Today, I finally got to meet with my IEP (Intensive English Program) partner. Prior to our meeting I was a little nervous. Various thoughts of doubt and anxiety ran through my head, these thoughts would range between "Will our first meeting be awkward" to "Will she understand what I'm trying to say". Needless to say, I definitely wanted to make a proper first impression.
We arranged our first meeting at 1:00 at McCalisters. I'm not the most punctual person but I made sure to arrive a bit early just incase she may have came early too. Sure enough I arrived first. The typical routine unfolded: I entered the restaurant. walked to the server, placed my typical order (the southwest chicken sandwich with mac N cheese), and found my table. About 2 minutes later I received a text from Daisy saying "Michael, i'm in mccalister. where are you? i'm a chinese girl". Sure enough I looked over to my right and there she was.
I greeted daisy with the most universal welcome that I could: a simple wave and a smile. She returned the same gesture and walked over. At first conversation was a little slow and short. I couldn't really think of any proper questions to ask that would evoke further discussion. Outside spectators probably thought I was interviewing her based on our exchange. My questions were the nature of "where are you from?" and "Why did you come to TCU?". It was at this point that I was pretty much realized that I was giving her the same superficial introduction questions that I gave every other person I met throughout my time at TCU. The true conversation started when Daisy told me about her major and her passion that matched it.
Daisy revealed that she was from a city about 10 hours north of Beijing. She moved to Beijing when she was 18 to attend the China Conservatory of Music. There she earned her undergraduate in music (obviously) and hoped to earn a Masters in Choral Conducting at TCU. However, she is not quite pursuing her masters yet. It was revealed that, upon enrolling at TCU, Daisy approached one of the Music professors and proclaimed her desire to earn a degree in Choral Conducting. Daisy explained to me that the professor believed her musical talents were more than adequate but her english skills were not quite good enough. Daisy had to put her mission on pause to refine her English. This is what led to her admission into the IEP (Intensive English Program) and ultimately her desire to become my partner. Daisy hopes to expand her english vocabulary and improve her listening skills.
While it is very apparent that english is Daisy's second language, I couldn't help but admire how ambitious and courageous it was for her to travel to a foreign country and adopt that country's language to learn in. At times we had difficulty translating complex thoughts into simplified speech that was easier to understand. I remember inquiring about Chinese characters and how she learned them but having a hard time actually communicating that question. Her response was instead about how Chinese is an ancient language and how her native name was hard to pronounce for english speaking Americans. This actually misunderstanding actually led to a very interesting conversation about comparing each others' cultures.
This is where my title for today's post came from. When asked whats the biggest difference between America and China, Daisy confidently responded "Less people, less traffic, and more clean". This statement caught my attention. China's ever-expanding population has led to some growing pains. The pollution in China is so bad that they have to wear medical masks to prevent contaminating of what they breathe. Daisy pointed to the Einsteins Bagel's on the opposite side of the street and said "In china you wouldn't see that"
Overall, this conversation got me excited. I'm excited to learn more about her culture. I hope that each of our next five conversations can be as deep as this one got. My goal for our next lunch is to talk a little bit more about my culture and my motivations. Daisy's current weakness is listening and comprehending. I hope that by the end of our little project she sees improvement in that skill. I can tell she's a very hard worker and have high hopes for her.
If you didn't pick up anything from this blog I hope you'll at least take this little piece of advice that Daisy gave me: best Chinese food in our area is Chinese Express. I'd trust her 23 years of experience!
I am having my first conversation with my partner tonight. I'm glad I read this, it was a good reminder for me that our partners are looking to learn just as much about us as we are trying to learn about them.
ReplyDeleteDaisy's story really speaks to me. I've always had a hard time overcoming adversity in various situations. Daisy was told that she could not do something because her English was not good enough. Had that been me, I can't say that I would have taken the approach that she did. It takes courage to take on a second language, especially in an American culture and society that is unforgiving to anyone who doesn't fit the typical white American bill.
I hope that the rest of your conversations with Daisy are as good as and better than the first one, and I'm looking forward to reading more about them.
My partner is from China as well! He says the food here is nothing compared to real Chinese food- "it's too american" he says. That's really impressive that she has something she's so passionate about! I think passion is universal and can cross culture, political, and religious barriers. It's amazing what lengths people will go to to achieve their dreams and she sounds like a really inspiring individual! I am excited to learn that Chinese Express is the best, I will definitely check that out. I hope y'alls conversations continue to go well and I'm exciting to hear about her progress!
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