One Last Time

I met with my conversation partner for the last time today. It was a bittersweet moment for me. The sweet part of it is the fact that the school year is basically over and I will get to go experience some things outside of Fort Worth. The bitter part is that this will probably be the last time that I get to see Isabela. She will be returning to Brazil at the end of the summer to continue her education at home. We somewhat reminisced today and just talked about what this has meant to each of us. I am honestly very grateful to have Isabela as my conversation partner. As I had expressed in a previous post, I was unsure of these pairings after being with Jun. I had nothing against him but it wasn’t a connection that was working. However, once Isabela and I were paired I felt that this was a good program to be a part of. I have definitely gained a friendship from this experience. We have been able to have a variety of conversations, from the really light shallow ones that a person has with most people, to the deeper underlying topics of this world. I’ve also enjoyed, like today, being able to talk to her about her home country. I think the best thing outside of actually visiting is talking to a native about it. She has told me a lot about this large country, from the poverty and wealth, to agriculture that I can relate to. Plus I have been given the opportunity to give her insight about Texas and the United States as a whole. It’s been nice to help her understand more about the place that she is living in.  When it comes to English itself, I’m not sure that it’s a good thing or a bad thing that I have unintentionally taught her some Texas slang. I naturally used ain’t and y’all and pretty much every other word in the Texas version of English. She even asked me what those words meant. I would definitely like to meet up with Isabela in the future but know that that is unlikely. She will definitely succeed both in the States as well as abroad though with her ambition. I definitely learned how to take from that about her. 

Zoo Trip

My trek to the zoo was a very interesting experience and definitely one full of laughter, for myself as well as many others at the park. I went with a small group of people, some of which were in our class and some which were not. In this first picture I came across some children laughing. It seemed that they were laughing from the water that was pouring from above. It was definitely contagious as the other kids began laughing and soon started to get involved in the fun that happened. They were laughing and enjoying themselves so much that they tried to pull their mother into it as well.

The second picture is of a young boy at the alligator exhibit. I assume his laughter is more in awe of the big reptile swimming around than anything else. I felt as though that the boy had never seen something such as this giant creature and his laughter exemplified it. He was overjoyed by this experience and laughter showed that.

The last picture is of a couple at the tortoise exhibit. In short, they were laughing at the tortoises that were getting… “intimate”… There were some very weird noises that were being made by these animals that was getting everyone laughing. It definitely was contagious laughter because as soon as someone thought they could hold it together they proceeded to bust out laughing again when someone else laughed.

Negative Humor

Negative humor is a degrading humor that can be used to make fun of individuals or big groups as a whole. Some everyday humor gets thrown to the side and is way too normal of an occurrence. However, sometimes the negative humor is such a big ordeal that it can make national news. That is what occurred when the Oklahoma University Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. A video was revealed of members of the fraternity chanting racial slurs against African Americans, stating that they would never join the fraternity with them. This occurred on a bus ride to an event. One of the dates was able to get it on video and it leaked to the media. This created an uproar across the United States, causing many people to question fraternities as a whole. Negative humor can be extremely cruel. It’s said that words can’t hurt people but calling people names and putting them down and making them beneath you is wrong. The two men who were caught on video were expelled from Oklahoma University for their actions. Furthermore, the entire Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter was removed from campus. The actions of these two men didn’t stop there. The entire Greek community nationwide has been under fire because of this incident of negative humor. Students know that they must be on their best behavior now because not only their chapters, but all the chapters on their campuses could be jeopardized by a mistake. This explains the power of negative humor. This explains how saying one thing that might be meaningless about a race or some group of people really in essence is something much bigger. Racism has been a leading topic in the media recently with all the riots and police shootings. It’s very controversial and it’s hard to stop it when it is constantly being talked about negatively and especially when it is made out as a joke. Negative humor is something that needs to be addressed. Just as racism is something that needs to be addressed, negative humor is something that we as a society need to stop. It is a tool for the cowardly and  the brave people who stand for what is right and moral need to address the problem at hand.

Finals Stress Relieve

I had a gathering of friends in my room on Sunday night. And by gathering it was my friends Adam, Hayley, and my roommate Taylor. We were all laying around watching TV and being typical best friends just picking on each other. Well the picking on turned into a jab here and a poke there. Next thing you know, Taylor is telling Hayley they should fight.  Just like their encounter in January I think that it’s a joke. However, one thing leads to the next and Hayley and Taylor are facing off with each other. It beginnings with Hayley going strong. She throws a few jabs at Taylor but he doesn’t take any of them very hard. Then Taylor decides it’s time for him to retaliate. He grabs onto Hayley and tries to get a hold. He eventually gets her into a decent hold but she is fighting to stay up. Next thing you know and Taylor grabs Hayley’s leg and basically flips her downward. She lands headfirst into the ground. At first Adam and I look at the whole situation in shock. But instead of reacting negatively to the situation we just proceed to laugh. We laugh really hard. My stomach was wrenched tight and looking over at Adam, he looked to have the same feeling. I looked up at Taylor and he is laughing pretty hard as well, however, his face seemed to have a nervous look as this was the second head injury incident he has had with Hayley. Then there was Hayley. Poor Hayley. This was the second time we laughed uncontrollably this semester before ever helping her out. I think that says a lot about friendships though. When you can choose to laugh with friends and make the most of a negative situation it just creates bonds with each other. I can laugh with these people and always find a way to just be happy. I had been stressing over finals and yet these were the people that I could relax with. I didn’t expect to see a spontaneous fight just break out and occur but these people find ways to have fun and create laughter. I even think this laughter is a form of love for each other and everything that this school has to offer. I am definitely going to miss these guys as summer rolls around. When the summer is over though, the laughter will pick right back up.

Late Night Chaos

Last night was a night full of memories that I won’t forget. I along with my friends Taylor, Hayley, and Zach were gathered in Zach’s room just hanging out and talking about life. It was an entertaining night of just sitting around talking about life. We covered a wide array of topics before deciding, at 5:15 in the morning, that it was bedtime since we had school tomorrow. What came next was probably the most entertaining part of the night though. 

Hayley was sitting in a black chair on. Taylor and I got the idea to pick her up while she was sitting in that cheer and carry her through the basement, to the elevator, up to the second floor, and right up to her room. However, we never quite made it that far. Right before leaving the room Taylor exclaimed, “Just so you know I’m going to drop you.” I, along with the other two, thought he was kidding. However, right as we reach the narrowest part of the hallway, Taylor releases the chair and Hayley goes tumbling. It was a slow motion fall as I watch her head smack right into the wall and make a loud noise. The next thing to happen explains our friendship perfectly. Everyone busts out laughing. Zach is hurled over his knees just laughing, Taylor has fallen onto the floor in fits of laughter, and I am having to use the wall to support me in this uncontrollable phenomenon. Hayley is lying on the floor trying to figure out if she wanted to laugh or cry and it was a pretty comical noise in itself. Then finally, after we could all catch our breath, we decided it was a good idea to actually check on her and make sure it was okay. When all was well we laughed up the stairs and called it a night. Making it a fun unpredictable turn of events. I feel as though this won’t be the last time this group of friends do something crazy and have us an unforgettable, hilarious, moment that will make our memory books.

Friends

Having a mentor in college can be an awesome experience. Especially when that mentor is an older student. They have been in your shoes and yet are still on the same path as you. They also are genuinely a friend. I know over the course of this semester I have learned a lot from my mentor, Michael Walton. I met Michael when he was my frog camp facilitator at Frog Camp Paris. We bonded across the ocean and then kept in contact when we got back in the fall. I would catch lunch with him on occasion but really got to bond with him this semester.  Being able to sit across from a table and talk about life with this guy has been an awesome opportunity. He is one of the most well rounded, good hearted, faithful individuals I know and to have him influence me makes me really lucky. Just this last weekend I had the opportunity to sit down with him while eating at Woodshed (we decided we would get something really good for a last meal before he graduates). He is working for a nonprofit company in the Dominican Republic at the end of the month and won’t be back for a year. Because it will be a while I just grilled him with questions and advice. The advice for me is something that I will be able to hold with me throughout college. Something that he told me that I didn’t think so much about before pertained to Frog Camp. He told me to make the very best of it. He said how this is an opportunity to meet a diverse group of people that I normally wouldn’t interact with. He also said how unexpected friendships, such as our own, could be formed through it. I really took that to heart. I had thought Frog Camp would be a cool experience already but to realize that I just need to be intentional with it and that I would grow that way was something I liked to hear. It’s going to be sad to see him graduate and then move off to another country after this month. However, he has been a role model and showed me who I want to aspire to be when I graduate college three years from now. I have learned a lot over in my classes but these intangibles that will help me grow as a person are just as, if not more, important. I look forward to getting the opportunity to grill him when he returns stateside for more insight on life.

LitCiv 2 experience

This class has been interesting so far this semester. I was really nervous how it was going to be at the beginning since it was an honors class and my first experience with a cultural visions course. I didn’t know if I would struggle or enjoy it. If I would blow by it or actually learn it. Since then I can say I have definitely learned a lot in this class. Getting to talk about humor has been a pretty cool subject. In the past I just associated humor with laughter and jokes and didn’t think any more of it. However, after quickly videoing people and asking him what they thought humor meant, I realized I had a lot to learn. Since then I have been able to walk into that class and have no idea what I am going to learn. We have covered so many different topics just from talking and interacting with each other. It has been awesome. I’ve even learned a little bit from Morreall, although it has been grueling to get through. I think what I’ve most enjoyed and learned in this class is the Humor Around the World projects. It has helped me to open up my eyes to different cultures and the way they work with each other. I think humor is also definitely something good to know about before entering a foreign country. It would not be a good idea to crack a joke that natives do not find very appealing. I can say I’m actually prepared now. I know learning about French humor was really cool. It is definitely much darker than it is hear. It is pretty inappropriate to joke about death here and I am almost certain I would be shocked by the amounts of it there. It’s also interesting to hear that certain countries’ languages make a difference whether or not something is funny. That is something I have never stopped and considered when thinking about humor. That is one of the reasons I really enjoy this class. It makes you question things that you wouldn’t normally give the time of day. I think that is one of the most productive ways of learning. To dig deep into a person’s brain and make them question all the minor and different things that helps them understand the world more. I hope to continually learn this through the rest of the semester and hope to hear more about the humor that this class has to offer. Oh and the funny youtube videos always seem to brighten the day. 

Dance in World Cultures

This semester has been a good start. I am getting into the full swing of things with my classes along with all my activities outside of class. One class in particular that has stuck out for me is Dance of World Culture. Initially I was very nervous about this class as it didn’t seem very interesting to me. The only kind of dance that I really cared to focus on was the Texas Two-Step. I knew how to dance it and that was the one that actually entertained me. I came into the class just expecting to go through the motions, pull out the A, and continue forward with my education. However, along the way I have found that it can be very enjoyable. Dance is unique. There are so many different kinds of dances that actually influence how people do things in different parts of the world. I never realized how powerful dance could be until taking this class. Governments would literally ban dances in fear that revolutions could break out because of this. That intrigued me and made me really focus on what I was learning about in this class. I grasped how important dance really is to society. We recently did presentations over different dance forms in comparison and presented them to the class. My group did the waltz and the Texas Two-Step. It was really fascinating to find out that the waltz was a lower-class dance before it ever appeared in extravagant ball rooms. Plus the fact that two-step was created for blue collar workers to socialize and have a good time was really interesting to put together. It didn’t stop there. I was able to listen to many different presentations. They covered flex dance and hip hop that originated in the Bronx. From there it covered dances found in places such as the Middle East, India, South America, and Japan. My mind was shocked by what these dances all meant to these places and how they came about. What else has been cool about this class is that we actually dance in it. Its one thing to learn about these dances in textbooks and lectures but to actually get up and dance the basic parts of these dances bring a new understanding that I don’t think is realized otherwise. Some dances are much more difficult than I could have imagined while others are easier to pick up than expected and actually fun to dance. I’m excited to see what the rest of the semester has to reveal in this class but I have enjoyed almost every moment in it and have learned a lot.

All Fun and Games

Today’s meeting with Isabela was not only enjoyable but also different. The Intensive English Program had a social that all of us conversation partners were invited to attend. I made it a point to stop by and chat with her there. We met up and asked each other how things were going. I just realized we have a pattern of doing the same introduction every single time. After our typical introduction, she introduced me to some of her good friends, two of which are also from Brazil. They pried me with information, especially about Texas and “cowboys” after seeing my boots. After talking to them about that, Isabela asked if I would play the game Jenga with her. She had never played the game before so I explained to her how the game worked. Simply put, I told her to pull one tile out and don’t let it fall. We began to play and talk at the beginning and it was fun. Then it got really intense. I soon found out that she was competitive as we continually battled it out against each other. As the tower got higher and higher with less and less support we began to take our time and strategize. Our faces said it all as we would pull out the tiles. When I went, her face read please fall. Once I succeeded, her face read intensity. It was a fun game to play. Well until I went to put the block at the top of the tower and it came crumbling down. Isabela exclaimed out and made sure to rag on me a little bit for losing. It made me laugh at the fact that we could have this friendly game and that when it was all said and done we had the ability to sit here and laugh and just have a good time with each other. What was better yet is that there was no way we were going to stop after one game. She wanted to make me really lose by beating me twice and I couldn’t go out without a fight. So we repeated the competitive process that had just occurred. The difference this time around, however, was that I was on the winning in. Our expressions flipped and each did what the other had done the previous game. Then we laughed for a bit and talked. It was fun to change the atmosphere up a bit and just have a good time laughing with each other and expressing a side of us that we don’t see when we’re sitting a table just talking about different topics.

The Deep Stuff

I had the opportunity to meet with Isabela yesterday and talk to her about some very interesting topics. I also got to explain some things with her about the English language so that was pretty cool. We were talking about some lighthearted topics when college came out. She asked me what the difference was between college and a university. This kind of caught me off guard because I just think of a university as being college. “The college experience.” I had to try to explain both the denotational and the conational definitions of “college.” I explained that when referring to college as an actual institution it is normally a community college. This is where a person goes to get their basics out of the way or an associate’s degree. Then I went on to explain to her that a university is different in the sense that a person attends a university to attain a bachelor’s degree or higher. I then went on to explain to her that when referring that you’re at “college” it is the broad encompassment of it all. It took me a minute but I was able to explain it all and that was pretty cool. I think what was even better though was the conversations we had after. I asked her what she wanted to do with her degree when she graduates in Brazil. She informed me that she would like to work for an agricultural company. She then informed me that women aren’t common in the agricultural business but that she was bound and determined to make her mark. That was one of the reasons she is here learning English. I thought that was really awesome. Then she asked me how woman were here in different areas and we began to discuss woman equality and how it worked in the United States. It was pretty cool because we both began to discuss our views on it and came to the conclusion that we both have similar outlooks. We believe that whether you’re a man or a woman, the best people for the job should be the ones doing it. I also just found respect for her in the fact that she has the focus to push herself to succeed in a male dominated area and how she wants to prove that statement correctly. It was really cool to get to discuss these deeper topics like we did. We’ve been learning from each other on these lighter basis so it definitely was intriguing and really helped me personally to understand more about both my world and hers through the conversations that we were having together. It also makes me think if people are trying to change the norm in multiple countries now, what will this world look like in fifty years?

Rollercoaster Conversations

I met up with Isabela for the second time. We decided to meet in the same place just because it was easy. We just asked each other how the other was doing and she asked me how classes were going. I told her how I was hanging in there and then played off of that and asked her about the Intensive English Program. It was pretty neat to learn about all how it worked. They basically go in sections from beginner and make their way to advanced levels through being taught and tested on it. Of course it’s like every classroom where you need to keep up with the pace or you will get behind. I still thought it was a cool experience. I found out that Isabela will be here through the summer and then she should have learned enough English to be successful when going back to Brazil. We also got to discussing how she would be going to Disney World with her family at some point this summer. I definitely had to give her all the inside information about what she should do there. So basically I told her make sure you ride every rollercoaster there at least once. She laughed and said she would definitely do that. We also talked about the technology at the park and how crazy it is to have so much advanced technology in one place. We proceeded to jump around there to where we wanted to visit in the world to what our favorite foods were. It was pretty cool just to sit there and talk about fun everyday things. I know I was very anxious at first about having a conversation partner, especially after my first experience, but this has been very rewarding. To sit back and just hear what the culture is like in Brazil and compare it to here in the United States and in Texas in particular has been a really cool way of learning. I also am enjoying getting to know Isabela on a personal level. What began as forced conversation has now become an easy way of forgetting about everything I have to do and just enjoying my time getting to know a very interesting person. It has been some lighter conversation but I’m curious to see if that will change and we’ll cover some deeper topics or if it will stay casual as it is. Regardless I am having a fun time meeting up.

Lets Try Again

So I have spent the last couple weeks trying to reach out to Jun and get him to meet up with him again. This was highly unsuccessful and I proceeded to go through Britt Luby about it. She set me up with a different conversation named Isabela. I was a bit anxious about meeting up with a new conversation partner. My first one did not go over well at all. So I was wondering if this one would be different. It was going to be a really awkward situation to be in if I had the same experience occur as last time. I went for it though and met with her at Union Grounds. Of course we had that awkward first encounter, saying hey and asking how each other were doing. I, being the uneasy one, attempted to ask her about herself and why she was in the United States. She told me about being an agriculture major student in Brazil but that she needed to learn English because it would be very helpful in the future. This conversation pretty much put us to ease because after I found out that she was majoring in agriculture I knew that we had a connection that we could talk about. I found out that her father is a big farmer in Brazil. We actually proceeded to talk about different crops that were grown there as well as back in west Texas where I am from. There were some similarities such as corn. Then there were some differences. They’re known for growing sugar cane while back home our big producers are cotton. I think the most surprising thing for me to learn initially was that there are rodeos in Brazil. For some reason I just assumed that that was an American thing that American (and Canadian) cowboys competed in. Turns out that it’s not. We both were able to agree that bull riding is still the best event to watch. I asked her if the agriculture here influenced her in any way to come to TCU as opposed to another state. She kind of appeased my “Texan Ego” when she said that she thought Texas was the best state so that was an influence. I really enjoyed talking to about all of it. I feel like too often we as humans get caught up in our immediate bubble. Because of this we think that we’re the only ones who are doing a particular thing and others don’t have that experience. Talking to her about these simple things like farming made me remember that in a lot of ways were all alike. We all may come from different backgrounds but we’re all human beings that should be respected and treated right. With everyone that’s been going on I felt that that was a key lesson to take from this. I’m super excited to get to talk to Isabela when we meet again. It was fun meeting up and talking  like we did. 

Conversation Partner Take 1

Meeting with my conversation partner for the very first time was a very interesting experience. His name is Jun and he is from South Korea. It took a little bit of time to get ahold of him because he doesn’t use TCU email but going through Britt Luby we finally were able to make contact with him. Both he and I live in Milton Daniel Hall so it wasn't very hard or inconvenient to meet up. However, things didn’t go as smoothly as I anticipated. I knew that we weren't going to be instant friends. It wasn’t like this was some unexpected relationship that happened. We were both being “forced” in a sense to meet up with each other. I still thought that after a little talk it would be enjoyable. I looked forward to it, thinking I would learn a lot about South Korea and just gaining some cultural awareness. It was an awkward encounter from the moment I said hello. I tried to engage in him and ask him about himself and his experience here in the United States. I think the most I got over that topic from him was that he doesn’t like it here and cannot wait to get back to South Korea. I was able to find out a little information about him personally. He is currently studying Civil Engineering back home. He also is a single child and one of his favorite hobbies is to go biking. Other than that I didn’t get very much information out of him. I wasn’t able to learn anything about South Korea which was disappointing because I thought that would be great information. Instead it was a bunch of one word answers. I didn’t get a single question asked about myself either. The only time he ever seemed to engage me was to ask what I meant when I said something in English. I was more than happy to explain what I was trying to express but his facial expressions seemed to say that he didn’t really care. I could tell he was very uncomfortable throughout this entire process and would much rather leave. I was sitting there thinking how am I going to be able to meet with this guy five more times in the semester when I have asked him almost every question I can think of without playing off of our conversations. It got to a point where I just sat there silently because I didn’t know what else to talk about. Hopefully in the future meetings he will open up and talk to me.