For my class I had to do this project. It was a "cultural and literacy autobiography" to find out where I came from and to understand why I am the way I am. Seems like it will take more than looking at an old yearbook to figure that out, but whatever.
Anyway, I did some research and wandered through web sites. The internet is a lovely thing.
A friend of mine in the class, after hearing my autobiography and realizing that I hailed from Clint, Texas, mentioned it to her friend who she rides to school with. Come to find out, that friend is best friends with someone who graduated a year before me.
Wow. I have always heard that phrase, "it's a small world" but I hadn't thought much about it until someone was actually best friends with someone from Clint, Texas. I mean, there were not that many people in Clint.
So, I scoped out yearbooks and checked out classmates and as I did, several people came to mind. Wonder what happened to... so and so.
Wonder where so and so is. Oh, and that so and so, he was voted most likely to succeed. I wonder if he did.
That kind of thing.
I haven't gotten many answers, but I don't know how much energy I have for the whole thing any more. I have found and gotten into contact with people who I really care about and have the energy for. The rest, I will just keep wondering about...maybe I will think about you again one day. Maybe our path's will cross and it will again be a small world. Till then, I am just enjoying my little corner of it.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Names and the Bad Word.
It has already been an interesting summer.
No being lazy and getting addicted to soap operas for me. OH no.
I can't be that lucky.
I am going to graduate school, driving hours to get to class every day and then reading reading reading on the hours I am not in class. Makes for a really super fun summer, let me tell you!
But I am really not complaining. I am learning a lot in my class and have had some adventures.
As part of my class, I am to tutor a child. I picked Destiny. She is darling but a struggling reader.
She is also an enigma.
I tried to get to know her the other day and she told me all about her family, some of the names are made up. I would be willing to bet you could pick out which ones.
The funny thing is, she kept trying to convince me that they were real.
Here was our exchange:
Me: Destiny, who lives in your house?
D: I have my mom, my dog, my dad, and all my brothers and sisters.
(to my knowledge there are only two brothers and no sisters)
Me: Really? What are all the brothers and sisters named?
D: well, Carlos, Michael, (those are the real ones) then there's... what's that kid's name? Oh yeah, David. Then there is Smokey and Fishy. They are my brothers too.
M: (thinking...really? when did your family turn into a mob movie?) Oh, I see. Smokey and Fishy. I have never heard of them.
D: Yeah, they are older and gone.
Me: I see. Tell me about the sisters.
D: Well, there is Queen, my mom named her that, and Horsey, my mom named her that too, and Unicorn, Pony, and Zebra. Yep. there are my sister's names.
OH MY.
But the best one came when I asked the Dog's name. I would be willing to bet that that one isn't made up.
Me: did you say you had a dog?
D: yes. It is a little brown dog that barks a lot.
Me: Really? so you don't like it?
D: I like it, but it is smelly all the time.
Me: hmmm. interesting. what is the dog's name?
D:Chingar (pronounced chingow)
Me: (shocked) uh, what did you say?
D: Chingar.
Me: Oh, I see.
D: sometimes my dad calls it poo poo.
Me: That is probably a better name for the dog.
Friends, those who aren't familiar with spanish slang, the word means Fuck.
On my way home from that meeting I called to tell my mom about the dog's name.
Ever the English teacher, decided she needed to know how to spell the word so she looked it up in her old Spanish/English dictionary and was surprised to not find it there.
We have since found the spelling and found all of the great ways in which you can insult someone with that word.
I never realized how much I would learn from this graduate class. I am sure there is more to come!
No being lazy and getting addicted to soap operas for me. OH no.
I can't be that lucky.
I am going to graduate school, driving hours to get to class every day and then reading reading reading on the hours I am not in class. Makes for a really super fun summer, let me tell you!
But I am really not complaining. I am learning a lot in my class and have had some adventures.
As part of my class, I am to tutor a child. I picked Destiny. She is darling but a struggling reader.
She is also an enigma.
I tried to get to know her the other day and she told me all about her family, some of the names are made up. I would be willing to bet you could pick out which ones.
The funny thing is, she kept trying to convince me that they were real.
Here was our exchange:
Me: Destiny, who lives in your house?
D: I have my mom, my dog, my dad, and all my brothers and sisters.
(to my knowledge there are only two brothers and no sisters)
Me: Really? What are all the brothers and sisters named?
D: well, Carlos, Michael, (those are the real ones) then there's... what's that kid's name? Oh yeah, David. Then there is Smokey and Fishy. They are my brothers too.
M: (thinking...really? when did your family turn into a mob movie?) Oh, I see. Smokey and Fishy. I have never heard of them.
D: Yeah, they are older and gone.
Me: I see. Tell me about the sisters.
D: Well, there is Queen, my mom named her that, and Horsey, my mom named her that too, and Unicorn, Pony, and Zebra. Yep. there are my sister's names.
OH MY.
But the best one came when I asked the Dog's name. I would be willing to bet that that one isn't made up.
Me: did you say you had a dog?
D: yes. It is a little brown dog that barks a lot.
Me: Really? so you don't like it?
D: I like it, but it is smelly all the time.
Me: hmmm. interesting. what is the dog's name?
D:Chingar (pronounced chingow)
Me: (shocked) uh, what did you say?
D: Chingar.
Me: Oh, I see.
D: sometimes my dad calls it poo poo.
Me: That is probably a better name for the dog.
Friends, those who aren't familiar with spanish slang, the word means Fuck.
On my way home from that meeting I called to tell my mom about the dog's name.
Ever the English teacher, decided she needed to know how to spell the word so she looked it up in her old Spanish/English dictionary and was surprised to not find it there.
We have since found the spelling and found all of the great ways in which you can insult someone with that word.
I never realized how much I would learn from this graduate class. I am sure there is more to come!
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