ESL Meeting #6 – 11/10/11

ESL Meeting #6 – 11/10/11

            Walking up to me, Jeanelie was bundled from head to toe in her winter wardrobe. Hidden in her big puffy coat, wool scarf, and fuzzy earmuffs, Jeanelie’s face was barely visible. Sitting down, Jeanelie began to take off her winter gear one piece at a time. I asked Jeanelie if she had ever experienced this kind of weather before. While it was a colder day, the coldest it had been thus far, I wasn’t expecting Jeanelie to be in such heavy winter clothing. Jeanelie explained that she was not used to the cold weather and explained how it did not get cold at home. Jeanelie explained that all that was needed in Venezuela during the winter months was a light sweater. This weather was way to cold for her.

            After we finished talking about the differences between the climate of the US and of Venezuela, Jeanelie told me all about her day at Sea World. The past weekend, Jeanelie, her husband, and another couple all went to Sea World. Jeanelie explained that this was her first time going to Sea World. She loved it. From feeding the dolphins to going on the water rides, Jeanelie lit up with excitement as she told me all about her day. She even told me that for reasons she could not understand, she started crying during the Shamu show. She laughed as she told me this because she said that when she started crying her husband was confused and embarrassed. I couldn’t believe that the show moved Jeanelie so much and was surprised to hear her say this.

            Jeanelie also told me about her experience feeding the dolphins. Whenever I go to Sea World, I am always jealous of the people who get to feed the dolphins. Unfortunately, unlike Jeanelie, I never had the opportunity to do so. Jeanelie explained how the dolphins felt like smooth leather and how nice and friendly they were. Jeanelie said that feeding the dolphins was her favorite part of the day.

            Approaching the end of the semester, Jeanelie and I ended our meeting by discussing some things that we wanted to complete before our time together came to a close. Jeanelie really wanted to master both speaking and understanding when to use “th” vs. “st” or “rd” when talking about dates, number of times, ext. I found it difficult to help Jeanelie practice saying “fifth”, “third”, and so on and found it even more difficult to explain to her when to use what ending and with what numbers. After some practice she got the hang of it and was feeling more confident. The two of us also worked on possession. Working to explain how to use the apostrophe, Jeanelie looked at me like I was a crazy man. Just as it is hard for me to translate possession into Spanish, Jeanelie struggled with translating it into English. Because things are reversed when going between the two languages, the grammar can be hard to perfect.

            With only two meetings left and the semester coming to a close, Jeanelie expressed her feelings of sadness to me. Already dreading the day she has to say goodbye to all of her new friends, Jeanelie explained how she was not looking forward to the end of her time here at TCU. In an effort to comfort her, I told her that we still had two meetings left and plenty of time to continue practicing and improving upon her English.

David Belpedio