Conversation Partner Part 2

Today I met with Fanny for the second time. It was much more comfortable between the two of us this time since we had already had a previous encounter. We sat down and immediately got into the swing of things. It was as if we were old friends. I believe the thing I'm enjoying the most about meeting with Fanny is that she is so welcoming to me. She has said multiple times that I should meet her mother and get to know her, and if I am ever traveling abroad to "any Latin country" (she knows families everywhere!), she will call ahead and let them know I will be staying with them. I think her culture and upbringing has taught her that when she meets someone and discovers they are a good person, she immediately shows them affection and takes comfort in them. She has told me so many personal things about her husband and child, and I am so grateful that she trusts me with so much information about her life. That is a vital difference between the culture she was brought up in and the American culture. In America, I feel that we are taught to distrust everyone we meet, and constantly be skeptical of people's actions.  I also believe that we have to live life with a certain level of distrust, because there are so many bad people out there, and trusting strangers could lead to danger and pain. 

Today we began our conversation discussing the difficulties of daily life in America. I was complaining of being exhausted from school, and about how much harder it is to live off campus than on campus, because I had underestimated the amount of house duties there are: bills, trash, bugs, groceries, etc. She said she was also tired, since she goes to school every day with a TON of homework, from what she was describing to me, then she goes to pick up her daughter, helps her with her homework, cooks dinner, cleans the kitchen, does other household duties, puts her daughter to bed, and then when all of this is finished, she gets to BEGIN her homework. She said she is lucky if she gets to bed by midnight, which is insane, considering she gets up around 5am every morning to fix breakfast and a lunch for her daughter, and drive the 40 minutes to take her to school, then get to class on time. It finally clicked for me exactly how hard it would be to be a mother and have to attend school regularly as well. She explained that when she was just a student, she could stay up late studying and make school her number one priority, not worrying about anyone else, but now that she is a mother, she spends all of her time focused on her daughter and the household, and a lot less on herself. 

We also discussed the differences in holidays in America versus in Columbia. She, like myself, is Catholic, and she celebrates Christmas, but in a different way than many Americans. They do not believe in Santa Claus, in fact they dismiss that idea entirely because they believe it is sacrilegious. They believe the baby Jesus brings the presents if you have been good all year. Again, same basic principle as many Americans, but without Santa Claus. They do not celebrate a Valentine's Day, but they have an equivalent holiday on March 8th called Women's Day. In Colombia, the women is prized far more than the man in many ways, and all praise goes to them. She said that there are tax benefits to not only being a woman, but to also being a single woman, so many choose not to get married, in order to maintain the tax benefits involved. She told me a funny story about Women's Day last year in her household. She got very dressed up and put on heels, and waited all day for a big surprise from her American husband (who did not understand that the holiday was basically equal to Valentine's Day here). At the end of the day, when nothing special had happened, she was furious with her husband, who did not understand her anger. I found this story so comical because though she was upset at the time, she laughed it off now as being nothing more than a cultural difference, and compromised with her husband to celebrate both holidays in their household from now on. I thought this was beautiful because now they not only don't have to be angry at one another twice a year for cultural differences, but they get to express how much they truly love one another twice a year. This was very special to me and I appreciated her sharing this story with me. 

Fanny made me promise that I was going to suck it up next time we meet and speak in Spanish. She kept saying "Don't be scared, you see I make mistakes too." This made me feel so much better because in front of a native speaker, I AM TERRIFIED to speak Spanish! I realize she does it when talking to me, but it doesn't change the fact that I have yet to speak to someone in Spanish who wasn't trying to teach me the language. I will build up the courage and speak Spanish next time! 

Conversation Partner 1

Friday was my first interaction with my conversation partner. Her name is Fanny and she is from Colombia, though she has lived in Vietnam, and is moving to Guatemala in just a few months. She has a six year old daughter Katie, who we spent most of our time talking about. 
We started our conversation off by discussing the basics of our lives (majors, etc.). Since I am also a Spanish major, in addition to Biology, I thoroughly enjoyed getting paired with her, since she would sometimes say things in Spanish, and I could follow along very easily. It actually seemed to help my Spanish a lot. She even recommended that the next meeting, I could speak in Spanish and she could speak in English. This way, we will both be learning! 

We spoke a lot about Colombian culture, and its similarities and differences to United States culture. She said politically, they are just now starting to be more democratic and the president does not have total power. There is no distinct food represented in Colombia, and that most people find the food tasty, but not distinct. The education system has too little public schools, but she thinks they are getting better as time goes on. She said it can be dangerous at times, and one has to hold their purse a certain way when walking down the street, and cannot answer their phones also. I didn't quite understand the phone one, but I've heard similar "purse" stories in many countries. One has to be safe wherever they travel. 

After I asked her what seemed to be a million questions about her life, I asked if there was anything she wanted to know about me and my life, or English in general. All of her questions centered around her daughter, which I found very interesting. She truly loves her husband and her daughter more than anything, which I value in a person. Family is the most important thing in her mind, as well as mine.  She mostly wanted to know how to teach her daughter to be studious and successful in school, and she was asking me these questions since I am in the Honors college.  She asked what my parents did to help me become studious. I explained to her that they made it known from when I was a little kid, that studies were the most important thing aside from family, and I worked so hard because they would be so proud of me every time I did my homework correctly, or did well on a test. After a certain point in time, I was able to do it on my own without them telling me to, and I wanted to do well, not just because I wanted them to be proud, but also because I wanted to do well for myself.  She was very concerned that with her taking another job, she would lose quality time with her daughter. I explained to her that my mom and dad have always worked, and I never felt I lost time with them, and it helped my independence immensely. 

When speaking about the English language, she said the hardest part of learning was that sounds were different depending on the word, for example ('line' is pronounced one way, but the "line" in the word 'gasoline' is pronounced differently). She said it was so confusing that there are hundreds of exceptions to rules in the language. 

Speaking with her not only helped my English, but also helped my Spanish, and gave me a different outlook on life. I can say with certainty that our meetings will be very beneficial to the both of us. 

Today is the day.
I found it fitting to post my first blog on a day that means so much to me.
Please spend some time thinking about how absolutely, and uncontrollably, you love someone, and cherish those feelings. They will last forever. Buildings will fall. People will come and go. Love is eternal. Don't ever forget that.

I will discuss in this blog, something that I have learned over the past few weeks.

When I was a child, you could compare me to the annoying, introverted personality of Hermoine Granger from every Honors student's favorite series, Harry Potter. I did not care about what I was learning, nor did I want to, but I did very well because I worked harder than any 9 year old you will ever meet. I studied because that is what I was taught, I did well on tests because that is what was expected of me. I pushed myself to be a better person, but not for the correct reasons. As I aged, I was adament that there was no other way to live, but to study, and succeed in academics. Yes, I was involved in other things: dance team, studio dance, volleyball, basketball, clubs, etc. However, none of these extracurricular activities convinced me that I was meant to do anything other than succeed in school and be the smart kid. Throughout the years, I have met people who have scraped the surface of my one track mind, but I never gave in. From senior year, until now, I have seen people who have changed my life in ways that teachers, parents, even best friends couldn't. It almost has to come from a completely unexpected person to make it an effective transition. Many individuals here at TCU have shown me that school is important, yes, but so is just about everything else. In the last couple weeks, I have seen individuals that have shown me to love literally everything I see.

Do not take a day for granted.
Don't study until you're so stressed you cannot eat.
Be persistent, but happy.
Work hard, play hard.
Take a second to enjoy the little things, when the big things seem to big to enjoy.

The other day, I stopped and looked outside for thirty minutes, completely in awe of how beautiful it was. I couldn't look at my book because at that moment, I was completely entranced with the beauty of the simple things in life. Though it may sound exquisitely ridiculous, I felt more happiness and joy in that moment, looking at some trees and grass, that I have ever felt studying. Yes, to get somewhere you want to go in life, studying is a necessary enemy, but you need to take a break. I find myself constantly forcing myself to stop, do something so entirely worthless that it shouldn't even be considered a "thing", and not think about anything else at that moment, and for some time after that.

Overall, if I were to inform you (random anonymous person, who probably doesn't care about this) of one thing to take with you from this blog......STOP, AND SMELL THE ROSES.

Cliche, yes....important, absolutely.

Don't get bogged down in something that seems so important at the time, but in the long scheme of things, really isn't. Do something stupid, do something wrong, mess up, get better, improve your life every day, and don't forget to love who you are and what you stand for.