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.