Good conversation helped someone or helped you
Good conversation helped someone or helped you
I am fortunate to experience good conversation and be able to remember those good memories. As I recalled those memories, I was asking myself, "What makes a good conversation?" I think good conversation starts when people feel comfortable talking with each other and understand each other. Surprisingly, most of my good conversations have started in America where people don't use my home language. The first year in America was tough and harsh. I could not talk nor listen to anyone and became so timid. I often went to the Loussac library by bus to read children's books and teen books to overcome the language barrier and enhance my English ability. While I was in a bus, I was quite surprised that some passengers started to talk to each other. Even though many people use the public transport system in South Korea, they usually don't approach others. They seem to refuse to talk by staring at their phone all the time. They want to do their own things and do not want to be bothered. When a man started to approach me in a bus, I felt difficult to talk to him since he was a stranger to me at first. He started a conversation in a usual way by asking me "How are you?", "Where are you from?", "Where do you go to school?” I was not sure whether I should answer the questions from the stranger. However, unlike his unfavorable impression, I began to like him after a few minutes of our conservation. He often asked me open-ended questions such as “How do you like living in Alaska?” “What are you going to do this weekend?” Closed-ended questions like “Do you like living in Alaska?” would likely give me answer “Yes” or “No.” But his open-ended questions opened my mouth and broke the wall of my language barrier. Even though I was speaking in my broken English, he didn’t look down on me, listened to my stories carefully and treated me with respect. He was listening with not only his ears but also his body by keeping eye on my comfort
I am fortunate to experience good conversation and be able to remember those good memories. As I recalled those memories, I was asking myself, "What makes a good conversation?" I think good conversation starts when people feel comfortable talking with each other and understand each other. Surprisingly, most of my good conversations have started in America where people don't use my home language. The first year in America was tough and harsh. I could not talk nor listen to anyone and became so timid. I often went to the Loussac library by bus to read children's books and teen books to overcome the language barrier and enhance my English ability. While I was in a bus, I was quite surprised that some passengers started to talk to each other. Even though many people use the public transport system in South Korea, they usually don't approach others. They seem to refuse to talk by staring at their phone all the time. They want to do their own things and do not want to be bothered. When a man started to approach me in a bus, I felt difficult to talk to him since he was a stranger to me at first. He started a conversation in a usual way by asking me "How are you?", "Where are you from?", "Where do you go to school?” I was not sure whether I should answer the questions from the stranger. However, unlike his unfavorable impression, I began to like him after a few minutes of our conservation. He often asked me open-ended questions such as “How do you like living in Alaska?” “What are you going to do this weekend?” Closed-ended questions like “Do you like living in Alaska?” would likely give me answer “Yes” or “No.” But his open-ended questions opened my mouth and broke the wall of my language barrier. Even though I was speaking in my broken English, he didn’t look down on me, listened to my stories carefully and treated me with respect. He was listening with not only his ears but also his body by keeping eye on my comfort