Convo 6

I had my last meeting with Vera today. We met in the bluu yet again. I have learned so much from Vera this semester (and used some of my bluu swipes along the way). I have learned the basics of personal facts about her and her family. I have learned about China and it's environment and economy.

The biggest thing I have take away, however, wasn't taught by Vera. I learned to broaden my horizons when it comes to relationships at TCU. Before this I probably never would have approached Vera and talked to her. This experience has opened my eyes to the people around me. I will look in the future to diversify my friend group. I believe this is such an important core belief to have.

I am a scientist and like looking at scientific data. One study I saw this semester looked at the diversity of people that wrote scientific paper and then compared them to the times they were cited (a common way to see how successful a paper was). They found that the more diverse the background of scientists writing the paper was, the more acclamation that paper obtained. So this skill of wanting/being comfortable with people different than yourself isn't just the right thing, it can also lead to more success in your career.

I will miss these conversations with Vera. She has become a good friend and I plan on staying in contact with her next semester as she starts on her path to be a graphic designer. I am sure she will be very successful.

convo 5

Vera and have grown more comfortable with each other. Like I talked about in my final presentation it is amazing how much more this class had to offer than what my assumptions when signing up were. I have not learned a ton in the traditional sense but the experiences I have had and the people I have had the opportunity to meet have impacting me in a lifelong way.
I would have never guessed that I would have meant a student from China this semester and form a relationship with her. I am sure I’m just another boring American to her but I love picking her mind about China. These talks with her have motivated me to go to china and really travel the world before I die. I believe this would be incredible.
The talks this semester have ranged from the basic tell me about where you grew up and what you like to eat to deeper discussions about religion and cultural expectations in each country. I have said this many times that before this class I really thought that there was one way that most “modern” countries lived. I thought this way was the United States of Americans approach, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
It seems surreal as Vera and I have set our last meeting for Sunday……. I can’t believe how fast it has gone. It seems like just yesterday that I was asking her how to write my name in Mandarin.  I feel like this has been one of the most rewarding things that I have done at TCU. 

Conversation Partner #4

As Vera and I approach finals the cross-cultural and cross language fears associated with finals begin to set in. While her classes are much more narrow than mine, I believe they may be harder. The reason that I can at least read and understand what the question is asking. While reading the questions is part of the test for her. This lack of familiarity with the language that the test is worded in is some that I find scary.

This unknown of what the question is even asking scares me more than her. I believe that this is because of something else that we have talked about previously. Vera and other Chinese students are used to pressure. They have to succeed to get put into the high school they wish and ultimately their tests and schooling are more rigorous than ours in the United States is. This obvious pressure leads to some of the differences in our culture.

Our talk again returned to food. She loves the food here to my surprise while she says that the Chinese is not very realistic. Her favorite food also surprised me. She said it was noodles that apparently are a staple in China. When an American is asked what type of food is their favorite they generally respond with: Chinese, Italian, or Mexican. I thought that a specific aspect of food being named was interesting.  However, I guess that there are many ways to cook noodles that I haven’t thought of  and that is a possibility I hadn’t previously considered.

These conversations that started as a chore have started to become of the parts of the week that I look forward to and I am sorry to see them approach an ending.

Learning 4

This week has been full of learning experiences. I have made great strides in my research. My classes are going extremely well. One of my professors has been saying something interesting the whole year. The quote is that “The people want us to be Harvard Monday through Friday, Alabama on Saturday and Texas CHRISTIAN University on Sunday.” This is so true and I believe a great goal to have. Sure it is harder because the more parameters and goals you set for yourself the harder it becomes to be successful at the plethora of things you challenged yourself to be. This is the only way to operate in my opinion if it is easy to reach your goals then you are not straining yourself to your greatest capabilities.

This is true in all aspects of an organization’s or an individual’s life. I feel like the greatest ability someone can have is the drive to make themselves better. This is something I have learned this semester, that it is a whole lot easier to say “oh I’m too busy for that” or “that will be hard” when you could improve and sharpen yourself if you trust in your abilities.

This is one of the themes of the semester for me. I took on a lot of extra responsibilities and tasks and it has forced me to become more efficient and a better planner. These are skills that will serve me much longer than some of the useless facts that were driven into my brain this semester.

This last part has a lot less to do with a learning experience (As soon as I got done writing that sentence I realized how untrue it was). My grandmother passed away last Thursday and she will be greatly missed. She taught me how to be kind to others and how to be gracious and inviting to guests. One of her favorites statements when someone would come to her with an issue about another person was “kill them with kindness” she was one of the most generous people I have ever met and I learned so much from her and she will be missed in more ways than can be counted.

Uncontrollable Laughter

There are many things we learn to do by watching or listening to others, and there are many things that we are born knowing how to do.  We are born with the instinct to cry, blink, and breathe. Over time we develop the sense of laughing and smiling and this is a big moment for our parents.  Laughing becomes apart of our lives very quickly we use it to express ourselves and to let others know how we feel.  This got me thinking of things that make me laugh, and mine are similar to almost every other 21 year old male: my friends, funny pictures, hilarious personal stories.  But one thing that might set me apart is the way I laugh at myself.  I laugh at myself on the daily and have no problem sharing my embarrassing or awkward situations with others so they can laugh too.

            I am a pretty clumsy person and my clumsiness seems to come out in the most crowded/awkward situations.  One fine Friday walking to class I was going over some note cards before a test.  I got a call from my sister; we were talking about normal brother-sister things like our day and other family matters.  I was chatting, studying, and walking—essentially I was doing what no naturally clumsy person should ever have to do which is multitask.  I came to the busy 4 way stop right between campus and the fraternity/sorority houses when a gust of wind came and blew my note cards right out of my hand.  I hear car horns beeping and tires screeching as I run back into the rode to collect my much-needed study supplies, all while still on the phone with my younger sister.  While reaching down to grab my last notecard my balance is shifted because of the weight of my backpack and I tumble, face forward into the hot asphalt.  Cars are idly driving by laughing at this random college student falling in the middle of the busy street.  I finally collect all my notecards and what is left of my dignity and pick up my pace to get out of the street.  I’m trying to get my cards back in order while also trying to explain to my sister what’s going on when BAM my head connects right into a tree branch.  I feel my body from the force of my weight slamming into this small tree falling backwards again right into the grass and dirt that that small tree is rooted too.  On the ground that is where I start to lose it.  I laugh so loud and for so long that people are really starting to stare.  Tears start to fill my eyes and my stomach starts aching from my uncontrollable laughter.  A couple of random students came up too me and asked if I was okay while they too were trying to hide the smile that was crippling across their face.  I got up still on the phone with my confused sister brushed myself off and proceeded to my class.  One thing that didn’t come across my mind is that I was very conveniently wearing white athletic shorts so during my final fall into the dirt caused the back of my shorts to be tie-dyed with a perfect grassy green and a dirt brown.  As you can guess for the rest of the day people were asking me about what happened and why my shorts were ruined and every time I told the story I couldn’t help but laugh and neither could the person I was telling my story to.