Learning Experiences: Part Three

            These past few weeks have gone by so quickly, and I have learned much in the process.  Two weeks ago was perhaps the hardest week of my college career, with four major tests and two group projects due all within the time span of a few days.  During that week, I got much better about budgeting my time, and I learned how to study more efficiently.  Luckily, I should not have that many tests and homework due all at once again until finals hit.

            One of the classes I have found to be fascinating this semester is my Literature and Civilization II class.  I love how in this class, we do a great deal of experiential learning, and are not forced to memorize loads of information or take tedious tests.  This class is discussion based, and it is interesting to hear so many differing opinions within the class, with everyone remaining respectful of one another’s opinions.  We recently read some quotes from Thoreau and a few different Hemingway short stories.  I vaguely remember reading a book by Thoreau during my freshman year of high school, and the main thing I remember about it is how much I disliked it.  Reading Thoreau for a second time, this was no longer the case.  My professor did an awesome job of assigning us the most meaningful and thought-provoking Thoreau pieces, and I was actually intrigued after reading them.  Our class was able to have some great discussion on what Thoreau was trying to say through his writing, and whether or not his ideas are still relevant today.  While I don’t think I will be rushing to the bookstore to buy Walden, I did truly enjoy the Thoreau unit and am glad I learned more about his life and his values.

            The Hemingway short stories were much darker than I had originally anticipated.  This was my first experience reading Hemingway’s work, and while the stories were often gloomy, they were interesting and brought to light many controversial topics.  Hemingway utilized an “iceberg theory” when writing his stories, through which he deleted the unimportant details of the story and did not explicitly discuss underlying themes.  This technique enables the reader to come to his or her own conclusions and generate unique interpretations of what the story is attempting to demonstrate.  I find this theory to be powerful, as it enables me to finish reading an entire story in a few short minutes, and then generate my own opinions as to what the author was attempting to infer.  I will definitely be reading more Hemingway stories in the future, and am thankful that I was introduced to his writing style.

            On a completely different note, another important lesson I learned a couple of days ago was to always back up my computer.  I had thought that my computer backed up its files on its own, but I learned the hard way that this is not the case.  Two days ago, my hard drive completely failed and erased everything.  Every document I have ever created in my college career is now gone forever, and this unfortunately included a few blogs that I had not yet uploaded and will now have to rewrite.  So if you are reading this and realizing that you have not backed up your computer, I recommend doing this immediately, so you do not have to learn the hard way as I did.

            Overall, I have learned a great deal throughout these past few weeks, and I am looking forward to seeing what else I will learn during the rest of the semester.

IEP Social!

           I have had such a great time getting to know my conversation partner better throughout the semester.  I have learned so much from her, and am lucky to be able to partake in this experience.

            Last week, I attended the IEP social at the rec center.  There was pizza, various foods from around the world, music from all different cultures, and dessert.  During this event, I talked with Tatiana and learned more about where she comes from and what her culture is like.  She told me what growing up in Brazil is like, and we told each other about our families. 

            One of the things that I find fascinating about Tatiana is how she has traveled all over the world and has experienced many different cultures.  Every time I speak with her, she tells me about more countries and cities she has visited.  Tatiana has probably even seen more of the U.S. than I have!  She is an amazing photographer, and has shown me all of her favorite sights she has been to over the years.  Because I have not traveled much outside of America, I am somewhat living vicariously through Tatiana’s stories.  When I graduate from college, I am planning on traveling all over Europe, and Tatiana has helped me determine which countries and cities I should visit.

            While at the IEP social, I also met more of Tatiana’s friends.  They all are from different countries, including Mexico, Spain, and Portugal.  Many of them also already have degrees from their home countries and had experienced working in the corporate world, but came to TCU to improve their English and further advance in their careers.  A particular story I found fascinating was a woman who received her MBA and spent about 20 years working as a financial analyst in Portugal, but her husband was relocated to work in the U.S. and she decided that she needed to go back to school to improve her English and find a job in America.  It would take so much courage and determination to be able to do this, and I really respect and admire her.

            Something that the IEP students said that they find frustrating is being mistaken for being unintelligent because of their lack of fluency in English.  I never had thought too much of this before, but it does seem true that in general, we judge other people who do not speak our language as well to be less intelligent than us, and that is unfair.  Many of the IEP students are fluent in multiple different languages and they are some of the brightest and most driven people I have ever met.  We must do our best to change the stigma associated with people who do not speak our native language as well as we do.

            Overall, I had a great time at the IEP social.  I got to meet even more people from different cultures, and learned so much from each and every one of them.  Being assigned a conversation partner is by far one of the most fun and beneficial assignments I have had in school, and I am excited to continue to get to know more about Tatiana and her culture.