Convo with Chris: Part 4

To celebrate my last meeting with Chris, we decided to meet at Sweet Frog for some froyo.  Because of my poor eating earlier that day, I decided not to get my own frozen yogurt.  When Chris came back to the table with his yogurt, he informed me that he got enough to share.  The precious boy even put an extra spoon in his cup.  I was pleasantly surprised by Chris sweet gesture and took it as a sign of our friendship.  Earlier in the semester, I voiced my disappointment in Chris’s lack of disclosure.  However, through the rest of our visits our friendship has gradually increased.  This meeting time we talked some more about his family, as well as the family dynamics in China.  Chris explained that he was an only child, mostly due to the one-child policy in China.  His mother is a homemaker, while his father is a businessman.  He is equally close to his parents, but sometimes wishes he had siblings. 

Later in the conversation, we talked about our favorite desserts.  Chris shared that one of his favorite sweets is a cake eaten during the Chinese Moon Festival.  Apparently, the Chinese hold a festival in the middle of autumn in celebration of the full moon.  During this festival, fully lit lanterns are used to decorate the streets, traditional games are played, and sacrifices are made to the moon god.  The Chinese, as well as some neighboring countries, use this festival to celebrate unity among the family and close friends.  The moon cakes, as shown below, are split up between each member of the family and eaten in celebration.  Chris described the cakes as having different fillings, and being quite delicious.   I enjoyed hearing about this Chinese holiday and the significance it has in Chris’s life.

Typical mooncake

The Moon Festival

Later, Chris and I discussed our living plans for next year.  For the past two years, Chris has been living on campus, first in Waits then in the TCU section of the Grand Marc. He shared his excitement to finally move off campus with an international friend.  They will living to a local apartment complex that is within walking distance to campus. He was most eager about getting a new roommate.  Although Chris and his current roommate don't fight, they aren't necessarily friends either. After about 45 minutes, we ended our conversation so that both of us could get some much needed studying done. Chris and I gave each other warm wishes and a hug as we walked off in our separate ways. 

Reflecting back on my time with Chris and JP,  I am grateful I got to meet such great guys. Although they come from different cultures and backgrounds, I appreciate the time they both spent with me.  They were patient with all my questions and were eager to explain their cultures. It was cool to see the progress, in the english language and American culture, that each of them made as well. Through this service learning process, I feel that my knowledge of other cultures have been broadened. I sincerely hope that I am able to see Chris and JP again next semester and catch up on their lives!


 

Convo with Chris: Part 3

I met with Chris twice last week to finish off our meetings.  For the first meeting we met at our normal spot, the bookstore.  There we got our free drinks to keep us quenched for our conversation. We began talking about our week and how we were doing that day. Chris revealed he was a little stressed about his psychology final and IEP exam.  He explained his desire to graduate from IEP so that he could begin taking more classes for his major, business.  To accelerate the schooling process, he is taking two classes during the summer. It is encouraging to see someone so eager to learn.  So many times college students complain about classes, especially summer school, yet Chris was excited.  Chris went on to explain that after he finished a month of summer school, he would return to China for some much needed family and friend time.  Although we were both exhausted from the week, Chris and I agreed that it is necessary to cherish each moment we have left of this semester.     Our conversation then progressed to the topic of music.  Chris explained that he enjoyed all types of music, and has even attended a few concerts in Texas.  Although he prefers Chinese musicians, he still enjoys American music.  Some of his favorite artists include Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, and the Lumineers.  I chuckled when Chris confidently stated who the greatest American artist of all time was, Michael Jackson! It is amazing how much Chris knows about the American culture and language.  Even prior to coming to TCU, he could almost speak fluent English because of the classes he took in school. I began to feel slightly embarrassed that he knew so much English, whereas I could not speak a lick of Mandarin.  From my experience, it seems like other countries are more aware of their surrounding cultures.   For example, both my conversation partners were taught English throughout all their years in school, whereas I started learning a foreign language in high school.  Even though Chris is so fluent in English, he still stumbles on a few words.  We found that our Iphones were a valuable asset to our conversations.  Chris has a Chinese to English word translator on his phone, as well Google to show pictures of certain items.  This resource was especially helpful when we were talking about our drink choices.  Chris was disappointed in the drink he got because it was not what he pictured in his mind.  Instead of a vanilla bean frappiccuno, he ordered a vanilla cappuccino.  We solved this problem by using our phones to look up pictures of his desired drink, as well as how to pronounce it.  Our conversation finally ended with planning our last meeting time, and wishing each other luck on the rest of the week.  In all, I enjoyed my time with Chris, and the chuckles we shared.  It seems like Chris is opening up more, which I appreciate. My last blog about my conversation partner is coming later today, so get ready!  

Convo with Chris: Part 2

I met with my new conversation partner Chris for the second time last week.  I must say, it is interesting having to form another bond this late in the semester.  Although we are pressured to fit in a handful of meetings in such a limited time, I am grateful for Chris and his cooperation.  In a sense, I consider myself lucky to get the opportunity to meet two unique international students.  Through the service learning portion of this class, we are all able to explore the world through someone else’s eyes.  My particular journey includes New Caledonia, and now China.  On the other hand, I find it difficult not to compare my two partners.  While I take joy in the time I spend with Chris, he seems more reserved than JP.  JP opened up about his feelings and life circumstances fairly quickly, but with Chris it is a different story.  For the past two meetings, Chris and I have stayed on surface level topics, such as food, humor, geography, and classes.  I am drawn to think this contradiction is due to the different cultures they were raised in.  We are all a product of our environment, as well as our genetics.  I have always been fascinated as to what, nurture vs. nature, takes a more dominant role in a person’s personality. However, that is a totally off point topic. Needless to say, Chris and JP are extremely different, yet I call them both friends.

I met my new friend Chris at the bookstore for Happy Hour.  I arrived slightly early to ensure us a table, but when I sat down I received a text from Chris.  Chris explained that he was going to be 5 minutes late and overly apologized for his absent.  When he finally arrived, he rushed to explain his brief lateness.  In my opinion, he wasn’t rude at all, rather fashionably late.  Chris, on the other hand, remained focused on his lack of timeliness.  Whether it is the college norm, or an American mindset, Chris didn’t seem to realize my relaxed nature towards time.  Chris and I finally began our conversation with the typical, day centered questions.  We then progressed to friends, weekend plans, and classes. Our final and main topic was, drum roll please, ……HUMOR!  I asked Chris what types of things make him laugh.  He explained to me his favorite TV shows, including Walking Dead and this mock dating show.  He then explained to me that certain American cartoons made their way to Chinese popularity.  Chris explained his fond memories of the cartoon Tom and Jerry.  He mentioned that he would watch those shows on the weekend, when he wasn’t doing schoolwork.  He also told me a common Chinese joke.  In this joke, a student was late to class and the teacher asked him for a reason.  This student replied that he was walking the elderly across the street.  According to Chris, laughter would erupt in the room after this joke was told.  Chris explained that helping others in China is uncommon so that this joke offered a ridiculous answer to a general question.  This reminds me of the typical, “the dog ate my homework”, saying.  I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Chris today as well as the insight he gave me into his culture.

Mark Twain Reflection

The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain initially peaked my interest.  Prior to receiving the book in the mail, I did not know what to expect of these quotes from Mark Twain.  Having not read many of his works, I honestly imagined another book, similar to Morreal's, in which I would struggle to read; however, this was not the case.  I quite enjoyed this last piece of literature that we read.  To my surprise, it was much funnier than I imagined.  I really enjoyed the mixture of profound and thought provoking quotes and those that made you laugh quietly under your breath. I particularly liked the fact that most of the quotes were short and simple.  That feature of the book provided for a quick and enjoyable read, similar to The Tales of Juha. In fact, I found a few similarities between this book and The Tales of Juha.  Some of them include:

1. The formatting of the book-  Both of the books included short little stories, or quotes.  While Juha contained some longer stories, the books as a whole were easier to read than a extensive novel or long-winded article.  In addition, the pairing of similar stories/ quotes in different sections provided the reader an easy transition while the different plots and overall quote ideas kept the reader interested and engaged the entire time.

2. The mixture of humor and insightful thoughts- Juha and Mark Twain both gave the reader a mixture of quotes with different end results.  For examples, some quotes were simply there just to make you think, while others provided a chuckle or two. While Juha contained some short stories that seemed to only provide laughs, all of Mark Twain's humorous quotes that I can think of, had a more profound thought behind it. This is shown in the quote of page 101, in which Twain responds to the question "What are the sweetest words in the world?" with "Not guilty".  At first, this quote made me laugh at the simplicity and primary strangeness of it.  However, after further thinking about his answer, the sweet sound of freedom is probably the most relieving words to be heard.  From his quotes, one can tell that Mark Twain thought before he wrote or spoke, even in his joking.

3. Some of the quotes/stories went over my head-  While Mark Twain's quotes were more relatable due to the culture and time period similarities, I still didn't understand some of his quotes.  This may be due to the fact that I simply am not on the same wisdom level of Mark Twain and the authors of Juha stories.  While reading each of the books, I would have to stop and reread some of the ideas several times in an attempt to understand.  This happened mostly in the sections On Law and Politics and In America and Abroad.

Needless to say, I enjoyed both Tales of Juha and The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain.  I appreciated having to read these books because it allowed me a small outlet from my other more tedious schoolwork. This last book reflects this class as a whole; it made you think and work hard, but allowed you to laugh throughout.

Mark Twain Quote

"When I was  boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.  But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years."   Attributed

This quote on page 15 particularly caught my attention.  Twain illustrated the typical progression of teenage thinking and development.  In an early adolescents years, a boy can not stand to have their parents around.  He thinks he knows it all and believes the whole world revolves around him. During those few years, the last place he wants to be is with his parents, better yet actually listen to what they have to say.  However, once the young boy matures into his twenties, he gains insight into life and the true wisdom of his father.

I found this quote insightful and humorous.  I like how Twain illustrated teenage years through the scope of a teenager and their typical thoughts.  It is ironic how the young boy believes that his father gained knowledge, when in fact he was the one that matured.  This quote is extremely relatable to the class and the stage of life we are in right now.  Generally speaking, college kids are in the midst of those transitioning years.  We are transforming from naive and self- centered teens into well informed and responsible young adults.  While we may all go through a different path, or have small parts of our lives that distinguish us from others, we can all relate to this idea of learning to appreciate our parents as we grow older.

New Friend

This past week, I met with my new conversation partner, Chris.  My last conversation partner, JP, went back to France to train for the swimming nationals there.  While I was sad to see JP leave so soon, I was also excited to make a new friend. Friendships, especially in this context, are so interesting in the fact that you can learn so much from them.  Through conversations, you share knowledge, ideas, and opinions.  Add different origins into the mix, and you got yourself an intriguing and stimulating relationship. 

The conversation I had with Chris consisted mainly of small talk. I learned that Chris is from China, and he has been attending TCU for the past year and a half.  Although he hasn't been here that long, Chris is already enrolled in some regular classes, in addition to his ESL classes.  This semester, he is taking intro to psychology, which he is not a big fan of.  This left me slightly disappointed since my chosen major is psychology.  We began to discuss what exactly he would like to do in the future.  Chris dreams of major in business at TCU, and then taking his new knowledge back to China to be a businessman there.  He is anxious to graduate fully from the ESL program, and begin his actual business classes.  Soon, our conversation of school expanded to include high school.  Chris shocked me with the amount of school he went to in China.  He attended school from 6:30 am to 10:00 pm and did not receive Saturdays off.  He explained that there were two class periods build in for you to do homework, however; he still managed to have to do some at home each night.  In addition, he only got a month off of school for summer break during which he had to complete a massive packet of school work.  Chris explained that schooling is the main priority for the youth there.  He wasn't able to sleep much, nor did he participate in sports.  When I asked him what he did with his free time now, he explained, "SLEEP!".  It is interesting to see that one thing Chris gained through college, was one of the things I lost much of during my past two years here. In addition, it shocked me to find out how different our upbringings were.  This only child from China focused on school work and his family during his high school career; whereas, I had a younger sister and was involved in various sports and clubs.  

In all, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my new partner.  While it was little more difficult to understand him, I appreciate the opportunity to meet another person.  I am excited to learn more about Chris and China through our next few meetings!

Final Section of Juha

The Tales of Juha was a roller coaster of humor.  It started of slowly, with some funny stories, some not-so-funny stories. The middle section was by far my favorite.  The stories were significantly funnier and made more sense.  However, the last section left me disappointed with the book as a whole.  During the last section, I barely laughed nor did I fully understand many of the stories.  Similar to the activities in class, I decided to pick out a story that I thought best represented the following adjectives: funny, surprising, and clever.

FUNNY:

One of my favorite stories came from the first section, Juha as the butt.  The story explains a scene where Juha is with a group of people who are all mounting their horses.  Juha mounts his horse backwards and replies to their laughter with “ What are you laughing at? Just because my mule’s put its head to the back and its buttocks to the front.” I found Juha’s response humorous for the fact that he was so naive and absentminded.  Either he didn’t realize the people were laughing at him, or he was trying to play off the fact he was riding his mule wrong.  In both circumstances, Juha is shown in a negative light as the stupid one of the group.  This lighthearted story allowed me to laugh at Juha’s stupidity, and be thankful it wasn’t me getting mocked.

SURPRISING:

In the further sections, some of the stories took a violent and somewhat disturbing tone.  On page 111, the story of the customer, baker, and a governor.  The governor smelled a goose that was cooking and ordered the baker to give it to him.  When the customer who the goose was originally intended for returned, he became angry with the baker.  He began to chase the baker, which led to some not so desirable outcomes.  Throughout the chasing process, he killed a pregnant woman’s unborn child and an innocent bystander, and cut off the tail of Juha’s donkey.  This story seemed harsh and reminded me of the dark humor presented in slaughterhouse 5.  The killings were shown in such a matter of fact way and did not receive the justice they deserved. In fact, the only person that wasn’t charged for complaining to the courts about their misfortunate event was Juha, who was the least emotionally armed.

CLEVER:

On page 128, Juha is shown as a judge figure. He is presented with a dispute between two men.  The first was angry that he did not receive his agreed upon paid for helping the second man carry a heavy load.  However, the payment of dispute was “nothing”.  In return, Juha had the man lift up a book and asked what was underneath it, to which the man replied, “Nothing.”  Juha told the man to take that nothing and leave.  I felt this entire situation and especially the way Juha handled the argument to be interesting and clever.  Juha was able to give the man exactly what he asked for in a way that the man could recognize.

In all, the last section was a bet of a struggle to read.  I found some little gems within, but as a whole, I was not pleased. 

Experience India

This past weekend I went to the Experience India event hosted by SAICA.  The event consisted of a tradition Indian dinner, choreographed dances, a hilarious skit preformed by all the members, and an dance party in which the members taught the attendees typical Indian dance moves. Through that night, I was able to laugh while I was expanding my cultural awareness.

I never had much of interest in India until this past year when I found out some of my friends were going for the summer.  With this new connection to India, I gained an interest in learning more about the culture and country of India.  Earlier this semester, my group and I researched Indian humor for our world humor project; however, I wasn’t able to get a real feel for Indian humor until I saw it first hand.  The humor portion of Experience India consisted of a skit that was based on the popular TV show, Friends.  This skit was preformed Bollywood style with dances intermixed in the acting.  The skit revolved around an Indian couple that wanted to get married; however, the young girl wasn’t able to get married until her older sister found a husband.  Apparently, the typical Bollywood movie is centered on love.  It is interesting how they took a cross cultural topic of love and fused it with Indian culture, the younger sister couldn’t get married until her older sister was wed.  The main humor was represented through the characters and the different relationships they all shared.  For example, the older sister represented the epitome a clueless girl trying to find love.  For one of her first dates, she did a background check on the guy and brought a list of topics to discuss if conversation started to wane.  In the end, the older sister found love, the fighting couple made up, the younger sister got married, and they all joyously danced off.

It was interesting to see the mixture of an American show with an Indian flair.  Within the skit, there were references to certain Indian ideas and beliefs, but the majority of the skit represented a typical American romantic comedy.  Many of the jokes were in response to awkward situations as well as stereotypes of men and women.  In all, the whole night increased my knowledge of Indian humor and culture. I felt that I was able to more fully immerse myself in the culture than simply researching it, and I had tons of fun along the way! 

Procrastination

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxDSQ23cWhE

 

As I am sitting here attempting to study, I am hit with the sudden urge to look up something to distract me. Procrastination should become my new middle name.  It was at that point that I remember this funny commercial I saw yesterday while watching the National Championship game.  I am not of a sports gal so I paid just as much attention to the game as I did the commercials. This particular commercial was funny and memorable so I decided to share it with the rest of the class.  I went to look it up on Youtube, and laughed just as much as I did the first time I saw it.  This brief enjoyment caused me to then watch several other commercials by the same company…. best distraction EVER.

These commercials are chuckle worthy because they put babies in typically adult situations doing adult things. The babies are shown flying back from a bachelor party, buying stock, and participating in a wedding.  Not only are these kids adorable, but they provide a cognitive shift between our typical ideas of what babies should be doing.  The first cognitive shift occurs when the babies start to talk, in fully developed voices, with coherent and sophisticated sentences.  These babies are dressed in typical clothes for their age and are even seen in cribs and high chairs during the scenes; however, when they open their mouths, you would have expected a full grown man to be standing there instead of the innocent looking child.  The second cognitive shift appears in the various mature situations the babies are involved in, as stated above. These adult situations sometimes use fellow babies as the other characters and other times use adults.  Part of the humor is based on the fact that no one else in the scene seems to be bothered by the fact that the baby is talking.  The other characters walk undisturbed and even talk back to the young children in a nonchalant way.   In addition, the babies offer some pretty clever and cute one liners.  The scripts for these commercials are funny all by themselves, without use of unusual characters.  In all, when you put together cute babies, adult situations, and funny lines, you create an enjoyable commercial experience. While I may not know what exactly Etrade does, name recognition has been installed within my brain.

Now back to study……..

SNL: Sunday Night Laughter

Tonight has been filled with laughter, humor, and friendship.  In particular, the laughter came from the friends who served the humorous material.  My friends and I were all attempting to study in my room tonight when the Internet distracted us.  Funny pictures led to funny videos, which obviously led to lots of laughter. In the end, we decided to make a Vine video of each of us doing a spontaneous random noise.  My friend, Tori, recorded all the noise and facial expression separately and combined them into a short video post.  Not only were we able to laugh at all the funny noise as they happened, but we had a recording of our silliness to play over and over again.  By the end of the night, we had successfully watched our video several times and spent a good amount of time laughing in fellowship.

Looking back at tonight, I think a few contributors caused our laughter.  One factor is the fact that all the girls in my room were good friends who were comfortable with each other.  Personally, I would not have laughed as hard or said some of the stuff I said in a group of strangers.  That is the funny thing about creating and sharing humor; most times it is much easier to really let yourself laugh when you are comfortable.  This leads me to my next observation.  We were all in play mode at the time.  If just one girl wasn’t in the mood to laugh or be a little bit goofy, this night would not have gone the same way.  Because we were in play mode, we let ourselves freely laugh and be a little bit goofy.  In addition, tonight was a “you had to have been there” moment.  If any one else saw our video, they probably wouldn’t have laughed at the same intensity as we did.  Since we created the humor, we found it a hilarious and bonding moment.  This bond that we created could not be transferred to anyone else, thus they will not laugh the same way we did at the video.

In all, I had a great night that I will fondly look back to.  Good thing I have embarrassing evidence to help me relive the moments. 

Sense of Life

This past spring break, I went to El Salvador.  As a common curtesy, I got friends all sorts of gifts as keepsakes from my trip.  One such gift was a bookmark.  This simple, and cheap gift can relate to the meaning of life in some way.  Some people may try to relate the meaning of life the amount of knowledge that they have. They strive after education as if it were the answer to life.  This philosophy goes as follows: The more you know, the more successful you will be, and ultimately the happier you will be. This version of life is related to bookmarks in the fact that books are a way to gain knowledge about various topics.

Be sure to check out Mackie and Katie's blog to see the rest of our groups project!

Easter Laughter

As this holiday weekend is coming to an end, I felt it would be a good time to reflect on all the good times I've had, along with the laughs.  I condensed my weekend into the top 3 laugh worthy moments with my family.  

3. On Friday night, my family went to the Sweet Sixteen Regional Tournament in Arlington. During the Florida vs. FGCU game, a twenty something woman was standing in the front row while everyone else around her was sitting down.  My family was about 3 rows behind her, and could not see a any of the action.  It was when my 9 year old cousin complained that my aunt decided to take action.  My typically quiet aunt walked up and politely asked the woman to sit down (she did have one of the best seats in our section anyway).  The woman replied with a sassy "No" and an eye roll.  The conversation proceeded to turn down a not so nice path, and finally ended with the woman taking her seat.  This type of action was not like my aunt at all, however; I guess the momma bear in her came out.  When she victoriously returned to the family, we couldn't help but let out a chuckle.  This moment led me back to the relief theory. Our family had so much built up pressure and anticipation watching my aunt and this woman's encounter, that we just had to release it through laughter. In addition, a cognitive shift was displayed through my aunt's actions.  I would not have expected my aunt to get so bold and feisty.

2. Throughout the weekend my younger cousin was the originator of much laughter. This little nine year old fireball is a lot to handle.  Not only is she sassy, but she is also a major tomboy.  Ultimately, she is the queen of one liners that make you laugh out loud instantly, and that is what we did much of this weekend. With children, you can never predict what they are going to say or do next.  They contain no filter in their speech, nor do they think about the consequences of their words.  My cousin Grace is not an exception.  While I can't recall one particular moment in which she had the whole family laughing, there were several throughout our time together.  These instances made me think about the play mode as a whole.  Children are rarely ever serious. Their lives consist of remaining in the play mode, in all different situations.  Grace showed me to appreciate play mode this weekend through all the conversations we had. As they all say, kids say the darnedest things.

1. My family topped the weekend off with a big Easter dinner.  We all sat around a long dining table to share a meal, as well as our lives.  My favorite part of the meal consisted of watching my dad and his brother share their college stories.  Being a college student myself, I found it interesting to hear all about the mistakes they made during the time period I am experiencing.  My dad told us story after story about pranks is Fraternity would make.  One such prank involved them stealing a huge ceramic statue from a local burger place, and putting it right in the middle of the school's commons. Watching my father and uncle crack up at their shared experiences filled my heart with happiness. 

Family is such a joyful blessing that it is hard not to smile and laugh when you are around them.  While mine might be slightly wacky, I am grateful for their presence in my life and the laughter that they bring.

Slaughterhouse- 5

I don’t even know where to begin discussing this story.  The chaotic mixture of stories and time travel left me confused, yet somewhat satisfied as I finished the book.  The novel, written in true Tralfamadorian fashion, illustrated a mixture of moments, as it followed the life of Billy Pilgrim. Billy Pilgrim’s life is described through flashbacks (time travel) that Billy experiences, including his childhood, time at war, marriage and family, time in Tralfamadore, and even his death.  With the various different stories flying at you, and changing at any times moment, it was hard to keep track.  It wasn’t until I got about half way through the novel that I started to comprehend the some of the story; however, an unsettled atmosphere reigned throughout my reading. With the confusing story line, I appreciated how Kurt Vonnegut wrote in simple and understandable language.  The simple language helped compensate for the constantly changing, and uniquely structured novel.

Personally, black humor is not my favorite.  This book was saturated with gory, depressing, and heartbreaking events, all stated in a matter-of-fact way.  For example, the phrase “so it goes” was used several times throughout the book in response to someone, or something’s death.  This same phrased is used after the death of a human, animal, bacteria, and even in description of the dead champagne.  I found it a little unsettling how Vonnegut paid each of those things the same respect.  I would have hoped that a human death or the death of thousands would receive a more sympathetic response than that of a beverage.   In addition, I found it interesting that at one point Vonnegut describes people as merely human beings (Page 90).  The position he took towards death seems to resemble the same view of death that is taken during war, and in this case towards the Dresden Bombing.  Individuals are not people any longer. They do not have feelings, dreams, and futures.  Humans are simply human beings. Billy Pilgrim offers a good example of this lack of individualism.  He simply let the world take control of his future.  I pity Billy in this story with the life that he lived.  He was not treated well during the war and even after the war by his family, but he just let it happen.  This book brought to a light a few concepts I learned about in one of my psychology class, one being Learned Helplessness as described above. 

The last part of the book offered some closure and completed somewhat of a full circle in discussion of the Dresden Bombing. I thought it was interesting how there were two different point of views implied.  The over tone of the book suggested the Kurt Vonnegut didn’t agree with the bombing; however, Vonnegut offered another view of the bombing through the character Professor Rumfoord. In all, this read was not that bad.  While the structure left me feeling uncomfortable throughout, Slaughter House 5 was an easy read and offered some great insight.

Pardon My French: Part 3

Yesterday, I met with JP for the third time.  I must say, I  enjoyed this past meeting the most.  Since we have gotten past all the small talk, JP and I were able to talk about more complex concepts.  We were also able to get to know each other on a deeper level.

Because JP and I met for lunch, we began our conversation talking about food, one of my favorite subjects.  We talked about our likes and dislikes, along with the differences between common foods for our respective countries.  We then progressed to sharing some of our high school experiences.  He explained what he liked to do for fun, which includes going to the beach, attending music festivals, and hanging out with his friends. He showed me some pictures of his favorite festival and shared some of his cherished high school memories.  We then got on the topic of music, and he let me listen to a few songs he loves. While we had different names for the various types of music, we shared a common taste in songs.  Towards the end, I was finally able to ask JP about humor in New Caledonia.  He explained to me that people in New Caledonia typically make fun of the French.  In their jokes and actions, people from his country like to show the French was unintelligent and uptight.  For example, whenever JP and his New Caledonian friends were in group with people from France, they would throw some common native words into the conversation.  While his friends would know what he was saying, the French person would not understand.  Chuckling to himself, JP explained that their reaction was priceless.  Apparently, people in New Caledonia maintain a relaxed view on life and enjoy laughing, at others and themselves.  JP and I ended our conversation with talking about the TV shows we just can not miss.  JP enjoys watching comedies such as Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother.  He even confessed some of his guilty pleasures were Grey's Anatomy and Gossip Girl..... don't tell him I told!

In all, I appreciated how JP opened up to me during this meeting time.  I enjoyed getting to hear all about his family and the relationship he has with each member.  I felt we related to each other in some of our experiences, such as romantic relationships gone bad and television shows.  I particularly enjoyed getting to know what makes him LOL.  Through this class I learned that you can tell a lot about a person from what they find funny.  Learning about JP's humor preferences allowed me to get a closer view of JP as a whole.

Happy blogging and I hope everyone has an amazing spring break!

Pardon my French: Part 2

Yesterday, I met with my conversation partner for the second time. It was interesting meeting him again with a pre-established knowledge of each other. Because of that fact, we were able to bypass small talk and get more in depth in our conservation. I feel like I know JP on a deeper level, and my knowledge of his country increased.

JP and I started talking about his week in general. Through that I learned that he has a big test coming up that will determine if he is able to stay at TCU and become a full fledge student. I offered my help with any studying that he may need, and we agreed that we can devote some of our next meeting time to studying. Our conservation then moved onto his spring break plans. JP explained to me that he was going back to France to compete in swimming nationals. Apparently, JP didn't just swim for fun; JP swam to win! Back in New Caledonia, JP went to a high school completely devoted to improving one's athletic abilities. He was boarded there with fellow committed swimmers, wrestlers, soccer players, and horseback riders. I also learned that JP had competed to be apart of the French Olympic swimming team and made it to semifinals.

I was fascinated with JP's life. Not only did he live in a different country than I did, but he lived a completely different lifestyle. While his life was consumed with school, swim, and sleep, I was allowed to pursue a more relaxing lifestyle, filled with family and friends. It is so interesting how many different backgrounds people come from, yet we all ended up at TCU. On the outside, it may seem like JP and I have nothing in common. However, we both have a similar appreciation of football, heart-break story, and enjoyment of the university we attend. It really is amazing how everyone in TCU has at least one thing in common; we are all horned frogs.

After JP told me about his life, we were able to discuss some overarching themes of New Caledonia. While Texas is emerged in the Bible Belt and many students attend church, this is not the case in New Caledonia. JP informed me that many people claim Catholicism as their religion, yet Mass is not an important part of their schedules. We were able to discuss religion, thoughts on family, and thoughts on love. I appreciated how open JP was with me in all that we shared. In all, I really enjoyed my time with JP, and feel like I can learn so much more from him. I still want to see his opinion on humor, and possibly see examples.

P.S. We were able to narrow his dream girl down to a certain sorority. While the search still remains, we are making progress.

Pardon my French: Part 1

Last week, I was finally able to meet up with my conversation partner for the first time.  I was a little nervous prior to him showing up and even had thoughts running through my head about him standing me up.  Luckily, Julien-Pierre, or as he introduced himself JP, showed up right on time. To my surprise, JP spoke decent English which made our conversation easy. With it being our first meeting, JP and I were both a tad awkward at first; however, we both became comfortable quickly.

Our conversation start with JP telling me all about where exactly he is from. JP was born and raised in New Caledonia, an island right off of France. He explained to me that while New Caledonians speak French, they are more educated in speaking English than your average person from France. I was quite fascinated by his homeland. JP was able to tell me all about where he grew up, what the weather was like there, and even showed me many of his favorite pictures. Here are a few....

JP showed me this naturally made spot of vegetation which resembles a heart.  He explained that people from New Caledonia are quite proud of their geography, and landmarks.

JP called this mass of rocks, the Big Hen. If you look at it closely you can see the outline of a hen.

This picture of the beaches in New Caledonia was my favorite. JP explained that he visited the beach often with friends.

After we discussed his homeland and some of the differences between the French and people from New Caledonia, he began telling me about his journey to TCU.  JP had to go to several different countries to prepare for the SAT, but he finally made it to Texas this January. He is currently swimming on the TCU club team and is trying to earn a spot on the TCU swim team.  One of JP's favorite things about TCU is the uplifting and encouraging environment.  He really appreciated how "everyone wanted everyone else to succeed, like teachers and coaches." We ended our conversation with him telling me about a girl he has never met and has a crush on. However, he has high hopes for finding out her name and even narrowed down his search. He thinks she is on the Equestrian team because she wears riding boots with tights most days. I didn't have the heart to tell him that most girls, horseback riders or not, wear riding boots to class. I couldn't crush his optimism that quickly so I agreed to help him find this girl! 

I really enjoyed talking to JP. He was easy to understand and pretty funny. He had my laughing a few times during some of the stories he told. I am interested to talk to him about humor next time we meet and see what makes him laugh. I am also excited to share American culture with him, including our current trends in fashion. In all, I left my conversation with JP with a renewed sense of pride and appreciation for my own country and school. JP showed me how lucky I am to be involved in such a great community where people are welcoming and want the best for one another.  I loved getting to find out his perspective on certain areas and can't wait to learn more from him.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

Barry's describe of women and men in Tips for Women: How to have a Relationship with a Guy was embarrassingly true and hilarious at the same time.  In this comic read, Barry compared how men and women act in a relationship and gave tips for women at the end to ensure success in the future. To illustrate his point, Barry narrated the story of Elaine and Roger, a couple that had been dating six months until an awkward car ride. When Elaine brings up the fact that her and Roger had been dating that long, she begins to completely over analyze Roger's response of silence. While Elaine starts thinking of everything that could have gone, along with everything that Roger could be thinking, Roger is simply thinking about his car. 

I found this reading extremely relatable and somewhat accurate. As a young women, I can recall several instances in which I overanalyzed a situation. Like Elaine, I too take comfort in spending six hours straight talking with my closest friends about every little detail of a date and what exactly the guy meant by "Hope to see you around." Looking back at the reading, I feel like I may have laughed more just thinking of my own dating experiences, than I did at the readings itself. I wonder how much time I have wasted thinking about what my crush is thinking, when in reality, he is probably just thinking about what he is going to eat for lunch. While Barry used much exaggeration to depict men and women, I feel he achieved his goal of showing the difference between the complexity of women's thoughts with the simplicity of men's.

In addition, I appreciate how familiar and relatable this topic is. All of us have dated, had a crush, or had to deal with a breakup at some time. I enjoyed how Barry poked fun at relationships, a seemingly serious subject. I also enjoyed the great juxtaposition he created between men and women. While it was a little extreme, it gave me a little more insight into how the male brain works. While it is hard for me to completely comprehend the male mind, I can at least appreciate the difference between theirs and mine. In all, I enjoyed this reading and its description of how different that female and male mind work. Its like they all say, men are from Mars, women are venus!

Funny until someone gets hurt?

     First off, I just want to say how much I look forward to coming to class on Monday and Wednesday. I can always guarantee that I will laugh at least once, if not several times. I came to this realization during the class time we completely devoted to funny videos and jokes. I laughed more, and found too many jokes to reuse and videos to share for my own good. Thanks to the class, I got a healthy dose of laughter and cardio (laughing can be a workout) for that day. 

     

One video that I found particularly funny was the babies eating lemon video. How funny, and cute is it to watch little children make the funniest faces? Their naive expectations were suddenly ruined when they took the first tiny bite of the lemon. While it may have been painful for them at the time, it was funny for us watching their reactions. The way these children contorted, then went back for more was just so amusing. On the other hand, watching the Water Fails video just made me cringe, but why?

Looking back at both the videos, the seem to represent the same theory, superiority theory. We are laughing at the unfortunate circumstances of others, secretly glad that we are not experiencing them. Instead we are standing safely at a distance where we can enjoy their uncomfortable situation, yet not involve ourselves in it. We can laugh and giggle without feeling any of the consequences of the funny act. If both these videos thrive on the superiority theory, why did I find one more funny than the other and seemingly less guilty at laughing at? In searching for an answer, I came to two conclusions. 

My first conclusion is in degree of pain experienced during the funny episode. In the baby eating lemons video, the children may have experienced some pain, but it is no where compared to the pain experienced by the guy sliding into the frozen pond. While the baby makes you giggle, the swimmer makes you cringe. Maybe it is just the psychology major in me coming out, but I feel great sympathy for that man. Watching the Water Fails video made me hurt at the same time as those actually experiencing the pain. While I do admit, I let out a few chuckles, I am honestly worried for the people in the video. In all, the babies experienced much less pain which can lend itself to more laughter than some of the fails on the second video.

Secondly, we can know the babies will be okay in the end. We have all tasted a lemon before and came out just fine afterward. Yes, it may sting your mouth at that instant, but you completely forget about that lemon after 30 seconds. We can relate and predict the outcome of the video. We know they will be okay; however, we can not say the same for the water fail video. I honestly don't know what happened to each of the people shown. Some of the incidents shown could have resulted in major, life altering injuries. We can not know for sure what happens in the end, nor can we relate with many of the peoples pain. That draws me to a new question, would the the water fails video still be considered funny if they extended to video to show the people's reaction? If we got to see the man who slide into the frozen pool calling for help afterward, would he still be considered a water fail funny? I am interested to see the last 15 seconds of each of the clips. I wonder if my awkward chuckles, would turn into an heartfelt "awww"? 

In the end, I do still find some of America's Funniest Home Videos and Water Fail clips funny, yet I would love to be rest assured that each of the people involved continued to live a healthy life afterward. Is that too much to ask?