Something you learned: Giovanka talked about how in her time at TCU she has really learned what it is like to live with people from all different places. She talked about a number of negative attributes that she often associated with people from other countries, simply because that is what she always heard about. She named off a few (all of which I am familiar with): people from Panama are all drug dealers, Saudi's are terrorists, the Chinese only eat dogs. She talked about how in IEP she had classes with all of these people, and she saw how they actually have a lot in common. There is much more to them than the stereotypes she had heard before. I talked to her about how she got to make friends with far more other international students than I did by being in the English program, which is really neat.
Weirdest thing you have done/seen here: She had not heard of people just going to shooting ranges for fun or as a hobby before coming to the U.S. She said that she went to a range with a friend's family one weekend and she enjoyed it.
Something you really like that isn't in Brazil: They eat avocados in Brazil, but they are normally eaten them with sweets. Giovanka thought it was interesting that we eat avocado with many "regular" foods, such as sandwiches. She said she really likes avocado on all the different foods and wishes it was served like that in Brazil.
Do you listen to more country music: I was a bit surprised to hear that she listened to country music in Brazil, so she already liked it. I guess she came to the right place.
Food from Brazil you miss the most: She didn't have a hard time coming up with an answer for this question. Giovanka said she really misses the variety of different fruits in Brazil that can't be easily found in America. She said that at home she eats papaya every morning and she misses that. She also talked about how the melons served at the BLUU were not the greatest, which I readily agreed. She did mention that the strawberries here are much larger and sweeter than the ones she has in Brazil. Giovanka also talked about how she misses Pão de Queijo, a cheese bread that is usually eaten for breakfast in Brazil. She does like how pancakes and waffles were served normally for breakfast here, they have them in Brazil, but it is not as common for them to be servers for breakfast. She also likes eating the oatmeal they have at the BLUU. In Brazil it is common to eat dry oats and fruit, but not oatmeal like here.
Strangest slang or phrase: Giovanka talked about how strange it is to say someone is "nuts" to mean crazy. I thought it was funny because I remember her saying that to me on our very first meeting. She said she thinks it is funny how people say "sounds good" often and said that she has now adopted the phrase as well. She also mentioned the very common phrase (especially on TCU's campus) "hi ya'll," although that phrase can seem just as foreign to out-of-staters.
It has been really neat getting to know Giovanka this year. I have learned a number of things from Brazilian culture, and talking to her has made me think about what U.S. culture looks like from the "outside." I have gotten to share some pieces of American culture with her as well—my favorite being the time that I had to explain knock-knock jokes. What a cool experience!
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