, I finally was able to contact another IEP student about becoming her conversation partner. Her name is Julia, and she excitingly emailed me back and was eager to begin right away. So we set a date and time to meet up for lunch at Market Square in the Bluu.
I met Julia at the front of Market Square on a Monday afternoon. Communication on the phone is difficult for her, but we eventually were able to find each other. She had never been to Market Square, so I began by showing her each food station and explaining to her what each one had to offer. We both settled for pasta and salad, and then we found a comfortable place to sit on the outside patio where we could enjoy the beautiful weather.
Conversation was slow to begin. Her English is very broken and sometimes difficult to understand. I began with the simple questions—where are you from? How old are you? What brought you to America? Her answers were astonishing. She is from South Korea, and although she did not tell me her age, she did tell me that her and her husband have two children—a 10 year old daughter and a 20 year old son. Her husband is still at home in Korea working as a Christian pastor in order to support them all. She has come to America with her two children to learn English so that they can travel around the world and do Christian missionary work. English is the most commonly used language throughout the world, so they have determined that by learning English, it will be easier to communicate with people all over the world about God and His love for us all. I was immediately taken aback. Not only are most young Americans not willing to give up their dreams for a career to share God’s word with people overseas, but first having to learn a different language in order to do so would be considered an overwhelming and impossible amount of work. But Julia spoke of her and her family’s goal proudly, and she even became emotional when she explained to me the lack of such passion from others living in South Korea. Although the purpose of our meeting is to help her practice her English, I quickly detected that my time spent with Julia could be an incredible learning experience regarding how I can develop a drive like hers to share God’s word with others, regardless of the seemingly overwhelming obstacles that may cause this pursuit to be somewhat of a challenge.
Aside from this realization, the passion that Julia had for learning English and her desire to use my own knowledge as a valuable resource was made very clear on our first meeting. The amount of effort she put into clearly enunciating her words and choosing the correct words to express her thoughts was extremely humbling. She paid close attention to the way I pronounced words, and if I used a word she did know or had not heard of before, she wasn’t shy to ask me what it meant. Her determination is encouraging to me. Julia is a grown woman with a family of her own, and she has not let their location, finances, or anything else come between them and their drive to accomplish this dream. Since our first meeting, I have prayed that her own determination and willpower can serve as a source of encouragement and motivation for me to seek out opportunities to make a positive impact on this world once I graduate from TCU. The business and corporate world will always be available. What may not always be available is time, which is a precious and valuable resource that I will gain upon graduation. Julia has already begun to teach me the importance of having passion, chasing your dreams, and following your heart. I am excited to spend more time with her this semester and to continue to learn from her while she learns from me.
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