Oh There's Cheng!

So as you can tell by the lovely title...I FOUND CHENG! We finally got to meet up one last time before the break.  I was so confused cause at first I thought he was in Costa Rica then I thought he was here then I thought he was in Costa Rica but he is still here til the 18th! So yay for coffee on Wednesday mornings with Cheng!

It was actually really funny cause we finally got each other's phone numbers (Digits, heyyy!) and we were texting about where and when we wanted to meet up.  It made me laugh because I was obviously taking finals and such so I was okay with getting up early (9 ish) to meet but when I suggested that he fired back sassily "how about 10?"  It made me laugh cause that is such a common thing between any college student around the world.  WE LOVE TO SLEEP.  I honestly feel like thats the biggest gift you can give someone in college.  A chance to sleep.  When I went to college people told me I would have to choose between sleep, social life and studying.  I choose to study and have friends so goodbye sleep.

We got to talking and naturally (because I'm slightly concerned about his trips) I asked him if he was looking forward to his trips to Costa Rica and New York.  He said yes and we talked a little bit about his plans for New York because that is by far one of my favorite places in the world.  I suggested seeing a show on Broadway, going to the HUGE M&M store in Time Square and visiting the statue of liberty.  He said he thought his friend had plans for them already but that he would definitely try to see a show or too.  He also said he loves M&M which I thought was cool that he knew of the brand.  In all my business classes we have been learning about brand recognition and its cool to see how even in China he knew about the company's products.

We talked a little bit more about his plans for the Spring and he is just going to continue to work on his English in the IEP program.  He plans on starting to work towards his business degree in the summer.  We bonded over this because he didn't realize all the ways you could go with business (marketing, accounting, finance, etc.) I suggested that he try out marketing cause he loves being creative and he loves art.  It seemed like a great way to combine work and a passion.

Lastly I was telling him that I had a huge test coming up the next day and I really needed to get started on it.  But before I left we talked about my finals and I showed him by Business Foundations book and he seemed completely overwhelmed.   I honestly can't even imagine if I saw a business book in Chinese.  I would have probably booked a plane home the next day (okay maybe thats a little dramatic but I would be overwhelmed thats for sure).  Like I say every time I write one of these I'm so amazed at what these students do.  I admire Cheng and his courage so much! Hopefully we will get to hang out more next semester!

Til Next Time,
Caroline

The Big Picture

So as I'm sitting here sitting (possibly procrastinating by writing this) I started to think back on what a stressful yet memorable semester this has been.  Starting off the first few months of the semester in 18 hours was a challenge and learning how to manage my time even more efficiently. This year I have learned a lot about myself and a lot about the world around me.  I know it sounds cheesy but truly all of my class have taught me something unique this semester and most of them even tie together. My grandma who was a professor at Louisiana State University for many years always told me that the point of college was to get the joke.  I honestly never knew what she meant by that until I got here and realized that college classes are there to give you a wider range of knowledge.  What she meant was that in order to not be the only one not laughing at the joke you have to learn a little bit about all different subjects.  Here is a little overview of my journey to getting the joke this semester:

Business Foundations:
The first thing I learned is that the business world is a scary place! You constantly have to be on top of everything, you have to be prepared at any moment to "tell someone about yourself" and you have to work with groups.  This was the first class I have ever been in where a semester long project was assigned AND you had to work with the same group all year.  Luckily, I got to form really great friendships with the girls in my group but unfortunately, the work doesn't always get evenly distributed. It made me realize the value that having a strong group of co workers in my future career.

Psychology of Men and Women:
Honestly, I probably know wayyyyy too much about what makes boys and girls different and what makes them alike. I'm pretty sure I overanalyze everything anyone says nowadays but I found the subject fascinating.  Sometimes people laugh when I tell them I am in this class because they are like "isn't it kind of self explanatory?"  However, I disagree with them.  There is a huge benefit to taking this class not just for entertainment but for the purpose of learning what essentially makes the opposite sex tick.  For me, the information I learned in this class is going to allow me to work with men for effectively in my future business career.  I have also learned why people react the way they do, why they say the things they do, and most importantly, how I can learn to break down those communication barriers.

Business Law:
Basically, I learned that you can get sued for just about anything.  A simple "nahh" rather than a flat out "no" can make you liable for someone else's actions. This semester for an extra credit assignment, my friend Kelli and I got to go visit the criminal justice center in downtown Fort Worth.  We attended a sexual assault cause involving a police officer and oddly enough, we both fell in love with the courtroom.  It was exciting and full of "juicy information".  What girl would love it?  This class has inspired me to go possibly go to law school one day...

Foundations of Leadership: 

This is my class for Next Gen this semester and I would say this class has allowed me to learn the most about myself.  I learned that although I may be an extroverted person, I tend to have an introverted thought process.  Sounds strange, right?  I thought so too but it basically just means that I like to take the time to think things through before presenting them or acting on them.  I also learned how to have an effective crucial conversation along with shifting my paradigms.  

Literature and Civilizations 2:

The most important thing I always take away from all of my honors classes is the ability to think critically.  For most of us, we rarely get to talk about our opinion on a book because we are usually just told what the author meant or what our professor thinks about the book.  It is nice to have class discussions that allow us to think outside the box and be creative.  I learned in depth how to analyze why something is funny to us and how to write a paper that makes people laugh.  

Overall, this semester has taught me a variety of lessons inside and outside of the classroom.  I look forward to seeing what is in my future for the next 2.5 years! 

Til next time, 

Caroline 

Worrying about Cheng

Although, I only got to meet with my conversation partner twice I did have the chance to learn a lot from him.  However, I was thinking about this today because he was done with classes on Friday.  He told me that he is going to Costa Rica and New York for the holidays.  My first reaction to this was that I was sad that he didn't get to go home and see his family for the holidays.  Then my second reaction was "wait...where in Costa Rica?" 

Over the summer, my family and I went on vacation to Costa Rica.  The area where we stayed was nice and for the most part pretty safe.  However, in the main city where the airport is there is a lot of crime.  People go around slashing the wheels of cars and making the drivers pool over and then robbing them.  Scary stuff to say the least! 

So when I asked him where he was going he told me that he was going to San Jose....and this is why I'm worried about him.  San Jose is the city I was talking about above.  I didn't know what to say to him because I knew that it wasn't a safe place to go but I knew he was going to go anyways.  

I'm extremely worried about his safety simply because he does speak Spanish and he is going alone.  Like I've said before I truly admire his courage to come travel the world and experience new things, but I'm not sure that this adventure was worth the risk.  

He is going to New York city afterwards and he said he had some friends to stay with there so at least they will know the city.  I know that most  of the international students travel just like Cheng over the winter break but I wonder if anyone is keeping an eye out for them?  Do they have to check in regularly with the program or are they just on their own? I would honestly love to know the answer so I know that he is going to be safe in his travels.  

Cheng is a brave soul, much braver than I will ever be.  I wish him the best in his endeavors to open his eyes to more cultures and I hope that he has safe travels. 

I think when he gets back we might go to the Modern Art museum because I found out that one of his hobbies is to paint.  He has a love for art so I think it would be a cool to show him all there is to do in "da fort" that has to do with art and our American culture. 

Cheng...2 months later.

So it has been a while since my last update from Cheng.  We had a minor lack of communication via email. But thankfully I finally got to get coffee with him on Friday.  We ended up having a great conversation about China (of course), his plans for winter break and Ninja Warriors.  Yes, Ninja Warriors.  I was wrong in my assumption that it was a Chinese game show.  It is actually Japanese according to Cheng.  He explained to me that they had a Chinese one that was similar but he thought it was stupid.  He said that he didn't find the humor in someone doing something on purpose to hurt themselves.  So basically, he doesn't really understand the appeal of slap stick humor.

After talking about this for a little while, I began to agree with him.  It really isn't that funny to me either.  It was so interesting to learn how universal humor is.  I mean of course I know everyone laughs and everyone finds entertainment in something but it was cool to bond over something like this.  It made me realize that around the world the one thing we all have in common is our emotions.

We also talked about some of his favorite TV shows.  He likes to watch Walking Dead and Breaking Bad.  Neither of which are funny or humorous.  I asked him if he ever watched Family Guy or South Park and he said no.  He also brought up an interesting point that his government blocks a lot of shows so he doesn't know much about those types of show.  It makes complete sense though.  Shows like Family Guy and South Park are offensive and racist and that is what people think is so hilarious.  It would make sense that a government that is trying to block their citizens from seeing their government in a  negative light by blocking shows like this.  This made me wonder if they would even think shows like that were funny since they haven't been exposed to them.

I really enjoyed talking with Cheng and getting to know more about his culture and his home. Talking with him always opens my eye and changes my perspective on his country and culture.

Funny Poems

A Word to Husbands

To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
Whenever you’re right, shut up.

Ogden Nash

Celery

Celery, raw
Develops the jaw,
But celery, stewed,
Is more quietly chewed.

Ogden Nash

New Girl

Recently, I have been addicted to the show New Girl.  Something about it just makes me laugh uncontrollably.  I can't decide if it's the random witty comments or the awkwardness of some of the situation.  Whatever it is, it's absolutely hilarious.  The plot behind the whole show is that a girl, Jess, moves into an apartment with three guys, Schmidt, Winston and Nick.  In the most recent episode, Jess is trying to get the principal at her school to give her money for transportation to take her students to the beach.  She calls it "Water Conservation Day" and she even makes a ridiculous t-shirt.  My roommate and I will watch New Girl episodes for hours on hours and just die laughing. 

 

In one episode, Winston finds a parking spot that has their apartment number on it.  They didnt know that they had a parking spot at all.  They all begin to fight for it claiming that each person's current parking spot is worse than the others.  Jess' car is parked on the street and a homeless man sleeps on it every night.  She has to bribe him with a coffee and sandwich to get him to get off each morning.  It was pretty hilarious.  When they are unable to convince each other they all go out to the parking spot and camp out.  The one that stays the longest gets the spot.  Eventually, they all give in and they start trying to run each other over with their cars.  It's a pretty hilarious scence.

 

I think the reason that this tv show makes me laugh out loud is because it is such an exageration of real life.  There are definitely times when you think about doing most of the things they actually do and this makes us all giggle.  I encourage you to watch an episode or two if you get the chance!

 

Til next time,

 

Caroline

Finding My Passion

This year has been one of those "milestone" kind of years.  I turned 20 ( I may or may not have freaked out about this) and I've started to learn a lot about myself.  One of the things that I have learned about is the need to find my passion in life. I've always said that I wanted to have a job that wasn't just about making money but more about doing something that I love.  While I'm still confused about what that "perfect" job might be I'm making baby steps in the right direction.

In high school, I was the girl that was involved in everything.  You could say I was an overachiever or you could just say that I tried too hard. Either way, I was always looking for a project to do or people to boss around ( sadly, this is the truth ).  I wasn't so much focused on what I had a passion for, I was always just focused on what I was naturally good at doing.  For example, I was a captain on my dance team, however everything I had to go to practice I dreaded it more than anything.  I probably would have chosen to go to Calculus over practice and that's saying something.   I didn't really realize until now that I wasn't doing what I was passionate about, I was just doing it because I thought I was supposed to.

Looking back makes me even more determined to find a job that I will love and look forward to going to work each morning.  I have learned that I have a love of people, solving problems and competing.  This made me feel like I was definitely in the right major.  Being a part of the "business world" will allow me to do all of these things on a regular basis. However, starting in 2nd grade I always thought I wanted to be a teacher.  Not necessarily in the literal sense, but I want to be able to be someone that can show others the way.  I've been thinking about how much fun it would be to go back to school after a couple of years in the corporate world and become a professor.

I've learned that I need to have a challenge everyday.  I can't go to work and do the same monotonous thing everyday. I love being challenged because it allows me to think outside the box and not just look for the obvious answers.  There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that you came up with something outside of the norm and it worked.   I'm excited to see where I will be in the next five years!

Til next time,
Caroline