It happened! Left work around 6, head in to the city to his hotel, got lost for 5 minutes, picked him up, out of the city, and on to <a href=”http://www.boulevardwoodgrill.com/Boulevard_Woodgrill.html” target=”_blank”>Boulevard Woodgrill</a>.<br/><br/>On the ride we talked about cars and <a href=”http://www.formula1.com/” target=”_blank”>Formula 1</a>. He called me <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenson_Button” target=”_blank”>Jenson Button</a> based on my car. Apparently he drives an <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_156″ target=”_blank”>Alfa Romeo 156</a> and would drive nothing other than an “Italiano.” He hopes to pick up a <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_159″ target=”_blank”>159</a> very soon, as it will greatly aide him and his cousin in “picking up the ladies.”<br/><br/>We arrived at the restaurant a bit before Caitlin so we had some standing around to do. He didn’t quite understand that they wouldn’t seat us until she arrived (I hate when places do that) so he began to get rather anxious and suggested we go somewhere else. I assured him it was OK and Caitlin arrived just a few minutes later.<br/><br/>He chose a quesadilla and a coke, but allowed me to order for him. I’m not sure if it was because he had trouble saying quesadilla or if it was a custom of his country, but the waiter understood that he was from out of town. It was funny that he chose the quesadilla because moments before he told us he did not like mexican because it is too spicy. When he told us what he wanted we let him know that it was the only mexican thing on the menu, which he was OK with since we knew it didn’t have any hot peppers or anything.<br/><br/>Throughout the main course (I got Chicken Italiano, which was superb, and Caitlin got her usual Shellfish Risotto, also superb) we discussed his job, sports (he likes basketball and soccer), his family (mother and brother live in his city), his country (hopes they are allowed in to the <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union” target=”_blank”>EU</a> soon), movies (recommended <a href=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283509/” target=”_blank”>No Man’s Land</a>, and loves <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Lee_Jones” target=”_blank”>Tommy Lee Jones</a> and <a href=”http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000148/” target=”_blank”>Harrison Ford</a>), and how he learned English (by meeting English-speakers in his country and having coffee with them). He intermittently mentioned “the war” and said he was in it. I really desired to know more as I’m sure he had quite a bit to share on the subject, but instead I kept quiet… No need to bring up potentially somber thoughts.<br/><br/>Following the meal he had to step outside for a cigarette; he keeps mentioning how surprised he is by the few number of people who smoke in America. He hopes his country soon becomes the same… He said he’d quit when they joined the EU as it would likely be banned in many public places when that happens. Caitlin and I ordered dessert while he was out there and discussed how enjoyable this whole event was.<br/><br/>On the ride back to his hotel I told him of kickball the following Sunday. He expressed interest and is planning on coming out with some of his “colleagues” to watch us play.<br/><br/>Overall, this whole encounter has been a really awesome thing. Caitlin and I were contemplating not meeting him last night (and rescheduling) as we have been incredibly exhausted with the move, the race, and life in general, but based on how much he enjoyed meeting with us, we did the right thing.<br/><br/>I’ve even thought of doing this more often. I know there are opportunities to be a tour guide for visitors, but I do not want to do that. I’ll take someone for a drive through the city and point out the sites (they can later visit them on their own), but I’d much rather get dinner, teach them some English, and learn about them and their country. If anyone knows of such a site (I don’t want them staying at my home, either), please let me know. I’m thinking meetamericans.** (don’t want bots to find this post and claim it) might be a new project for me.<br/><br/>
A Date With Mesha
Comments
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It is not exactly what you’re looking for, but I have a friend that volunteers to teach English on weekends (mostly to our Hispanic friends). There is not dinner involved, but I’m sure you could take them out if you want.
Your niece just rolled under her Pack n’ Play…gotta goooooo
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It’s admirable that you showed him what’s likely the opposite of most people think is the typical American. I think your target market is probably people who are here for a longish stay, like a month or two, for business or a class.
What I found interesting about our time with tour guides in Japan is they ended up asking us more about our country than we did about theirs. I think maybe the visitor is the one who ends up describing their country more as a rule.
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Jess: Yep, I know of stuff like that… Not what I want to do. Go Katie, go!
Chris: That’s part of the joy of this… Redefining stereotypes. The image of the America/Americans worldwide is surely a bit tarnished right now. If he goes home and says America is a great place due to his experience with me to just a handful of people, I’ve done more than most do in their entire lives for our country.
On the subject of who learns what, I think a major cause of it being the way it is is because the visitor is very much out of their element; they’re not too up for asking questions. I asked most of my questions merely to spur conversation. It wasn’t until were in the car and seeing different things (suburban homes, memorials, etc) that he began asking questions about America.
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