Roxy TS #15

Amir and I visited the FSU Rez, which I took as an opportunity to tell him about typical American pastimes, such as “throwing around a football” and barbecuing. Obviously, these are practiced in many other parts of the world, but I found a way to relate it specifically to American culture by explaining the occasions upon which Americans typically do these activities, such as holidays like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Explaining these special days and their histories to Amir was a good way of incorporating American culture in our tutoring sessions, which I think remains faithful to Amir’s initial request when we first met, which was that I show him as much about the American way of life as possible. We also talked about religion and its influence on American holidays and government, as well as those of his home country. Amir used the word “secular” when describing Kazakhstan’s government, which I thought was great, while also noting that the country’s population is mainly Muslim. It was a good cultural comparison.

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