Today I met with David for lunch at
the BLUU upon my suggestion. When we got there, one of the first things he said
was how he disliked the food at market square, so that was good. I offered to
go eat somewhere else, but he decided to stick it out. We discussed the
convenience of always having pizza and hamburgers at the BLUU if you don’t have
much time, but we both eat pretty clean. This led to the topic of exercising
and he told me how he gets up at 6am every morning to go lift before class,
which is a pretty bold move for any college student. David also enjoys playing
basketball; as a matter of fact, he actually got a scholarship to play ball
back in Colombia. So I look forward to challenging him in a game of one-on-one
and showing off my less than impressive jump shot, subpar ball-handling skills,
and inadequate 5’8 frame.
I do think it is really cool how easy it is to
connect with people via sports and physical activity, even if they are from
different continents. We hit it off for a solid 15-20 minutes just talking
about exercising and sports. He explained that most people in Colombia play
basketball or soccer because you really just need a ball and a net. He enjoys
baseball and football, but not many people play those there because the
equipment isn’t easily accessible. David has also never been to an American
football game, so I encouraged him to come out to one of the TCU games. He was
pretty shocked when I told him all he needed was to show his student ID to get
in to the game. I am pretty curious as to how he would react to the atmosphere
at Amon G. Carter Stadium. I’ve never been to a soccer match, but I’m sure they
get pretty rowdy, especially in a country where that sport dominates like in
Colombia. I wonder if there are chants similar to how we do them, and if fans
act the same way as the students at the games (some more aggressive than
others.)
David lives around 15 minutes away from
campus with his aunt and uncle, so we began to talk about the comparisons in
living situations. He told me that in Colombia there aren’t suburban areas, and
most live in big urban cities. He didn’t have to drive anywhere because just
about everything was within walking distance, even grocery stores, which they
also do very differently there. Instead of having everything in one big store
like a Walmart, many families own their own small stores, some in their own
garage. He said you can get items like shampoo, eggs, sheep and other various
items and they usually just hop around to these different little shops around
where they lived, which intrigued me. When you live on a college campus, most
places you go are within walking distance including stores like Kroger and CVS.
But back at home in suburbia, you basically have to drive everywhere, and I
told David this. I can’t imagine just going to my next door neighbor and buying
shampoo or a sheep off of them. That’s pretty nuts.
He did tell me how convenient he
thought gas stations were, though. One day, he was either biking or running (I
can’t remember which) and he had to stop to get something to drink. He went
into a gas station and was amazed at how much they had. However, he must have
stopped in a rougher area of town, because he said he felt like the gas station
was dangerous. It was interesting to hear him say how he noticed how nice TCU
is, but just around the corner are very rough areas. It’s still puzzling to me
how that happens, and even someone who hasn’t been in the country long notices
the abrupt change in quality and socioeconomic status.
It is interesting to hear the
perspective of someone who hasn’t lived in America for long, and I am
continuing to learn from my meetings with David.
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