Meeting My Conversation Partner

On Friday afternoon I got to meet my conversation partner, Giovanka.  I was very excited for the opportunity to get to know an international student and hear about her experiences.  Giovanka is really bubbly and easy to talk to, so we didn't run into awkward moments during our conversation.  She seemed just as excited to meet me as I was to meet her and she was very willing to share her experiences.

Giovanka is from Brazil and speaks Portuguese.  This is only her second semester at TCU and I was very impressed about how good her English was.  She was easy to understand and hardly made any mistakes other than mispronouncing a word every once and a while.  She talked to me about some of the challenges she faced with the immersion process when she got here.  She related the frustration she experienced at times when people around her would speak quickly and then say "it doesn't matter" when she would ask them to repeat what they had said.  This really emphasized to me how important it is to remember to be patient and understanding when having conversations with non-native speakers.  She also said she was quiet (she is definitely not quiet normally) when she first got here because she was afraid of saying something wrong and being judged.  I could totally understand that.  I took Spanish in high school and was comfortable speaking it in class, but the idea of having conversations with native speakers was quite daunting.  I think anyone who goes through total immersion in a new language and country is brave.  It was clear that Giovanka understands others well now and is no longer afraid to make a mistake every once and a while (which didn't happen often).

We did not address humor specifically in this meeting, but we ended up laughing over a number of things.  I talked to her about things in the U.S.-both with the language & culture- that really stand out to her as being different from Brazil.  I laughed as Giovanka talked about some of the colloquial phrases we use that she thought were so strange (many of them are when you stop and think about them.)  She gave the example of saying someone is "nuts" to mean that they are crazy.  She also mentioned the word "y'all," and I agree with her there.  Ten years in Texas and I still haven't caved.

She also talked about people's surprise when they would find out that she was unfamiliar with some name brands that are very well known in the states, such as Vera Bradley.  Giovanka said that she enjoys running now, but the practice of just going for runs outside is not common in Brazil like it is here.  It was interesting that when she was telling me about how far she had just ran, she could estimate how far it had been in kilos, but not miles.  I know I would have a hard time estimating distance in kilos since that is not what I'm used to.  (Random side bar- when my sister came back after living in Ecuador for four months I would catch her describing things to me using the metric system).

Even though we come from totally different backgrounds we were really able to connect and actually have a number of things in common.  We talked about things such as how we both have an older sibling at TCU and two small dogs at home that we miss.  It was neat to get to talk to Giovanka and see what it is like to view american culture through a completely different lens.  I am excited for our next conversation!