My Lab Mate

My lab mate is an interesting person. He is Kenyan, studying Chemical Engineering at a private university in Philadelphia. He is a fun guy to hang out with, but he is sometimes annoying to work with because he can be a bit lazy. He always wants to have deep philosophical conversations when sometimes I just want to get work done. I think if we did not work together, we would be much better friends than we are now. He does like to go out, though. I watched both world cup matches with him, I went to the international student party with him, and he was at the Independence Day get together. Every time, the next morning at work, he tells me that he had too much to drink the night before and he is not going to drink next time. Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful that he is in the lab with me. I would find it so much more stressful and so much worse if I were the only international student there. Having someone else there helps me to know that I interpreted what people said to me correctly, helps me to make sure I am doing things correctly, and helps me make sure everyone on the same page. He is a very interesting person to talk to because he has an interesting perspective on life and he is willing to share it and he is willing to change his opinion. Because of him, I feel like I know as much about Kenya as I do Germany. It is weird to think that I probably will not see him again. We spent so much time together in this small amount of time, and we shared many thoughts and opinions on things, and because the semester was ending when we both got here, we did not have many other avenues for friends while here. It is just going to be strange, but I am glad that I met him.