Conversation #6:
Well The End. That’s It. This rounds it up.
What I am referring to is the end of this little adventure I refer to as
“Analyzing Conversations.” Which is my way of pointing out the fact that I
realized how hard it can be sometimes to start a conversation with someone when
you lack everything in common including culture, language abilities, foot
tastes, movie tastes, et cetera. But there, I admit it. There were a lot of
awkward pauses, repeats of sentences, and periodical checking-of-the-time. But
we both survived and we both managed to make things less awkward. So Good for
Us! Cheesecake points! (because brownies just don’t seem to cut it). Well for
the last time we were meeting we both decided to share what our plans were for
the future: immediate, long term, whatever. Fernande told me about how this is
his last year at TCU. He began English classes here at the start of the summer
and plans to enroll at TCC starting this January. After two years of school at
TCC in which he plans to finish his core classes, he then wants to transfer to
UT Dallas to study Petroleum Engineering. He plans to live with a couple of his
friends somewhere closer to TCC campus next semester, and he’s looked at a
couple of apartment complexes. He is planning after school to return home to
Congo for a brief summer. He also hopes to visit his friends in Madison
Wisconsin as soon as possible, once he feels he has enough money for either a
train ride or a plane ride. He also plans to continue his relationship with his
girlfriend, who is a student here at TCU, when he goes to TCC. He says he’s
grateful he’s been able to learn this amount of English so quickly, because he
knows he couldn’t have afforded another semester of TCU prices. Then I told him
about how I came to TCU originally wanting to pursue going into the medical
field, but now…not so much. If I’m being perfectly honest, our first meeting
was cut rather short. We have about a 45-minute window before he had a meeting,
but he also had to go get lunch. So, with that being said, I complied a list of
thoughts about this experience.
1)
This is the first I’ve ever learned about a
country in Africa. To be honest, I feel like Africa seems to be discussed in
blanket statements, as if each country can be classified all together. I’m just
pointing out, I don’t think we would like it too much if people assumed that America
and Canada were basically the same thing. For that matter, I also hate when
people assume that Nebraska and Iowa are also “basically all the same.” No. Not
True FALSE.
2)
Seeing Fernande struggle with English at the
beginning reminds me about when I learned French back in high school, and I’m
sure I butchered every sentence and pronunciation. I would like to point out
that I DEFINITELY chose to avoid doing that again when I go to college.
3)
How can anyone not like movies or pizza? This
was mentioned a long time ago, about how he hates all American food and doesn’t
enjoy movies. I still find that completely perplexing. And that is all.
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