Conversation Partner

I met with a new conversation partner at lunch today. Her name is Asena and she is from Istanbul, Turkey. Asena suggested that we go to the student union to have lunch. We met in the lounge at CIES and progressed from there.
She was a little confused as to where the student union was, so it was a great educational walk. Instead of relying on me, I suggested that she ask people where it was located and get directions.
This was a bit tricky because she was confusing the student union with the Center for Global Engagement, so I had to help with that.
I noticed she was very hesitant about stopping someone and asking, because she is not really confident with her speaking skills.
Over lunch I found out that her roommate is the gentleman that I conversed with(roped into talking to me for an hour) during tea last week. Small world inside CIES, it seems.
The main conversation was focused on the hijab. This is the material that Islamic women wear on thier heads. Asena does not wear the hijab, but was very passionate about the rule that requires women to remove it when entering inside a university in Turkey. She said that she did not feel that it was a fair rule and that women should be free to wear it no matter where they are. She went on to say, that she thinks the rule will be changing soon. Although, she does not wear the hijab, it is something she feels that she might commit to eventually.
Asena seems really eager to practice and I am very happy I was able to meet her today. She has some pronunciation problems, but is not hesitant about speaking English to those she knows. I have had some written communication with her, so I know she has the knowledge to convey her thoughts in English. I really feel like she will benefit greatly by having a conversational partner.