Conversation Partner Meeting 4

After each time Sari and I spoke with each other, the more we realized we had in common. Sari and I discussed our interests and respective backgrounds in interest heavily. It was unbelievably fascinating to hear how business in Saudi Arabia, specifically finance, operated differently than in America. Sari began by telling me that he was at TCU to earn his MBA, but he first needed to pass an intensive English test to gain admittance to the MBA program at TCU. Sari then elaborated on how a degree from an American university is highly regarded in Saudi Arabia. He said that while Saudis are familiar with some universities, basically any American university is far superior to the best college in Saudi Arabia, which I believe he attended. He stressed the difference in academic and testing rigor as some of the main differences. While I have always heard that American colleges are viewed as the best in the world, it makes a huge differences when you hear it from a newscaster or American media source versus someone from another country who can personally attest to the differences.

Personally, I find the high net worth families in Saudi Arabia to be one of the most interesting facets of their culture. When I asked about the King of Saudi Arabia and the family connection component of Saudi Arabia, I was shocked to hear that a prior King had created a scholarship program for the best students in Saudi Arabia to study abroad. Sari remarked that King Abdullah who instilled this program was one of the most generous and well regarded in recent memory. The main reasoning behind this program was due to a recognition of foreign universities offering more opportunities for educational development than the universities and the desire to grow and retain top Saudi Arabian talents. From what I understand, the government covers a substantial portion, if not all, of the educational expenses under the condition that the students return for a certain number of years to contribute their knowledge, increased pay, and talent to the local economy. The program seems to be working and helping with the concern of the large percentage of the workforce being foreign. The issue with the workforce is that it's difficult to find the proper talent for some jobs and educating Saudis abroad is a solution to the issue, while probably creating more long-term employment as most foreign employees probably do not spend their entire life in Saudi Arabia.

Sari's background in finance was interesting as he worked in the financial markets in some capacity for a high net worth family office. A family office is a an investment management company created to manage the assets of a wealthy family. Typically, family offices employ multiple analysts to diversify their holdings across various types of financial instruments, such as bonds and stocks. Sari mentioned that compensation for Americans in Saudi Arabia is typically at least 2x what they would receive in America, which I assume accounts for the specialized skill of the applicant and the added difficulty of moving to a foreign country. The lower cost of living and lower tax rate also gives an added bump to the relative pay. While all of that sounds nice in theory, I am not sure how I would adjust moving to a foreign country with different social norms, while knowing zero people in that country.


Links for the Saudi King Abdullah Scholarship Program:

http://susris.com/2012/07/30/king-abdullah-scholarship-program-the-saudi-arabian-educational-youth-stride/

http://www.sacm.org/ArabicSACM/pdf/education_web.pdf

http://monitor.icef.com/2012/02/enormous-saudi-scholarship-programme-in-the-spotlight/

Learning Experience #2: Humor in Action

Date of Occurrence: April 19th

Occasionally, I tend to study in a room with other people in the BLUU for a few hours. This time, I was joined by two Lit and Civ II veterans, Jared and Noah, and we began discussing our blogs, in addition to various other topics. There were two other students in the room that I met for the first time. So, as our discussion and distracting conversations progressed more and more off-topic, I began to read Jared's old blog posts and poking fun at him for some of them. He suggested I read one titled "The Floating Ticket", which I did and found the most humor in an unexpected part of the story.

While the story was entertaining, I was most amused by the line that reads "There’s not much more fun than belting “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” on the highway and being able to joke with friends about their ridiculously poor taste in women." Disregarding the alarming part where 20-something year old males sing Disney songs in the car, I was curious why he thought one of his friends had ridiculously poor taste in women and who it was. He mentioned the name and one of the other students in the room had a quizzical look on her face at the mention of the male's name. The rationale for his poor taste in women is irrelevant, as the female student quickly said "Hey! I'm going a formal with him next week!". I found this encounter hilarious as it seemed like such an off-chance and conditional scenario that initially came off as negative humor. The female student was friends with Jared and was not offended, but this situation emphasized the importance of proper time and place for the successful delivery of humor. 

Learning Experience #1 - The Next Big Thing in Olympic Canoeing

Date: April 20th, 2015

I try to learn something new everyday. Regardless of what happens on a daily basis, I think your perspective plays a crucial role in terms of evaluating what you have learned and how you can apply that for self improvement and general wisdom. The most interesting learning opportunities, in my opinion, are the result of experiential or interactive environments.

I learned quite a bit about myself today. While I do not consider myself "outdoorsy" or a nature boy by any means, I am willing to try new experiences, especially in groups with other people who share my inexperience in the relevant task or field in discussion. The total number of hours that I've spent in my lifetime doing "outdoors stuff" probably accumulates to less than a day.This includes the 30 minute Boy Scouts meeting I attended in kindergarten, where nothing discussed at that event seemed relatively appealing to me compared to sports. It's not that I do not enjoy the outdoors, it's more along the lines that I can think of more than a few activities that I would enjoy exponentially more. That being said, the added variety is a plus and helps mix up my schedule .

Prior to the discussion of this event, I probably could not have told you many differences between a kayak and a canoe, except that I knew a canoe was longer.

One of the interesting parts of the trip was the unexpected time commitment. The trip was a great way to relax and get away from school (and my constant barrage of emails), but the thought of 10+ honors students who were forcibly removed from their studies creates an amusing image. Most honors students at TCU have probably been told numerous times that they "need a break" and in college that translates to a quick nap or show on Netflix.

As "Johnny Oatmeal" and I carried our high-speed water vessel to the Trinity River, I immediately imagined the Trinity as the beginning of my Olympic canoeing career. I jokingly asked one of our outdoor guides about the record trial time for the course and what types of endorsements I should expect upon my completion of the route and gold medal ceremony. Disclaimer: While Dr. Dan claims Sruthi won the "race" in her kayak, I am certain that Sruthi used performance enhancing modifications on her vessel, never mind the fact that the kayak was deemed as the "minor leagues" of the boat options available to us. The speed and weight advantages were obvious and will be disregarded wholly in the record books, instead of using a Barry Bonds-esque asterisk next to the declared "winner" of the day. So, as Johnny and I were the first canoe duo to finish the course, I am eagerly awaiting my medal, long overdue ceremony, and official announcement via TCU Announce or TCU 360 article.