ESL Meeting #1 – 09/22/11

ESL Meeting #1 – 09/22/11

“Hello, my name is Jeanelie Briceno. I sorry, but I don’t speak very good English.”

With this introduction, I immediately had an altered vision of how this meeting was going to go. Feeling quite nervous and a bit anxious, I had no idea what to expect going into my meeting with my ESL partner. After exchanging text messages prior to our meeting, it became very clear that Jeanelie struggled with English. Although I knew Jeanelie was new to English, I was surprised at just how new she was to the English language. I had never before sat down to have a conversation with someone that didn’t completely understand English. I had no idea what we were going to talk about and was worried that it would be hard for her to understand what I was saying.

After our brief introductions however, things quickly began to flow and we both became more comfortable with one another. Learning that Jeanelie was from Caracas Venezuela, I was thrilled by that fact that she spoke Spanish. As a Spanish minor, this meant that I could communicate with Jeanelie in her primary language if needed. Knowing Spanish made it easy for me to understand Jeanelie when she struggled with English. It was very interesting to understand how she was learning English. I quickly came to realize that in many ways she is learning English in the same manner and with the same techniques in which I am learning Spanish. Immediately we both discovered that these meetings with one another would provide good practice in our own unique foreign languages.

Jeanelie traveled to the United States to learn English for her job. Jeanelie shared with me that learning English would be very beneficial for her profession as a journalist. Jeanelie works for the TV Network Global Business, which is one of the main TV Networks in Caracas. While talking about her profession, Jeanelie shared that the current dictator shut down one of the competing TV Networks in Caracas simply because he did not like the stories the network was reporting. Apparently the dictator believed that the network was negatively portraying him and demanded that the network shut down. I was very surprised by this and had a hard time comprehending the power that the dictator of Venezuela holds. As I continued to talk with Jeanelie, she shared with me that at any point, the dictator of Venezuela could decide to shut down the Network that Jeanelie is working for and she could lose her job. It took me a while to wrap my head around the idea of a dictator of my country deciding to just shut down a TV Network just because he basically wanted to. It was such a foreign idea to me that it caught me off guard.

I earned that Jeanelie’s husband also works as a journalist for the same TV Network. Jeanelie and her husband met through colleagues and were married last year. Her husband has traveled with her to the United States to learn English as well. While this is Jeanelie first trip to the US, Jeanelie shared that her husband has been to the States many times and has been to cities such as Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Dallas. Both Jeanelie and her husband are currently living in a hotel close to campus. Jeanelie shared that it is very different living in the hotel than at home in Venezuela. However, she shared with me that she likes the United States, so much so that she wants to travel to other cities throughout the States.

Overall this was a great first meeting and I am very excited to continue to meet with Jeanelie. I am excited that Jeanelie speaks Spanish and am hoping that I can learn a little bit of Spanish while meeting with Jeanelie. After the first meeting alone, it is clear that this is going to be a very neat experience for me – an experience that I have never had before. When Jeanelie and I finished our meeting and said goodbye to one another, Jeanelie leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. At first I was a little confused and surprised by the gesture. However, Jeanelie explained that in her culture, friends say goodbye to one another with a kiss on the cheek and that she now considered me one of her friends. I’m already learning new things and discovering different customs and traditions of those who live in different parts of the world. 

David Belpedio