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.