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!