“Where are these students from?” the lady behind us in line at the coffee shop asked, as I helped the international students practice English with their drink orders.
“Colombia. They are here as part of a student exchange project. This spring, we had eight students from Snow College visit their school in Colombia. In fact, we visited coffee plantations and saw how the beans are grown and processed. It was very cool. Now we are hosting these Colombian students here in Utah,” I replied.
“Wow. That is fantastic. They seem like really nice kids. Do you speak Colombian?” the local lady asked as she looked around at the students. “You must. I can hear you speaking to them. Is it like Spanish? It sounds like Spanish.”
“It’s a lot like Spanish,” I answered.
After a few exchanges with the students in their broken English, the woman turned to me.
“This is really great to have these students here. I’ve never met a Colombian before. I’ve seen some movies about Pablo Escobar, but I’ve never actually met someone from the country.”
“I agree,” I said. “When you share stories over a drink it is much easier to relate with someone than watching a movie about their country.”
