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Ashley TS #10

Today I met with Turki at the Sweet Shop where we originally planned to have a normal tutoring session like the usual. We were going to practice more speaking skills in preparation for his IELTS test; however, when he came into the Sweet Shop I could tell something was wrong. He opened up and vented to me about a miscarriage that his brother's wife just had back home in Saudi Arabia. He started getting tears in his eyes and I realized this was no time for teaching or studying. Rather than being there as his tutor, I was there as his friend. He vented to me about how he wished he was home to be there with his brother and family, and how moments like these made him question what it was he was doing in the US. We talked a lot about the trials and tribulations that come along with traveling and it made me think about how I will one day be in the same position that he is in, dealing with these kinds of thoughts and questions. Although we didn't get too much work done, it was nice to be there for him. I think he really needed a friend to vent to and I was glad I was there to fill that role.

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