ESL Meeting #3 – 10/04/11

ESL Meeting #3 – 10/04/11

            As tradition, Jeanelie greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and a big smile. We began our conversation by talking about the weekend and the different activities Jeanelie and her husband participated in. Jeanelie described what seemed to be a pretty low-key weekend. She said that herself and her husband stayed around the hotel for most of the weekend with nothing to exciting occurring. Having a hard time understanding what life would be like living in a hotel for an extended period, I asked Jeanelie how she liked her current living conditions.

            As expected, Jeanelie said that she missed her family and friends from home as well as her home itself. However, Jeanelie said that she really enjoyed staying in the hotel. Not having to worry about picking up the house or dealing with various maintenance tasks, Jeanelie explained how living in the hotel provided her and her husband with flexibility. Jeanelie talked about the opportunities her and her husband were able to pursue because of all the extra free time she had with not having to maintain a home. I was interested in what Jeanelie had to say and asked her about some of the activities she enjoyed doing most while in the US. While it was still hard for me to imagine living in a hotel for almost 6 months, Jeanelie pointed out some interesting opportunities that doing so allowed for. However, I couldn’t take my mind off the idea of not having a kitchen to walk down to, or a living room to sit back and relax in. It was all so foreign to me.

Jeanelie and I ended our conversation by talking about my plans for fall break. Beginning by explaining what exactly fall break was to Jeanelie, I told her about my plans to head home for the long weekend. I was surprised to hear that Jeanelie knew where Kansas was. When I told Jeanelie that I was from Kansas and was going to go back home for the break she knew exactly where I was talking about. Jeanelie’s husband had traveled to Kansas before and had told Jeanelie all about it so Kansas was not as foreign of a place to Jeanelie as I expected it to be. Telling Jeanelie all about my home and the city I lived in, she began to ask me a little bit about my personal life. She wanted me to practice my Spanish so I told her in Spanish about my home, my family, and some hobbies I enjoyed. Encouraging me as I stumbled through the choppy Spanish sentences, Jeanelie helped me along just as I helped her with her English. She explained to me that sometimes she gets so tired of speaking English that its nice to take a break and return to her native language. I laughed and told her that I knew how she felt.

            Jeanelie had a test at the end of the week so she told me that she would send me a text when she was done to let me know how she thought she did. Jeanelie explained to me that she thought of us as more than conversation partners, but as friends. I was excited to hear this and was glad that she was beginning to feel more comfortable with me.

David Belpedio