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!