I was walking from class back to my dorm room the other day, reminiscing about the various activities and, of course, pondering the current state of our society, when I came up alongside a girl talking on a cell phone. She was talking very loudly about how Sarah slept with Joey or something like that. I wondered how Joey and Sarah would feel knowing that their little escapades are being broadcast all over campus. I don't know who these unfortunate people are, but I do know that I wouldn't take to kindly to my private life being shouted into a cell phone.
First and foremost, you don't need to yell into a cellphone. You are, after all, essentially holding a microphone next to your mouth. It can pick up your voice without you yelling.
Secondly, what ever happened to telling someone something in confidence? There are several scenarios which I imagined that this all started.
"You didn't hear this from me but..."
"I'm concerned about Sarah. You see..."
"I heard something interesting the other day, but I really shouldn't tell you..."
Anyway, I'm getting too preachy.
I know that there were some typos in my last post, and there will probably be some in this one. If I can figure out how to change them I will. Tomorrow. Or someday. You know what? I'm really not all that concerned about it. If I get to it, I'll change them. If not, well, if you have even rudimentary knowledge of the English language, you'll figure it out.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Ah, my first post
It's about 9:30 in the morning and I seem to be the only one awake in this dorm building. Well, except for those guys down the hall trying to build a loft. They were drilling holes all night, which, you know, made it really easy to fall asleep. Oh well. I need the experience of the dorm, or so everyone tells me.
The other day I went to the International Students Reception at the Union. Of course, I'm paying in-state tuition here at the university, so it my seem a bit out of place for me to be at a function for international students. But I've made friends with a grad student from China, and she invited me. It was very interesting to meet so many different people from so many different cultures, but there was one thing that just irked me.
All of the Americans there talked down to the foreigners. Even the employees of the International Student Services department talked to the foreign students like they were little kids. And they talked very loudly. It's as if they were trying to have a conversation with a deaf 5-year-old. The conversations would go something like this:
"HI! WHERE ARE YOU FROM?!"
"I'm from China."
"OH! ARE YOU SAD THAT YOU ARE MISSING THE OLYMPICS?!"
"I'm not from Beijing."
"WHERE IN CHINA ARE YOU FROM?!"
"I'm from Shanghai."
"OH! DID YOU SEE THE MOVIE SHANGHAI KNIGHTS?!"
It's almost as good when the American students talk to the internationals.
"HI! WHERE ARE YOU FROM?!
"I'm from India."
"OH! MY ROOMMATE'S FROM INDIA! DO YOU KNOW HER?!"
India's one of the most populated countries in the world. And we don't know everyone in America, or even in our state.
A good number of these international students are engineering majors. They'd probably beat most Americans on any standardized test you hand them. Yet somehow, we think that because they don't know every word in Webster's dictionary, they're below us in intellect. A few thoughts on that.
First, most Americans don't speak proper English either. How many times has someone asked you how you're doing and you say, "Good." We've all done it. I've even done it before, and if I've made a mistake... Just kidding. The correct word usage is, "Well."
Second, it's very difficult to learn to speak another language. It's very intimidating to go into a culture where you don't speak the language. About three years ago, I went to Italy. I didn't speak a word of Italian. It was very difficult to function, even though most of the people I met spoke English. Just being immersed in a setting where you don't understand what people are saying is difficult. By the end of the six day trip, I had started to pick up on the basics of Italian. So given some time, the International Students will pick up on our culture. That doesn't mean they're dumb, Only human.
Well, I'm done for today. If something else interesting enough for me to ramble on about happens, I'll post it.
The other day I went to the International Students Reception at the Union. Of course, I'm paying in-state tuition here at the university, so it my seem a bit out of place for me to be at a function for international students. But I've made friends with a grad student from China, and she invited me. It was very interesting to meet so many different people from so many different cultures, but there was one thing that just irked me.
All of the Americans there talked down to the foreigners. Even the employees of the International Student Services department talked to the foreign students like they were little kids. And they talked very loudly. It's as if they were trying to have a conversation with a deaf 5-year-old. The conversations would go something like this:
"HI! WHERE ARE YOU FROM?!"
"I'm from China."
"OH! ARE YOU SAD THAT YOU ARE MISSING THE OLYMPICS?!"
"I'm not from Beijing."
"WHERE IN CHINA ARE YOU FROM?!"
"I'm from Shanghai."
"OH! DID YOU SEE THE MOVIE SHANGHAI KNIGHTS?!"
It's almost as good when the American students talk to the internationals.
"HI! WHERE ARE YOU FROM?!
"I'm from India."
"OH! MY ROOMMATE'S FROM INDIA! DO YOU KNOW HER?!"
India's one of the most populated countries in the world. And we don't know everyone in America, or even in our state.
A good number of these international students are engineering majors. They'd probably beat most Americans on any standardized test you hand them. Yet somehow, we think that because they don't know every word in Webster's dictionary, they're below us in intellect. A few thoughts on that.
First, most Americans don't speak proper English either. How many times has someone asked you how you're doing and you say, "Good." We've all done it. I've even done it before, and if I've made a mistake... Just kidding. The correct word usage is, "Well."
Second, it's very difficult to learn to speak another language. It's very intimidating to go into a culture where you don't speak the language. About three years ago, I went to Italy. I didn't speak a word of Italian. It was very difficult to function, even though most of the people I met spoke English. Just being immersed in a setting where you don't understand what people are saying is difficult. By the end of the six day trip, I had started to pick up on the basics of Italian. So given some time, the International Students will pick up on our culture. That doesn't mean they're dumb, Only human.
Well, I'm done for today. If something else interesting enough for me to ramble on about happens, I'll post it.
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