Meeting with ESL Partner: Numero Siete (Last One!)

So I met with my ESL partner today (May 1st) for the last time at once again 1873. It was actually kind of sad because we had really gotten to know each other over the past few weeks! We talked about plans for the summer. He said he plans on taking summer classes (like me), working a lot (also like me), and planning a wedding (NOT like me). He says it is still sort of frustrating talking to some of the registration people because not all of his classes from Mexico transfer and he says he constantly has to talk to multiple people just to get one question answered. He asked how my week had been and I told him I had been quite busy with school and my little sister being in the hospital (she has Cystic Fibrosis). He was sympathetic and told me about his mom who was given the wrong medicine one time and it caused one of her knees to be ruined. We also talked about the differences in Mexican summer vacations and American vacations. He said in Mexico they are off from school during June and August but not July. I had never heard of this before but he said it was because of the way their holiday system worked. He asked me where I was living next year and if I enjoyed where I lived this year. He also asked if I hated having to use community bathrooms. I told him that you just get use to it after a while! He said that when he was in New York, the hotel he was staying at only had a community bathroom. He also said that New York is so much more expensive than Texas (lucky us). He said he would be broke after one shopping trip in New York. He also said that even the TGIF restaurants in New York were expensive! We also talked about the differences in age requirements for legal things in Mexico versus the US. In Mexico, once you are 18 you can legally drink alcohol, drive without a parent, and be considered an adult. He was surprised that you could drive at age 16 in the US without a parent. He also said that he taught many of his cousins to drive because he is can be patient with people. We talked about finals and energy drinks and both of us stated that Redbulls have no effect on us but Monsters do! He said he is also going to bring me some coffee but "doesn't want to give me an addiction" (the way he said this was really funny by the way). He also said that he bought me some funny movies that we had previously discussed in one of our conversations and would give them to me before I left for the summer! I think we both enjoyed getting to know each other and he told me that he really enjoyed getting my perspective on school and American society versus Mexican society. I also really enjoyed getting to know Christian because he is such a nice and motivated guy who has come a long ways and is determined to accomplish all of his goals. Despite the confusion and scheduling problems, this has been a neat and culturally enhancing experience!

Meeting with ESL Partner: Numero Seis

Last Thursday, April I met with my ESL partner briefly for the sixth time this semester. We met once again at 1876 but did not stay long because he had work to go to later on that day. We talked more about his wedding and the plans they have already been making. He said that they have visited many venues but do not like any of them so far. He said it is funny because both him and his new fiancée are very picky and so planning should be quite difficult. They have picked out the color of light blue though and he even had a picture of the color with him. He also said that he wants their wedding cake to be Dulce de Leche or Dos Leches cake because it’s his favorite. I have had this cake before during one of my Spanish classes in high school and it is pretty yummy. He also said it feels weird calling her his fiancée which I thought was funny because I feel like that is such a guy thing to say. But he says he really loves her and claims he has “won the lottery” by being with her (how sweet!). I noticed this past meeting that he is very proud of his family and friends because recently he has started showing me pictures on his phone from his beautiful fiancée to his rambunctious niece to his adorable baby nephew. We also discussed how being from Mexico, it is going to be harder to get his family over here for the wedding and will require 6 months before they even get papers to do it! They are also having a mini ceremony in Mexico so that his extended family and friends from Mexico can see them together. I wished him lots of luck because I told him that I had just gone to a wedding and it was lots of fun but also seemed like a lot of work. I apologize for those of you reading (especially the males) that most of our discussion was about weddings but I personally love talking about weddings! 

Mark Twain Quote

There is definitely a reason Mark Twain is so quotable! This author is insightful yet entertaining in his words of wisdom. A quote that stuck out to me was:

"Grief can take care of itself; but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with."    (Following the Equator)

I really liked this quote because I believe it has a lot of truth in it. I have never thought about the fact that in order to be entirely joyful, one must share the experience with someone. When thinking about the happiest moments in my life, they all involve at least one other person whom with I shared the joy. Even when something really good happens in my life, the first thing I want to do is share the good news with one of my friends or loved ones. By dividing the joy, the emotion itself amplifies and multiplies. 

On the other hand, grief as Mark Twain mentions can be dealt with by oneself and still have the same severe effect. During times of sorrow, I like to be alone and handle the situation on my own terms. No one can fully share another's grief because everyone handles grief differently. Whereas, joy is fairly universal and almost everyone responds to joy in a similar way. Both grief and joy have the power to bring people together. For example, weddings (time of joy) and funerals (time of grief) both bring family and friends together. However, a person can grieve on their own but a person needs company in order to completely experience total bliss. 

More Thoughts on "Tales of Juha" (p. 95-144)

        I have really enjoyed reading this book! In fact, it has become one of my favorite novels that we have read. However, I was not that fond of chapters 5 and 6 that started off this reading section. I do not know whether I just did not understand the stories or whether I just did not appreciate the humor involved in them. Luckily, I did find the rest of this reading section amusing. I think mostly because I really enjoy the Juha stories that are either super witty or just ridiculously unexpected. One of my favorite stories is the one on page 109-110. It tells about a judge named Juha who tells two different bribers that they are both right in regards of the same case. His wife hears this and responds “Is your eminence a judge or simply two-faced?” She then proceeds to lecture him over why he is wrong in this situation. His wife’s endless nagging began to annoy him. In order to stop her, he told her that “[she] too has right fully on [her] side!” This is funny to me because it mocks the stereotype of a “nagging wife” and Juha’s witty response provides a cognitive shift. I also noticed that in the last chapter another character named “Tamerlane” makes several appearances. Tamerlane appears to be some kind of superior government figure that Juha either makes fun of or assists in the “joke” of each story. I like the story on page 142 of Juha and Tamerlane shooting arrows together. It is funny because Juha makes up a metaphor off the top of his head as he is shooting off arrows and it just so happens to work out perfectly. He is afterwards awarded with a generous gift from Tamerlane because of his wit. For the most part, these stories are nice because they are entertaining, descriptive, and easy to read. I read these stories late at night and I still did not fall asleep. Juha’s character is always changing but the humor involved stays fairly consistent. I feel like this was a good way to learn about the Arabian culture because their humor reveals a lot about the common features in those countries. Even though some of these stories are offensive towards women, most of these stories are harmless and are purely funny because Juha’s ridiculous nature and wit. I am sad this is the end of the “Tales of Juha” but I am glad to have gotten to know Juha. 

Humor: There's an App for That

        They say that there is an app for everything. Even humor! I use the app iFunny as a convenient way to get my daily dose of laughter. It features 20 funny pictures twice a day for a total of 40 entertaining images that are sure to make anyone at least smile. I think the greatest thing about this app is that it has images that relate to current events. For example, there have been many jokes about Kim Jong Un and iFunny has taken advantage of that by posting many pictures about him.

                                       In the pictures above, Kim Jong Un is being made fun of for threatening to start a nuclear war. This is funny to people because no one seems to take this 29-year old dictator seriously.

They also often feature pictures that are pun-ny. According to Morreal, pun-ny jokes are funny because they provide a cognitive shift from the normal expectations that people normally have for words.

                

       In the first image above, the pun revolves around the words “taco” and “nacho” because these words are being used differently. In the picture, “Taco” is the equivalent to “talk” and “nacho” is the equivalent to “not your”. What makes this picture even funnier is the fact that a taco and nacho are both being personified. The second image features a parody of the popular book/movie “Life of Pi”. Instead of showing an Indian boy with a Bengal tiger, the image shows an overweight male and an orange cat. It also features the title “Life of Pie” which plays on the homophones “pi” and “pie”.  The other pictures that iFunny uses vary but for the most part they are highly relatable and are only featured if enough people “like” the images.

                  

      The pictures above are ones that I feel are quite relatable (especially to college students!). The first one shows "how it feels working out". When I work out, I usually think I look like the first girl with a cute work out outfit and a confident smile. However, in reality I probably look like the second guy who is struggling to work out. The second image makes fun of Texas weather for always changing. The weather here is so unpredictable! One day I could be wearing a tank top and shorts and the next I could be wearing sweats, boots, and a jacket. Hopefully everyone reading at least found these images to be amusing. I encourage everybody to check out this app and expand his or her humor horizon! 

Meeting with ESL Partner: Numero Cinco

      My ESL partner finally showed up this time! Although, he was fifteen minutes late.... Despite my slight frustration with Christian's lack of punctuality, we ended up having a pretty good meeting. He apologized for standing me up on our last meeting but I came to find out he had a pretty good reason... He got engaged last week! The girl's name is Moranay and they have been dating for 2 years. He is 29 years old and she is a 24 old psychology major who graduated from UNT and plans on becoming a counselor. They originally met through church (precious I know!) and he said that he knew as soon as he met her that she was going to be the one. The proposal took place over a casual dinner at Blue Mesa. He had flown his own father in from Mexico and had invited Moranay's dad to dinner that night as well so that he could have their blessings. They plan on getting married next April and both want a garden wedding depending on the weather. What is funny is they had just been broken up this previous December! He even remembered the exact date (December 8th), which I thought was adorable and a little funny. What is even funnier is before they broke up, Christian had just bought an engagement ring and was planning on proposing to her! (He even returned the ring!) But after two months of agonizing separation, they finally got back together and are as happy as ever. He even unofficially invited me to the wedding! Both of his siblings are married and he has both a niece and a nephew that he showed me multiple pictures of. We found out that we are both the "middle child" in our families. When I first told him, he said that I was "a ham". This confused me at first but he then explained that middle children are like the ham in between two pieces of bread of a ham sandwich. I asked him if he wanted to have children and he said he wanted five. That seems like a big number to me but he is planning on having three and adopting two and I think he will make a great dad one day. He said that their relationship is very traditional and I was impressed at the amount of respect he seemed to have for his fiance. He hopes he will get to stay at TCU but is still waiting to see if he got this scholarship he applied for. I also learned he cannot get FAFSA because he is technically not a full, legal citizen right now but will be in two years. This was my favorite meeting with Christian so far! It was only 45 minutes but I felt like I got to know so much more about his family and culture. I hope the next few meetings will be as successful and I look forward continuing to get to know him better. 

Thoughts on Tales of Juha

From what I have read from the first chapter of Tales of Juha, I find the Arabian folk humor of the book to be fairly amusing. Even though I have never been to an Arabian country, I still feel I can relate to some of the situations and characterizations found in each of these tales. I particular enjoy the witty phrases that Juha uses. For example (on page 26), there is a story about a man who asks this boy why he has no hair on his chin. The boy responds by saying that he “takes after his mother”. Some commonly used features in the Juha tales usually involve donkeys, princes, wives, and thievery. I also really enjoyed the first opening story about the chicken and the two eggs because it was full of wit and the cognitive shift in the court case made me laugh. I also like the fact that “Juha” is used in Arabian countries as a comical literary figure that is multidimensional. 1) Because it is universal and so everyone can understand the character 2) Because it can be used in many creative fashions and 3) Because it makes it easier for me to remember the name of the main character in the book. I think this reading was overall fun and easy to read. Although the reading assignment was from page 1 to page 41, it went by really quickly and did not require a large amount of focus or concentration to appreciate the stories. Even though I found many of the stories funny, I think they would be funnier if I was actually from an Arabian country so that I could fully understand the cultural contexts in which these stories are based. For example, the donkey anecdotes are humorous but I personally to not ride donkeys on a regular basis so I do not relate as much to the story because of it. So far, I can appreciate the character of Juha for not only his wit but also his wisdom in certain situations. Like in the story of the two men who tried to rob Juha but instead were convinced to kill each other in order to settle an argument thus allowing Juha to escape safely (page 14). I hope the next few readings are light and entertaining like this first chapter was and I look forward to becoming more culturally knowledgeable of Arabian humor!