Conversation Partner 3

Conversation Partner 3

Today, October 28, 2013, I met with Kevin for the third time. I haven’t seen him in quite awhile. I have had a busy last two weeks or so with tests and visitors and all sorts of other things. But, I finally found a time that worked for both Kevin and I and we were able to sit down and converse again.

Kevin and I spoke about an upcoming trip to Dallas that he wanted to take last time we spoke. Well, he took his trip over Fall Break. He used the Dallas-Fort Worth train with some friends and decided to go shopping at the North Park Mall. He said he used his trip to buy some clothes, shoes, and other accessories. He said he and his friends also went to lunch in downtown Dallas and took pictures in front of the arena downtown. Kevin thought it was a really cool place and he was happy to have seen another large and iconic American city.

Kevin and I talked about his English classes. He explained to me how they worked, when he went to them, how his teacher was, and what the other students were like. He said English was getting a lot easier for him and that these conversation meetings actually really help him. He said that English is very tough to learn, especially for someone who is Chinese because of how greatly the two languages differ. We talked about the differences among all of the languages of the world and how learning a language can be a pretty tough thing to do.

Kevin and I then spent a lot of time talking about the similarities and differences between the education systems in both China and America. His perspective on the Chinese system was a strong education system for younger students with university education lacking, while my perspective on the American system was quite opposite. It seems to me that American elementary and high schools are lacking a little bit these days when compared with schools around the world but that our reputation for strong universities remains fairly universal. He told me that in China, a college graduate has a hard time finding a job if they graduated from a university in China. But, he said, if you hold a degree from an American university, the job prospects are much brighter. I found that pretty interesting. I think it shows the reputation that American universities have around the world.

Kevin and I finished our days discussion by talking about his future trip to a national park. He couldn’t remember where the trip was going to or how he was getting there, but he knew he was going for only one day and would spend the day hiking. He has started training at the rec doing the rock wall to get in shape, but said it’s tough and tiresome on his body. He was excited about the trip because he wants to see some of the natural beauty that our country has to offer. He really seems to love the outdoors.

We parted ways and decided to meet again at the same time next week. 

Laughter Reflection 1

Laughter Reflection 1

Over Fall break I stayed in Fort Worth. I didn’t think 2 days off was worth the 12-hour drive home so I decided to stay here. My weekend was pretty laid back. I watched a lot of football, a lot of movies, and a lot of YouTube videos. One group of videos on YouTube really caught my eye as being extremely funny. These videos were so funny that they caused my friends and I to uncontrollably laugh for quite some time.

Good Neighbor Stuff features videos of an awkward guy doing random things. The ones that really got me is when Kyle (the awkward guy) interviews Lakers fans at a championship parade from a few years ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz-i4USeKGs

This video is a classic spoof on interviews. Kyle plays it perfectly, keeping a straight face the entire time. The reactions from all of the people around are priceless. This shows a cognitive shift. We see a completely normal thing happening (an interview), but what ends up taking place is completely opposite of what we know to expect. The people being interviewed are often dumfounded at the things they hear and see from Kyle and have a hard time knowing how to react.

Another video from Good Neighbor Stuff that caused me to uncontrollably laugh is right here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FcyJRf6PFw

This video shows Kyle talking to kids and other people at a reptile convention. He plays the same interviewer role as he did in the Lakers video and pulls the same types of tricks as well. He speaks in gibberish and awkwardly touches people around him. The same cognitive shift takes place here as well. Our expectations are opposite of what we get from Kyle.

These videos were very funny. People reactions were always hilarious and these kept me laughing.

The laughter affected all three of us watching. We all broke out for about three minutes laughing uncontrollably. It was a great time. On a Saturday night over Fall Break in Fort Worth, there isn’t much to do at TCU. These videos gave us something fun to look at and keep us amused while everyone else was back home or doing something fun somewhere else.

Conversation Partner 2

Conversation Partner 2

On October 8, 2013 I met with my conversation partner, Kevin, for the second time. We met in front of the TCU library at about 4 in the afternoon. We started off by greeting each other and shaking hands. I asked  him how his day went and how he’s been since I last saw him. We caught up a little bit and then caught and then moved on to some new topics.

            Kevin explained to me how much he loves going to the gym. He told me this the last time we talked and he said that since then he’s gone every single day. While he didn’t tell me, I got the feeling that he didn’t really have the opportunity to go to the gym much back home.

            Kevin then asked me about the best transportation method to Dallas. He said he and his friends were going to take a day trip there over fall break but there was one problem: they have no car and cant drive. He asked me about the train that runs from Fort Worth to Dallas and how to use it. I have ridden it before a few times so I was able to tell him where to get tickets and how much they were, what stations to go, and how to get a cab from the station to their destination. He told me they wanted to go shopping for new clothes in Dallas and I told them to try the North Park Mall. He said his IEP teacher told them to see that mall as well so he said they’ll probably go there.

            Kevin and I then talked about houses around Fort Worth again. He said he would much rather live in a house than in Waits like he is right now. He asked me about average rent prices and how close he could rent a home near TCU. He was pretty surprised at the expensive rental prices for some the houses around here. I told him that the prices here are a little high in my opinion too because where I come from, Nebraska, is much cheaper to live than Texas.

            Kevin and I then talked basketball. He told me that people in China are crazy about the Houston Rockets. This is obviously because of Yao Ming’s career with the team and the impact he had on basketball in China. To my surprise, Yao wasn’t Kevin’s favorite play; Tracy McGrady was. I was also a big T-Mac fan growing up.

            Kevin and I talked for quite awhile this time. I actually lost track of time and we ended up talking for too long. I was late to a lab by 5 minutes. I thought that was okay though because it showed that Kevin and I were gaining some familiarity. His English seems to be getting better and I look forward to our next conversation.