James and I met again at Potbelly this time after quite a long break. The reason it had been so difficult for him to find a time to meet was the fact that he had been spending so much of his time studying for his language exam. He did say that he has also been busy with his friends of the weekend, going to movies, the state fair and different places around the city if Fort Worth. I could see the anxiety on his face about his language exam, so that is what we talked about for the majority of our lunch. Apparently it’s a comprehensive exam basically focused on grammar, vocabulary and overall writing. One of the most interesting facts I learned during our conversation was the the course taught by TCU actually has no verbal exam to it, which is astonishing to me. James actually has excellent diction and can speak English very well so I’m sure he wouldn’t have any trouble, but I still find it puzzling.
The reason he was so nervous for this exam was because if he passes it then he can take classes at the actual University next semester, rather than only language courses. He thinks he wants to be a business major or possibly engineering because he loves math. I told him that if he can pass his language exam and do well in the business school then he will have so many opportunities after college. Being fluent in Mandarin and English would give him an unbelievable advantage in international business with the two most influential economies of China and America.
We finished our conversation just talking about what we both like to do in our free time. Coincidentally we share a passion for movies. His favorite kind of movies are definitely action movies like The Dark Knight at the top of his list. It was crazy for me to think about how something as trivial as a movie can span so many different cultures and tie us together as people. Explosions are badass in any language.
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