Conversation Partner Meeting #1

           On September 24^th, I had my first meeting of the semester with my conversation partner Paula.  Beforehand, I did not know what to expect.  I had a few concerns about how our first meeting would go.  Specifically, I was worried about being able to understand her English and whether or not we would be able to hold a conversation for an extended period of time.  The thought of multiple awkward silences during our conversation was enough to irk me.  However, I figured that we would make it work and went into the first meeting of the semester with a positive attitude.

            Paula and I met at Union Grounds in the BLUU at 1:00 p.m.  Our first encounter was slightly awkward because we did not know what each other looked like.  Initially, Paula walked right past me.  However, she eventually realized who I was and we shook hands, sat down, and began our conversation.   Paula started off the meeting by telling me a little bit about herself.  I learned that she was from Columbia and that she moved to Fort Worth four years ago.  She moved here on behalf of her husband, who is an American.  Upon her arrival in America, Paula got married to her husband.  She told me how her friend back home had set her up with him and how happy she was to be married and living in America.  When Paula came to the states, she knew little to no English at all.  She described her struggles to understand what people were saying around her in some detail.  Paula would always have to get her husband’s assistance in order to understand what someone was saying to her.  Her troubles with English motivated her to start learning and become a member of the IEP at Texas Christian University.

            Additionally, Paula and I talked about what the Intensive English Program was like and how it was benefitting her.  She explained how there are multiple sections to the program including speaking, reading, writing, and grammar.  Paula described her least favorite section as grammar and her favorite section as speaking.  Paula spoke English well, but insisted that her grammar still needed an immense amount of work.  She encouraged me to correct her if she was making any errors while speaking.  Her passion to become a better English speaker was evident.  Paula was also excited about getting to meet with me and speak English for extended periods of time.  She believes that the experience will help her proficiency with the English language grow tremendously.  Her biggest struggle with understanding the language thus far has been the ability to understand what other people are saying to her.  Taking this into account, I made sure I was talking slowly and clearly for the duration of the conversation. 

            As our conversation went on, Paula talked about her life in Columbia and how the culture differed from what she has been exposed to in America.  Paula told me how tight knit all her family, friends, and neighbors were.  She made it clear that she missed her family members and friends more than anything else.  She mentioned that she had not once returned to Columbia in the four years that she has been living in America.  However, Paula is hoping to go home to visit her family members and friends this December.  She also mentioned that she talked with her mother and father on a regular basis through an app the iPhone has.  When living in Columbia, Paula went to college and majored in International Business.  She also stressed the fact that she wants to go back to school after she completes the IEP program.  She wishes to get a degree pertaining to oral hygiene, and work with her husband, who is a dentist.

            I am looking forward to future meetings with Paula.  Our relationship is off to a good start and we will both do everything in our power to keep it that way.  I am positive that we will learn a great each other a great deal about each other this semester.

Cachinnation #1

The most recent cachinnation I busted into occurred on the night of September 8^th, 2013.  It was my friend Bret Polk’s birthday.  September 8^th just so happened to fall on a Sunday night, which is the day my Fraternity has chapter meetings.  We have a tradition of dumping members of the Fraternity into the pond behind the Fraternity house if their birthday falls on a Sunday of one of our chapter meetings.  This tradition is called “fronding” or “frat ponding”. It never fails to provide quite a bit of amusement for everyone involved.  It is particularly funny because the pond is quite disgusting.  The water is murky, brown, stagnant, and poor smelling.  The thought of plunging into it is enough to make me cringe.  Luckily for me, my birthday is over winter break.

 Bret, however, was not so lucky.  There was no escaping his fate.  After the chapter meeting was over he tried with all his might to escape the mob that descended upon him. He stood no chance. It was quite comical watching Bret scurry around the chapter room in a feeble attempt to evade his captors.  A few others and I stood by and laughed hysterically while Bret was being seized.  Once he was caught, Bret was hoisted into the air and carried out the back door of the Fraternity house.  He was stripped of his iPhone and wallet as the mob barreled towards the pond with him hoisted over their heads.  After being carried down the hill leading up to the pond, Bret was thrown into the water.  Most of the crowd that stuck around to watch was cheering and snickering upon Bret’s impact with the water.  I laughed uncontrollably as Bret tried to pull his way out of the pond.  When he finally made his way out, he received a round of applause.  Bret was soaked from head to toe with some of the nastiest water I have ever seen in my entire life.  He was covered in mud and his soaking wet clothes clung to his body.  Bret also had all kinds of crap in his hair, which I found particularly funny because he has a weird obsession with his hair.  A few of my pledge brothers and myself even snapped a few photos so the moment would live on in infamy.

Bret’s mishap was a perfect example of schadenfreude, which is the German word for laughing at someone else’s expense.  I thought about the term schadenfreude and how we had used it in class while Bret was being “fronded”.  It seemed to perfectly apply to the moment.  Half of the Fraternity was laughing at Bret’s misfortune for quite some time. Many of us were even rolling around on the floor laughing in response to the situation.  Bret wasn’t too upset over being tossed into the pond and even laughed it off on his way back up to the house.  The “fronding” created quite the memory for everyone who saw it.  I still joke with Bret about it all the time.  I’ll never let him forget that he was submerged in that gross pond.