Today, WeiRan brought both Simon and Chris to our meeting. The conversation began with Simon talking about his dog. Apparently, his roommate sold the dog to their neighbor; however, their neighbor bought the dog while intoxicated and did not remember buying the dog in the morning. Simon said his neighbor woke up in the morning and could not figure out why their dog stood in his room. Simon's roommate had to explain to him why the dog slept at the neighbors house. After sobering up, the neighbor decided he no longer wanted the dog and returned the dog to its original home--the farm. When Simon told me this I became sad. Simon saw it all over my face. When they said farm, I thought they meant the dog would be euthanized. Isn't that what every parent tells their child when an animal dies? "It's ok, honey, your dog, Lulu, is just at a farm!" Simon quickly explained to me that the dog would be ok and now stayed with its original parents. I accepted this explanation and the conversation moved forward.
Next, WeiRan showed me the new book he must read: The War Horse. I tried to encourage him and say it would be a good read, but I do not think he believes me. WeiRan hates reading. He only likes math and science. He mentioned how he just wanted to read a book about chemicals or math. WeiRan does not see the point in reading. I explained to him that reading is important because no matter how smart you are with numbers or chemicals, if you cannot express your ideas in language, then no one will be able to share your knowledge. If you cannot express your ideas, you cannot hold a job. WeiRan agreed with this explanation, however, I think he still hates reading.
The conversation briefly moved to movies. They told me that Titanic is a classic in China. I tried to talk about other movies, such as Avatar since it is by the same director, but they became lost on them. Talking about movies and books with them is hard. The titles of movies and books do not translate well into Chinese.
Then, they showed me apps on their phone. Apparently there is an app for iPhone's that allows you to shake your phone and see who else is shaking their phone. I do not understand this app... They made jokes that Chris did it to find new girls. I think Chris really wants a girlfriend. They make jokes that he tries to find girls online. I got a good laugh out of this. After these jokes other jokes followed, but only spoken in Chinese. I became extremely confused. WeiRan just said "they are bad boys and making dirty jokes. I am a good boy. I do not make dirty jokes." I decided I did not want to know what they talked about in Chinese. One thing that is the same cross-culturally is boys love for dirty jokes. I guess I cannot blame them, that is just how they are wired.
While being left out of the jokes, I looked up and saw a girl in my sorority walk in the door. I smiled and said hi. I tried to explain to them what a sorority was. I cut the sisterhood mumbo jumbo and decided to classify it as a "social club." They understood. Simon said that could not happen in Chinese colleges because they are poor colleges and kids are not allowed to have events. I think they find sorority and fraternity life frivolous. Simon would probably be the most on board. He finds social life a key part of his well-being. WeiRan and Chris were raised to believe education the most important thing. Simon believes a good balance of friendships and education is the perfect mix. I agree with that statement.
Our conversation began to dwindle and I had to leave to complete other school work. We agreed upon meeting next week. WeiRan, I believe, is looking forward to next week because our meeting means school is almost over. He is homesick, poor guy.
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