First Meeting with Paula

Today I had my first meeting with Paula, who moved from Columbia three years ago to be with her husband. I was pretty nervous for our first meeting and wasn't sure how it was going to go, but she didn't seem nervous at all. She had a big smile on her face and seemed excited about our conversation.

Within a few minutes of talking, Paula and I connected on many things. We talked about the school system in Columbia and how different it was here. We also talked about a lot of other differences between Texas and Columbia, like the way people behave and what seems to be the norm in each culture. She was extremely interested in the way things work in the United States, such as the school system, and was interested in what I like to do, both in school and during my free time.

Although we didn't really talk about humor specifically, we both found various things in our conversation funny. A lot of the things we laughed at had to do with how different her culture was from mine. She told me little embarrassing moments she has had while living here, and said it was because of the extreme differences in social norms. One thing we laughed about was how she has a hard time not being so physically close to people, like when she is speaking. She said it is hard to not stand so close because in Columbia and other cultures like it, standing very near one another is common and acceptable, something that is much different from here, which she learned through experience.

Overall I enjoyed my conversation. Just in a little over an hour, I had a new perspective of both my culture and hers. It's easy to say that I am excited for our future conversation and what we will both learn from it.