#6

Hard to believe (and swallow) that I’m coming up on the last two meetings with my group. My interest in the chat cafe program started way back in my youthful/naive sophomore days, just about a year ago when one of my Writing 300 colleagues presented on her conversation circle in class, and today, in a small way I’m proud of myself for following through on that interest and checking out what it would be like to facilitate my own group.

More than this, however, the experience itself has been one of enlightenment and personal growth in a way I did not necessarily anticipate. On the one hand, my group members in conversation allowed me access to their lives at home, in their new country, and at their new school, and with it to their struggles, stresses, successes, and day-to-day dealings—both those to which I could relate, and those which were uniquely their own. Sometimes at U of M it feels like we American students are all too willing to allow the experiences of international students to be left unspoken and unconsidered. The chat cafe program, in providing a space for nonnative speakers to practice conversational English, for me and my group came to be a setting in where we could simultaneously attempt to learn about one another and our far-too separate lives at the University.   

On the other hand, the biggest personal takeaway from my first semester as a conversation facilitator was a more critical assessment of my skills as a listener. As the semester progressed, I tried more and more to push myself, no matter how tired the week had left me or no matter how many things were on my mind, to truly listen and take an active role in my group’s conversations. I hope, in turn, that my circle knows that I have truly valued my time with them and that I really did appreciate and take to heart all that we talked about during our Friday afternoon coffee dates. 

So I suppose that's a wrap for my blogging experience here. But I've still got two more circles to go - and a dinner plan for this weekend - so I won't get *too* sad (yet). It's been a ton of fun, and I wholeheartedly look forward to continuing to take part in the chat cafe program during my remaining few semesters here. 

avete atque valete, my Writing 302 comrades!