International Students

At first I wasn't really sure what to expect, or what we would be doing, I thought we would just fill out the question sheet and that would be it but after we were paired up and started talking it wasn't as plain and structured I thought it would be. It was interesting  and fun once May and I started talking time just seemed to fly by, before I knew it class was almost over. I was impressed by how independent she was and how she had come so far from home yet she was more happy to be here than she was home sick which was strange to me because I'm from Washington and I'm home sick and can't wait to go back. I was also surprised by how interesting America was to her, when she was telling me how she thought Americans were it was different because she thought we were outgoing and told no I'm really shy but then when I thought about it from her point of view I realized we do seem that way compared to people from other countries. I told her that I think I would like China because the schools are so structured and you learn so much and everything there is business but then she pointed out that kids get so focused on studies they don't go interact with other kids, that many become very isolated. Once I heard that I was kind of surprised because all the kids that I have met from other countries always seem so nice and I would never take them as the isolated type. May was really friendly and easy to talk to, it wasn't awkward and the conversation wasn't dull, there wasn't weird moments of silence or anything. She's adapted really well, her english was good and she had lots of questions about the classes and people here. You could tell she really liked it and was interested in our culture and being excepted into it. May told me about how everyone she has met so far has been really nice and welcoming which I thought was great but I was a little shocked because there are people in this world who are rude.  I've heard people from other countries say Americans aren't very friendly, especially when they come from small towns and are use to people knowing who they are or even if they don't they will talk to you but in America typically people don't just talk to a random stranger they do not know. So it was nice to hear that she is being excepted into our society with open arms. May was really cool and I'm glad I got the chance to meet her we had a lot in common and we even exchanged emails so we could keep in touch. So over all I was excited I went to class the other day cause I was able to meet some really cool people and at first I thought it was going to be some boring activity but I ended up enjoying myself and cant wait to keep in touch with May. The story Letter to Mexico, was really intriguing it made me want to keep reading because it was about issues that are relevant in today's society and had so much emotion in the story. When the narrator talks about how she feels hatred and how she hates her own people and how that is really hate of herself, it made me think about how there are times I hate my own people because of how they act or portray themselves to others which creates them to think negatively on all of us. The story also makes me think about how the international students might feel about Americans who go to there countries, do they have resentment or hate us for going into there countries and taking jobs and living there?

Journal #2

For my persona text I decided to use my UA essay. I picked my essay because it has a lot to do with growing up, my environment, and why I am who I am today. I think the essay shows a side of me that I tend to keep inside and very close to me. It's shows how I like to be seen but with more detail to why I come off the way I do. If i had to compare my text with a story we've read I would compare it to Tapahonso. I think both are similar in the sense that both don't let everything out, there's still stuff that is kept personal for there own reasons. Mine reasons being I don't want to be looked at differently, I worked so hard all my life to be seen as me and I don't want my past, or the way I grew up to influence the way people judge me. I believe Tapahonso was doing the same thing by not speaking her native language to in a way protect herself.  Yet at the same time both are trying to let people see them for them which means often putting yourself out there and being vulnerable. For Tapahonso that was getting up in front of everyone and reading her poem, something she created, something that was a part of her and only her, her poetry was the one thing she had that separated her from her family. For me my text is my vulnerable side that I am letting out and the way I chose to live my life and the decisions I've made is what separates me from my family. Another thing that is similar is we are both trying to keep apart of ourselves private, but in some way or another the part we try to keep hide is the part that explains so much about us. I really related to the Tapahonso text and thought it was very insightful. For me at least it helped me understand identity vs. persona which is part of the reason I chose my UA essay.