Caroline: CP #1

Conversation Partner: Meeting #1

1/27/20

3:00-4:00PM

This Monday, I had the pleasure of meeting with my conversation partner Soojin Song for the first time (scheduling conflicts had prohibited us from meeting sooner). From the initial pleasantries, we immediately hit it off. She told me she had been living in Tallahassee for about five months and was in the CIES program not because she wanted to obtain higher education in the States (as is the case with many students in the program) but because she wanted to become a flight attendant back in Korea. Before deciding to teach English abroad, I too had considered becoming a flight attendant after graduation so we immediately connected over a shared love of travel and new experiences. I learned that the process to become a flight attendant is much more difficult in Korea than it is in the United States. Soojin explained to me that potential applicants must make it through four rounds of interviews in order to obtain a position, with one of those rounds being judged solely off physical appearance. Through our conversation, we also discovered how small the world truly is. I learned that one of my good friends was her tutor last semester and that her brother is in the same major as I am (urban and regional planning). Her brother and I even shared a class together last semester! She had visited my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, over Christmas break so we discussed our mutual love for the city and I elaborated on many cool activities the state had to offer. We concluded our conversation by agreeing that we would treat our upcoming meetings more like 'bookclubs' since she was extremely interested in widening her vocabulary (both in breadth and depth) and loves to read. My goal for this week is to find a  level appropriate book for our next meeting in the hopes that we can kick off our 'book club' in the upcoming weeks.