Conversation Parters Part 2

            I had a second successful meeting with my conversation partner from Venezuela, Ileana. We opened up by talking about the economic climate of Venezuela and comparing it to that of the USA. After hearing about the situations in her country where people are not allowed to exchange money to USD without governmental permission and exorbitant exchange fees, and the outrageously high prices for items as simple as gum, I realized that I did not have much to complain about. She did mention, however, that the cost of living was higher than in Venezuela. We devised a scheme to smuggle suitcases full of Trident back to Venezuela in order to earn back some of the money spent on the cost of living in Fort Worth.

            After spending time talking about the economy, we moved onto several questions she had about grammar. She still has occasional issues with the future tense, but whenever I correct her, she never repeats a mistake. The people with IEP believe that she will finish the program in a rather short time frame. She hopes they are right.

            After an hour of talking, some of her friends from IEP joined us. There was a girl from China and a guy from Colombia. Both spoke English just as well as Ileana, and we discussed how the female really does look Chinese and not Korean, as she felt insulted about someone mistaking her for a Korean person. While I found this humorous, it was a serious topic of conversation.

            Thus far, my experiences with Ileana have been incredible. I am learning so much about her country and culture, and she is learning a lot about mine. The fact that we can converse for hours on end without realizing how much time has passed is a testament to how much we enjoy each other’s company. We have decided to meet at least twice a week now. Also, any person who offers to get me hot chocolate as a reward after my organic chemistry exam is a winner in my book.

Extracurricular Learning

            My biggest learning experience this semester thus far surprising does not even involve the classroom. After starting the semester, I realized that I do not associate myself with an extremely diverse group of people. In order to better understand issues associated with different social and cultural groups, I made the decision to go to a group that unites LGBT young men from ages 18-29 called DFW Fuse. While at first glance, the group does not appear to be tremendously diverse because it consists solely of LGBT men in a restrictive age group, it contains people of all racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

            Through a CLP seminar on privilege, I engaged in an activity where we could measure our privilege in comparison to the other cohort members in attendance. Out of the approximately 35 individuals in attendance, I was the fifth most privileged. If I were straight, I would have been the single most privileged person in the room. That was the eye-opening experience of the year for me. That’s when I chose to try to be more understanding of groups of individuals that are not given privilege in our society.

             When I finally decided to go to the group, I walked in to meet two guys, aged 26 and 29 who are both homeless. I talked to them for the next three hours, learning their perspectives and lifestyles. In one night, I was able to hear perspectives about people who have been kicked out of their homes by their parents, financially cut off by their families, and unable to find employment. Regardless of each person’s socioeconomic status, every guy there had a story. There were stories ranging from an individual whose parent’s did not accept him, so he found sanctuary in higher education and is now pursuing a PhD in Zoology to an individual who someone who was kicked out of his home as a teenager, was never able to keep a job, relies on government assistance, and is now a homeless heroin addict. While I am obviously unable to learn empathy in one day with these diverse individuals, I feel like I learned a lot that day. I plan on visiting the group at least once a week, and maybe I will eventually become a regular. I still have much to learn, but hopefully this will help.

Conversation Partners: It Begins

            After months of failed attempts to meet with my conversation partner, I was assigned a new, more eager partner. Two days after our initial email correspondence, we met outside of Rickel, the building hosting the IEP office. Considering my previous failed attempts at correspondence, I remained skeptical about actually meeting Ileana. However, after speaking with several people in the IEP office and hearing countless positive remarks about Ileana, I realized there was no reason to continue with my skepticism. Soon after, I met her and we conversed for about two hours.

            While two hours seems like a rather lengthy time to meet, we had an instant connection that made the time fly. Considering she had only left Venezuela two weeks ago, her English demonstrated decent knowledge of the language. Sometimes she would ask me what a certain word is in English, causing my ten years of Spanish classes to come in handy. She would always take time to think before speaking in order to ensure proper grammar. I never had difficulty understanding her during our conversation, which impressed me considering how new she is to the language.

            Our conversation mainly involved politics and religion, but it also contained a ten-minute segment about Blue Bell ice cream and how she hopes she can control herself around it to prevent herself from becoming obese. Her favorite flavor is Cookies and Cream thus far. In regards to politics and religion, she talked about her Catholic faith and her struggles with how obtuse the church can be on occasion. We then ventured into the realm of politics and realized that we have a tendency to agree on most political topics, which is quite a rare occurrence for me.

            I told her a bit about myself and my involvement on campus, which is when she asked me about Chancellor’s Leadership Program and my ideas to incorporate LGBT inclusivity into my legacy project. She gave me a look resembling that of a confused puppy. According to her, almost all individuals born within the last few decades are entirely accepting in Venezuela, so hearing about America being different surprised her. Needless to say, I loved hearing her perspective on that matter. I am incredibly excited to meet with Ileana again tomorrow afternoon!