Conversation Partner Meeting #2

After countless text messages, slight miscommunication, and a little uncertainty, I bundled up at 5:50 to make the arctic freezing trek from the Greek to the Rec. Normally I would find this a short walk, but when it is 37 degrees out, I find myself questioning why I don't own a ski mask.

Ileana works until 6 at the Rec so we decided to meet around 6:10 at the booths.

Finally we were sitting down and having a one-on-one conversation.

We started off complaining about the weather, which to two girls from Venezuela and Florida is the worst. Ileana told me she spends most of her time in Venezuela but also frequently visits Mexico, neither of which have the "harsh" winters Texas is having.

I explained to her the catastrophic events of last year's "Icepocalypse," which we all whisper about like Lord Voldemort, hoping it won't rear it's ugly head and return. At first she didn't know what an apocalypse was, but then she realized it means the same thing in English and Spanish. I told her about Fort Worth's lack of preparation for any such event and that the roads were iced over for days and walking to class should have qualified us for Olympic Ice Skating. She is hoping the Icepocalpyse was a one time deal (and I wholeheartedly agree).

Ileana had midterms this week, which I find strange so I asked her about her schedule. She said, basically, that they have four weeks of learning something, then they take finals and then the next week they start a brand new topic. I honestly don't think I would work well like that, but who knows maybe I would have 100% in all my classes haha.

We got on the subject of Harry Potter and that Ileana is eager to visit Orlando, where Harry Potter World is. I told her about my adventure there this summer and that it was definitely worth the hefty price tag. She asked if Miami was close to Orlando (since she has friend there) and I told her it was about 5 hours. She was stunned! Many people think Florida is small, and while it is thin, it certainly is long! Half of my drive from FL to TX is getting out of Florida.

We talked about how going home for us (right now) would be great because it is sunny and warm, and boy, we are both missing that right about now.

Ileana and I are true bargain hunters and talked about the woes of expensive clothes: how we want them, but won't pay the shocking price. We got on the subject of Black Friday and I told her some horror stories, but that sometimes it's not that bad (yeah, okay). I introduced her to the beauty that is "Cyber Monday." It also could be known as "Sit at home in pajamas and get on your computer to buy everything on sale Monday."

Finally, Ileana asked about sororities, which she called fraternities. Apparently in Venezuela, all such things are called fraternities. She asked if I applied to get in and I told her all about the recruitment process and that everyone gets initiated. She was a little surprised to hear that you don't just apply, that we clap and sing in PNM's faces, that we have to pay dues, and that we have all girls sororities. I don't think I have ever tried to explain recruitment to someone who had no knowledge of it. It was odd and I think I may have made it sound like a cult...

It was a short meeting. Ileana has a very intense schedule so she didn't have much time to talk. We parted ways with plans to meet next week and literal warm wishes. Seriously, we told each other to stay warm.

Ileana is easy to talk to, loves Harry Potter, prefers the warm weather, and likes to find a good bargain. She also is very focused on her studies and work. Sounds a whole lot like someone I know...

Conversation Partner Meeting #1

As soon as we were told that for this class we would each be paired with a "conversation partner" in IEP, I was excited. I love learning about new cultures and meeting new people. I anxiously awaited an email with contact information so I could meet him or her as soon as possible.

Finally, I got the email. I text her, Ileana from Venezuela, as soon as I had her information and waited for a reply.

And waited.

And waited.

I finally got a response and we picked a time to meet the following week.

I showed up to the bookstore early to get settled and pick a table and waited for Ileana to get there.

And waited.

And waited.

I got a text message from her saying she actually had to be somewhere else at the time, so we would have to reschedule. I understood, because I know things pop up, and everyone forgets from time to time.

We rescheduled, and again we didn't meet after I came down with bronchitis.

After weeks of miscommunication and texting back and forth we had set a time to meet, and I was thrilled. We would meet at the party the IEP students threw for their conversation partners. Most people had met their partners 2 or 3 times by this point.

Nonetheless, I was stoked. I wanted to meet Ileana and put a face to a name. She seemed lovely over text and I had been told by multiple people in the program she was one of their best students and just a lovely person.

I showed up to the party a little early and waited. Now was when I realized it would have been helpful to know what she looked like! Britt (a member of the IEP team) came up and asked who my partner was and I told her Ileana. She looked around a little bit and then pointed her out.

Ileana is smart and seems to have many friends in the program. She is super easy going and could talk to anyone about anything. She made me feel so comfortable sitting at a table of people I had just met!

We got on the subject of weird American sayings, and at first I didn't understand. Then we got to the funny part. Ileana said how strange it was that we add "though" to the end of our sentences. I busted out laughing, because it is ridiculous. We laughed over the fact that it made no grammatical sense and that she had trouble understanding such an odd quirk.

Then, someone else at the table told the story of getting her Texas driver's license. She said that the instructor told her, "Go ahead and back up," which she thought meant pull forward, and then back up. It wasn't until she did just that that the instructor said, "what are you doing?" She said, "I went ahead and then backed up!" Go ahead to us means "do it" but to people whose first language is not English, it means to literally go forward. We were all laughing so hard. I had a wonderful time!

Ileana and I decided to just text each other and see when a good time to meet the following week was. We are both really busy with work and school, so the next time that worked was this upcoming week. I am looking forward to speaking with Ileana one-on-one to get to know her better.