Starting the ESL Program

Talk about my world view changing!! Never in my life have I ever been exposed to so many different cultures. Growing up in Royal City, WA there are two demographics of people:Caucasians and Mexicans. I grew up with no diversity whatsoever. When I moved to Cheney my freshman year at EWU, I was so nervous and shocked to see all the different types of people around me from all different backgrounds and countries. I was actually scared and intimidated by people of other ethnicities that I had never been exposed to before. I first realized that I was fascinated by other cultures and languages in my freshman year at the Grove because my neighbor was a young man from Saudi Arabia. Getting to know him and his culture attracted me to him that he soon became my friend because I was extremely interested in the things he had to say about the world and his experiences. Coming from Royal City, I have never had the opportunity to learn about other cultures besides the Mexican one. His world view and stories about his customs truly intrigued me and listening to him speak in English and Arabic made me insanely jealous. I thank Muhammad for exposing me to the other side of the world because he made me interested in culture and gave me the passion to start the ESL program.