For almost two years now, I have been an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher at the Missionary Training Center here in Provo. I work with students from all over the planet who have come to the U.S. to learn English so they can serve missions in English-speaking places. I sometimes brag that I have personally taught students from over 50 countries. This may sound a little exaggerated, so I decided to count them up. Here is an alphabetical list of the nationalities of my students:
1. American Samoa
2. Argentina
3. Armenia
4. Austria
5. Bangladesh
6. Belize
7. Bolivia
8. Brazil
9. Burma
10. Cambodia
11. Canada
12. Chile
13. China
14. Colombia
15. Costa Rica
16. Czech Republic
17. Denmark
18. Dominica
19. Dominican Republic
20. Ecuador
21. El Salvador
22. Fiji
23. Finland
24. France
25. Germany
26. Guadeloupe
27. Guatemala
28. Honduras
29. Hong Kong
30. India
31. Israel
32. Italy
33. Japan
34. Jordan
35. Kiribati
36. Korea, South
37. Laos
38. Madagascar
39. Malaysia
40. Marshall Islands
41. Mexico
42. Micronesia
43. Mongolia
44. Netherlands
45. New Caledonia
46. Norway
47. Pakistan
48. Panama
49. Paraguay
50. Peru
51. Phillipines
52. Poland
53. Portugal
54. Puerto Rico
55. Russia
56. Samoa
57. Singapore
58. Slovenia
59. Spain
60. Sri Lanka
61. Sweden
62. Switzerland
63. Taiwan
64. Thailand
65. Tonga
66. Tuvalu
67. Ukraine
68. United Kingdom
69. United States
70. Uruguay
71. Vanuatu
72. Venezuela
Wow! That list is even bigger than I expected! Every day when I go to work I meek someone new from some new place. Some of these places I had never even heard of before I met my students. It is amazing how much your perspective changes when you encounter incredible diversity. I have learned several big lessons:
1. We are more different than we realize. A lot of people think that language is like a code. If I want to speak Portuguese, I just have to learn the Portuguese words that are equivalent to the English words that I use, and substitute them in as if it were a code. The reality is much more complex. Language is more than just words and phrases, and even idioms. Language is culture, understanding, and perception. In English we have the word 'hug' and in Portuguese they have the word 'abraço' which any dictionary would tell you had the same meaning. What dictionaries don't capture, and what most people don't realize is that a hug to a Brazilian, although it is the same gesture that we make, has a totally different meaning than a hug to an American has. These little differences cause cultures to misunderstand each other. Many Latin Americans and Polynesians think that Americans are 'cold'. Many Americans think that Russians are blunt and rude. They, in turn, think that we are manipulative and dishonest. We need to understand the differences between cultures so that we don't misjudge. Americans aren't cold, we just don't hug as much, because to us a hug means something stronger than it does to most Latinos. Russians aren't purposefully rude, they show respect by being honest. Americans show respect by protecting the feelings of others. If you really try, you can see these differences and appreciate them, allowing you to understand people, rather than judging them for not behaving like Americans.
2. We are more the same than we realize. I have learned that as much as we all are different, we have so much in common. We have families, problems, hopes, fears, faith,... There is a very long list of things that unite us. I have learned that no one is so different from you that you couldn't have a decent, friendly conversation if you put forth a little effort. We focus so much on the differences that we miss out on the similarities.
I love my job and the perspective that it brings, and I encourage you to look around. Try to understand the Hispanic lady at the grocery store, or the German foreign exchange student, or even the members of your own family. Where are they coming from? What are their expectations? How can we connect with them? It's kinda cool when you think about it...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Not a superhero...
So, I used to live in Brazil, and it was really great. I had lots of fun experiences, and some that were not so fun (Dengue Fever was a riot!). There was one experience in particular that I thought was pretty interesting. This one morning, I think it was in May of 2007, I woke up with a slight burning sensation on my right cheek and on the back, right side of my neck. I didn't think much about it until my mission companion, Hebert Gomes, looked really startled and told me to run and look in the mirror. On my cheek there was a spot about the size of a slice of pepperoni that appeared to have been burned! There was generally a dark red color with little gray and yellow blisters. Apparently on my neck there was a similar "burn" only it was about the size of the palm of my hand. We couldn't figure out what had happened. I thought maybe it was some sort of reaction to the Brazilian sun, which was strange because I never really get sunburned (I'm pretty brown naturally). Some of our friends thought that maybe it was an allergic reaction to something. Nobody really was sure what it was at the time. By the next day, both sores had grown, and they had opened up. There was pus and other gross stuff oozing out of them, they were painful to touch, and I had a slight fever. It was a holiday (naturally) so all of the pharmacies were closed. Being men of faith, we prayed about it, and I got a priesthood blessing, and I was able to continue working. Of course I never wrote my mom about this at the time (sorry Mom), but here are some pictures that were taken about two weeks after the initial incident.
After a couple of weeks, the sores on both my face and neck dried up (the incessant oozing had stained the collars of most of my shirts), and eventually the dead skin and scabs peeled off. I am happy to say that there is no residual scarring. About a year later, I related this story and showed the pictures to a friend who just happened to be a spider expert. He believed that I had been bitten by something like this:
He thought I had been bitten by a Brazilian variety of the brown recluse, a tiny spider that hides in dark places. It injects its venom under the skin of its victim, causing necrosis to spread underneath. That's why my face and neck had open sores that looked like hamburger or something. He asked what treatment I received, and when I told him that I had pretty much just waited for it to heal, he was very surprised and told me that I was extremely lucky, as these bites can be deadly. Wow.
Anyway, I don't really like spiders anymore. That was a really scary experience, and I didn't even get any super powers! That spider could have at least left me with a six-pack or something! All joking aside, I guess I am super, because where I had some ugly sores and a slight fever, some people die.
After a couple of weeks, the sores on both my face and neck dried up (the incessant oozing had stained the collars of most of my shirts), and eventually the dead skin and scabs peeled off. I am happy to say that there is no residual scarring. About a year later, I related this story and showed the pictures to a friend who just happened to be a spider expert. He believed that I had been bitten by something like this:
He thought I had been bitten by a Brazilian variety of the brown recluse, a tiny spider that hides in dark places. It injects its venom under the skin of its victim, causing necrosis to spread underneath. That's why my face and neck had open sores that looked like hamburger or something. He asked what treatment I received, and when I told him that I had pretty much just waited for it to heal, he was very surprised and told me that I was extremely lucky, as these bites can be deadly. Wow.
Anyway, I don't really like spiders anymore. That was a really scary experience, and I didn't even get any super powers! That spider could have at least left me with a six-pack or something! All joking aside, I guess I am super, because where I had some ugly sores and a slight fever, some people die.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Collection...
It seems like I always end up in those getting-to-know-you situations where you go around the room and say your name, where you're from, what you do, and something interesting about yourself. This seems to come up on the first day of almost any class, or at church on the first Sunday of the semester. Maybe it's just because I'm a guy, but it seems like there's always this pressure to say something really cool. I'm not necessarily the coolest guy around, but I do have something interesting to share in these situations. I, like most of my immediate family, collect roller coasters. Not the literal, physical attraction, but the thrill. I have been on quite a few from quite a few different places. I thought I would share some of them.
Mr. Freeze, Six Flags St. Louis, my first fast-launch coaster!
Give this one a shot!
Millenium Force, Cedar Point in Sandusky, this one is just huge!
Here it is!
Top Thrill Dragster, Cedar Point, Sandusky, this was the tallest, fastest roller coaster in the world at the time that I rode it. Dad and I waited extra long to sit in the front seat!
The X 2, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Rock 'n Roll, inversions, flames, fantastic!
Tatsu, Six Flags Magic Mountain, my first flying coaster!
Here we go! This one may be my favorite!
I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did!
Batman, Six Flags St. Louis, my first suspended roller-coaster.
BATMAN THE RIDE BY THE NUMBERS
| Height Restrictions | min. 54" |
| Ride Category | Thrill |
| Introduced | April 1995 |
| Elevation | 10 1/2 stories tall |
| Length | 2,693 feet |
| Top Speed | 50 mph |
| Ride Duration | 2 minutes |
| Number of Trains | 2 |
| Capacity Per Ride | 32 |
| G-Force | 4 |
| Special Features | Ride features five "head-over-heels" experiences, as trains travel on the outside, rather than the inside of the loops, with ski-lift-style coaches, where the floor drops out from beneath the riders' feet |
Try the ride for yourself!
Mr. Freeze, Six Flags St. Louis, my first fast-launch coaster!
MR. FREEZE BY THE NUMBERS
| Height Restrictions | min. 54" |
| Ride Category | Thrill |
| Introduced | April 1998 |
| Elevation | over 22 1/2 stories tall |
| Length | 1,382 feet |
| Top Speed | 70 mph |
| Ride Duration | 1 minute, 45 seconds |
| Number of Trains | 2 |
| Capacity Per Ride | 20 |
Give this one a shot!
Millenium Force, Cedar Point in Sandusky, this one is just huge!
It’s the big star of the show. A true Giant among coasters.
So huge, it created a whole new category – the giga-coaster. Welcome to
Millennium Force, the 310 foot, 93 MPH record-breaking monster of a thrill
ride. The first hill features an elevator cable lift system to get you to the
top faster, then it’s an 80-degree drop to start the coaster ride of your life!
|
Here it is!
Top Thrill Dragster, Cedar Point, Sandusky, this was the tallest, fastest roller coaster in the world at the time that I rode it. Dad and I waited extra long to sit in the front seat!
Zero to 120 MPH in less than 4 seconds. A few seconds later, you’re 420 feet in the air. In the race for pure adrenaline thrills, there is one winner: Top Thrill Dragster. Nothing else compares to this high-horsepower shot into the sky. From a standing start you’re launched forward, then straight up, then straight down and back to the finish line. The ride may be over in 17 seconds, but it’ll stay with you forever.
Check this out!
The X 2, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Rock 'n Roll, inversions, flames, fantastic!
X2 BY THE NUMBERS
| Height Restrictions | min. 48" |
| Ride Category | Thrill |
| Trains | Completely redesigned, sleek trains |
| Features | Innovative, state-of-the-art visual, audio and sensory effects |
| Top Speed | 76 mph |
| Elevation | 20 stories |
| Length | 3,610 feet |
| Capacity | 28 |
Tatsu, Six Flags Magic Mountain, my first flying coaster!
TATSU BY THE NUMBERS
| Height Restrictions | min. 54" |
| Ride Category | Thrill |
| Top Speed | 62 mph |
| Elevation | 17 stories |
| Length | 3,602 feet |
| Duration | 2 minutes |
| Capacity | 1,600 riders per hour |
Here we go! This one may be my favorite!
I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Sherlock...
Pretty much everybody is familiar with the Sherlock Holmes movies with Robert Downey Junior. I really like them a lot. I don't think that many people are aware of the Sherlock BBC series, however. I know that British television has kind of a reputation, but this series is fantastic! There are two seasons so far, each consisting of three episodes that are about 90 minutes each. What's fun about the series is that they adapted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels to fit in a modern setting. Where they could have turned out really cheesy, they are actually extremely well written and directed, and the acting is phenomenal. The actor who portrays Dr. Watson will play the part of Bilbo in Peter Jackson's Hobbit movies, and the actor who plays Sherlock Holmes will do the voice of Smaug, which is kind of funny, but they are both very talented.
The first season can currently be watched on Netflix, and it is out on DVD and BluRay. The second season just finished airing last week and is not yet available. Whether you're a fan of the novels or just someone who enjoys a good mystery/action movie, I highly recommend checking them out!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Churrasco...
So last Saturday a few friends and I went to this awesome restaurant called Tucanos. It is a traditional type of Brazilian barbecue known as churrasco, pronounced "shoo-HA-skoo". This is an all-you-can-eat restaurant where the buffet comes to you! There is a "salad festival" which is their spin on a salad bar, except that it's awesome and has things you don't find at Chuck-a-rama, like heart of palm, brazilian cheese bread, fried bananas, and dozens of other types of salads, pastas, fruits, breads, cheeses, and more!
The salad, my friends, is only the beginning. At each table there is a little wooden cylinder with a green end and a red end. Just like in traffic, green means go, so when you are ready to go, you turn the green side up, and the food starts coming!
Waiters bring around big metal skewers with sizzling chunks of meat on them, and with a huge knife, they cut you off a piece of whatever you want!
 |
| Grilled Pineapple! A favorite. |
In addition to the amazing meat and salad festival, they serve Brazilian limeade, which I discussed in an earlier post. It is all fantastic. It really makes me miss Brazil, because we used to eat like this about once a week. The only difference is that there, churrasco is common and very cheap (2 or 3 bucks generally and at the most 7 or 8) but in the US, it is unique, and so you spend around $20 for lunch.
Since we don't go very often, when we do go we eat till we're sick. It is SOOO good. I recommend saving up and trying it at least once. It is totally worth the experience, unless you're vegetarian. Great food, great atmosphere, super fun! I deserve a free meal for doing such great adverstizing...
Thursday, January 12, 2012
My family...
This was our last Christmas together as a family before my younger brother moves to New York for two years to serve a full-time mission for the LDS church. While we were all at home, we had some family pictures taken. I don't have the final edited copies yet, but I wanted to introduce my family.
Left to right, there's me, and then my youngest sister Haley.
Haley is 14 years old, but she will soon turn 15. She is a freshmen in high school, and she will soon receive her driver's license (in Idaho we get our license when we turn 15). Haley is an amazing reader and a fantastic musician. She plays the piano very well, and she is an amazing singer. Haley is also a hard worker. She has worked several jobs, including babysitting, house cleaning, and lawn-mowing at the local cemetery. I am amazed at how independent she is. She pays for a lot of her own things, which is pretty cool for a 14-year-old. Haley is also the only one who still lives at home with Mom and Dad.
The cute, blonde one to the right of Haley is Suzy.
Suzy is a senior at Brigham Young University. She is getting a bachelors degree in Landscape Management. She particularly enjoys landscape design and architecture and is considering these areas for her graduate studies. Suzy also studies business and non-profit organizations. She is a fantastic piano player and a talented artist. She has also become pretty well traveled, having spent several weeks trekking across Europe last summer. I recommend that you check out her blog to learn more about her. She is a really great writer! Suzy is 20, but to me, she seems much more wise than your average 20-year-old.
After Suzy is my mom. I don't even know where to start here. Mom is so great. She has five kids and a husband, and she has always done a fantastic job of taking care of us. Because of my mom I did well in school, I learned to play the piano, I had a nice home to grow up in, I have life, the list goes on and on. One thing I really like about my mom is that she's fun. She water skis, likes movies. rides roller-coasters, and lots of other awesome stuff. I have been really impressed by Mom lately, because she has been learning to play the cello. She practices every day, and she is learning very fast. A year ago, I don't think she had even held one before, but now she plays songs, and it is starting to sound really good, although she would never admit it.
Mom is next to Dad, as you probably guessed. Pretty much every good thing I have said about Mom can be said about Dad, and vice versa. They are truly one. There can be no doubt that they love each other and support each other, and that they love and support us. Dad doesn't play the cello, but he sings really well. He is a member of a quartet, and they are really good. Dad is a phenomenal provider. He works so hard to make a living. He is a mechanical engineer, designing machinery for food processing. Even though he is always very busy with work, he has always made it his first priority to be a husband and father. We never doubted that he loved us or that he would give anything he could to help us out. This hasn't changed as we've moved away. He and Mom both do everything they can to help us with anything we need.
Jared is my bigger little brother. He just turned 19 and next Tuesday he will leave for New York to be a full-time missionary.
Jared is a fantastic athlete. In high school he was selected to take part in an all-star football game for the state of Idaho. He was a key player in the state championship football game in 2010. Jared also placed in state wrestling 2 years in a row. Recently he finished his first year at Brigham Young University, taking some generals and preparing to leave on his mission. Jared is a very hard worker. He has had many jobs growing up, including farm worker, *irrigation pipe mover, and lawn mower, and custodian at a clinic.
*
I have no doubt that he will do a fantastic job in New York.
The glamorous one on the end is Melissa.
She is closest in age to me, being born only 17 months after me. She is currently working on a masters degree in Physiology and Developmental Biology at Brigham Young University, having completed a BS in the same area last year. She is a fantastic teacher and currently TAs an upper level class in pathophysiology, which is the physiology of disease-causing agents (right Melissa?). Cool stuff. Melissa studied for one semester in London, which she loved, and she also is an amazing piano player and artist. We are super close, having gone through lots of life's experiences together. Melissa, as with the other women in my family, is a fantastic cook. She can make anything, and she makes it with her own flare. She isn't afraid to experiment, but she is talented enough that usually her culinary experiments are mind-blowing. I recommend checking our her blog, as she also is a fantastic writer.
Basically, I think I have the coolest family ever. These little blurbs are far from a comprehensive look at the awesomeness that is my family, but hopefully you get a better idea about who these people are, as I will probably be mentioning them a lot. They are definitely a huge part of my continuing education.
Left to right, there's me, and then my youngest sister Haley.
Haley is 14 years old, but she will soon turn 15. She is a freshmen in high school, and she will soon receive her driver's license (in Idaho we get our license when we turn 15). Haley is an amazing reader and a fantastic musician. She plays the piano very well, and she is an amazing singer. Haley is also a hard worker. She has worked several jobs, including babysitting, house cleaning, and lawn-mowing at the local cemetery. I am amazed at how independent she is. She pays for a lot of her own things, which is pretty cool for a 14-year-old. Haley is also the only one who still lives at home with Mom and Dad.
The cute, blonde one to the right of Haley is Suzy.
Suzy is a senior at Brigham Young University. She is getting a bachelors degree in Landscape Management. She particularly enjoys landscape design and architecture and is considering these areas for her graduate studies. Suzy also studies business and non-profit organizations. She is a fantastic piano player and a talented artist. She has also become pretty well traveled, having spent several weeks trekking across Europe last summer. I recommend that you check out her blog to learn more about her. She is a really great writer! Suzy is 20, but to me, she seems much more wise than your average 20-year-old.
After Suzy is my mom. I don't even know where to start here. Mom is so great. She has five kids and a husband, and she has always done a fantastic job of taking care of us. Because of my mom I did well in school, I learned to play the piano, I had a nice home to grow up in, I have life, the list goes on and on. One thing I really like about my mom is that she's fun. She water skis, likes movies. rides roller-coasters, and lots of other awesome stuff. I have been really impressed by Mom lately, because she has been learning to play the cello. She practices every day, and she is learning very fast. A year ago, I don't think she had even held one before, but now she plays songs, and it is starting to sound really good, although she would never admit it.
Mom is next to Dad, as you probably guessed. Pretty much every good thing I have said about Mom can be said about Dad, and vice versa. They are truly one. There can be no doubt that they love each other and support each other, and that they love and support us. Dad doesn't play the cello, but he sings really well. He is a member of a quartet, and they are really good. Dad is a phenomenal provider. He works so hard to make a living. He is a mechanical engineer, designing machinery for food processing. Even though he is always very busy with work, he has always made it his first priority to be a husband and father. We never doubted that he loved us or that he would give anything he could to help us out. This hasn't changed as we've moved away. He and Mom both do everything they can to help us with anything we need.
Jared is my bigger little brother. He just turned 19 and next Tuesday he will leave for New York to be a full-time missionary.
Jared is a fantastic athlete. In high school he was selected to take part in an all-star football game for the state of Idaho. He was a key player in the state championship football game in 2010. Jared also placed in state wrestling 2 years in a row. Recently he finished his first year at Brigham Young University, taking some generals and preparing to leave on his mission. Jared is a very hard worker. He has had many jobs growing up, including farm worker, *irrigation pipe mover, and lawn mower, and custodian at a clinic.
*
I have no doubt that he will do a fantastic job in New York.
The glamorous one on the end is Melissa.
She is closest in age to me, being born only 17 months after me. She is currently working on a masters degree in Physiology and Developmental Biology at Brigham Young University, having completed a BS in the same area last year. She is a fantastic teacher and currently TAs an upper level class in pathophysiology, which is the physiology of disease-causing agents (right Melissa?). Cool stuff. Melissa studied for one semester in London, which she loved, and she also is an amazing piano player and artist. We are super close, having gone through lots of life's experiences together. Melissa, as with the other women in my family, is a fantastic cook. She can make anything, and she makes it with her own flare. She isn't afraid to experiment, but she is talented enough that usually her culinary experiments are mind-blowing. I recommend checking our her blog, as she also is a fantastic writer.
Basically, I think I have the coolest family ever. These little blurbs are far from a comprehensive look at the awesomeness that is my family, but hopefully you get a better idea about who these people are, as I will probably be mentioning them a lot. They are definitely a huge part of my continuing education.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Swimming...
I've been in school for quite a while now, and I've taken a lot of different classes. If you were to ask me which of them has been the most influential, you might be surprised to find that one of the classes that has done the most for me is beginning swimming. BYU has this really great system where you can take any sports class, and they are all pass/fail. It is a great way to try new sports and activities. I grew up in rural Idaho, and so we never really did any competitive swimming in school or anything. In the Winter 2010 semester I signed up for the beginning class. As a Boy Scout I had earned the swimming merit badge, so I didn't think a beginning class would be that hard. Boy was I wrong. The instructor told us to swim one lap (50 yds) to see how much we already knew. By the time I finished, I was sputtering and shaking, and my chest felt like I had been stabbed (I imagine...I've never actually been stabbed).
To make a long story short, swimming ended up being very challenging, but every practice I could see improvement. The first time I swam 500 yds. without stopping it took me 15 minutes. I stuck with swimming, repeating the beginning class a few times and eventually taking the intermediate class. Now I swim 500 yds. in under 8 minutes and a mile in under 28 minutes. I still try to swim three times a week or so, and I did a biathlon. This is the first sport I have ever really felt good doing. I'm not very coordinated with things like basketball, and running sometimes hurts my knees, but I can swim till I'm almost sick, and the next day I'm good to do it again. It is amazing! I've lost weight, and I'm a lot stronger. It also helps me to have energy and be motivated to do other types of exercise too.
I'm really excited, because this semester my younger sister Suzy and I have signed up for the beginning swimming class together. Today was our first day in the pool, and I could tell that Suzy may be feeling some of the things that I felt when I first started. She is such an amazing athlete, and if she sticks with it I don't doubt that she will soon be better at swimming than I am.
I guess I've learned that it is important to try new things. I thought I just didn't like sports, and that I would never be athletic. It turns out I just hadn't found an activity that I liked yet. I am so glad that I tried it and that I stuck it out when it was difficult. This semester, I am trying another new sport. I signed up for a beginning men's gymnastics class. We'll see how it goes...
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Coolest Car Ever...
I really like Mustangs. I think they're pretty awesome. I talk about them all the time. It's to the point now that when I pass one in the car, my friends all look at me expectantly, waiting for some crazy excited reaction or something. I guess I'm pretty transparent. Well, I have this savings account that I have been working on for a while, and it has only one rule: money can only be withdrawn in order to 1) pay for grad school, 2) buy an engagement ring, 3) put a down-payment on a house, or 4) buy a blue mustang with racing stripes. I'll be honest, I know that the first three options are more "responsible", but I've definitely been more excited about the fourth.
This last summer, my financial situation changed a little bit, and due to some other situations, I needed to get a car fast. I had just paid a big chunk of tuition for my first semester of grad school, so needless to say, I didn't have enough to buy this:
So instead, I ended up with this:
This last summer, my financial situation changed a little bit, and due to some other situations, I needed to get a car fast. I had just paid a big chunk of tuition for my first semester of grad school, so needless to say, I didn't have enough to buy this:
So instead, I ended up with this:
Meet Steve. Steve is a 1995 Ford Taurus that I found on KSL and bought for $900. Sometimes when I pass a Mustang in Steve, I feel a little bummed that instead of burning through gears in a sportscar, my cars automatic transmission is struggling to downshift as I go up a hill, or instead of racing stripes, my car has duct tape holding the trunk shut, or instead of a really awesome hood scoop, the back bumper is hanging down where I was rear ended. The other day I was a little frustrated with my car. It just didn't seem fair that I was stuck in an old beater that, to quote my buddy Dave, is one of the most ghetto cars ever, but then I remembered that youtube video from my earlier post, and how amazing it is that I own a machine that can carry me from one place to another. I thought about all of my friends down in Brazil whose lives could be dramatically improved by a car like Steve. Who am I to complain about my car? At least I have a car! And Steve does have some really cool features, like an awesome cd player with a jack to plug in my ipod. So I am really grateful for Steve, the coolest car ever!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
You're no shop boy...
Sometimes when I'm with friends and we go out to eat, or we go to the grocery store or bank or something, I get laughed at, because of this funny habit I have: every time I'm helped by someone wearing a name tag, I go out of my way to thank them by name and make some sort of conversation with them. Even the attending individual is a little surprised by this at times, but generally the response is positive. I do this, because every time I see these people checking groceries, waiting tables, or responding to customer complaints, I am reminded of a job that I had.
When I moved back to the United States in 2009, I didn't really have any money, and I hadn't finished my degree yet, so my resources were limited. I needed a job. I wasn't going to find one near where my family lives in rural Idaho, so after about 10 days at home, I decided to move back to Provo where I would begin school in a few months. I had no real connections, and my resume was a little weak, so I ended up taking the first job I could get, working as a desk clerk at the Super 8 hotel near the university. This is actually a really good story for another time. During my time as a hotel desk clerk, I learned a lot about working with people from a point of view that I hadn't had before. For the first time, I was providing assistance, rather than being assisted. Some customers were great; happy, gracious, friendly. Others were a little difficult. They made really complicated demands, yelled at me for things that had nothing to do with my job, made threats, treated me like a servant, or worse, some sort of appliance or fixture. I remember times when peoples' credit cards would be declined, and they would scream at me as if it were my fault that their account had issues, or as if I had power to fix it. One time a lady yelled at me because we didn't have an elevator and demanded that I carry her baggage to her room. This isn't usually what the clerk does, but the customer is always right, so I smiled and did it. When we got to the room, she decided she hated it, so she had me change her reservation and carry her baggage to a new one. She tried three different rooms before she decided that one would be "good enough to survive the night". I did all sorts of things, fixing AC units at 3 a.m., cleaning up vomit, getting additional towels and sheets, etc. One time someone called my front desk at 4:30 a.m. to complain that they couldn't turn the shower on. I grabbed a monkey wrench and a toilet plunger (I'm not actually a plumber, but in my mind these seemed like the most adequate tools for the job), and I ran up to the room. The lady took me into the bathroom where with minimal effort I turned the faucet on and water began to come out exactly the way it should. The woman looked really perplexed, and I realized what the problem had been: "Ma'am, I think you need to turn it clockwise," I said. I rarely got tips for doing these extra tasks that were, at times, very demeaning.
Sometimes I felt less than human. I realized that these people couldn't see past the dorky hotel uniform. They couldn't see me. To them, I was defined by my job. I remember sometimes when I was being treated in an exceptionally cruel or disrespectful way that I had the desire to shout "Who do you think you are? I'm not beneath you! This is an honest job! This isn't who I am, this is something that I'm doing in my current situation as a college student! I'm paying for my own education! I work from 10:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday after which I still go to several hours of classes, do my homework, and try to catch a few hours of sleep before I start it all over again! I study at a very competitive university! I'm on the dean's list! I speak three languages! Can you say those things about yourself?" Of course, I never said those things out loud.
I really hate chick flicks usually, but onetime when watching the movie "Stardust" with my little sister, I heard a quote that I really like. In the movie, the character Yvaine says: "If there's one thing I've learned about all my years watching Earth, it is that people aren't what they may seem. There are shop boys, and there are boys who just happen do work in shops for the time being. And trust me, you're no shop boy... Thank you." This is why I take the time to talk to individuals who help me out. I know what it's like to be treated like a shop boy when in reality I was just a boy who happened to work in a shop for the time being.
The next time someone helps you:
1) Think about who they probably really are and what their situation might be. The lady cleaning your office probably has little kids or grandkids that she takes care of. The girl at the grocery store is probably going to school. The guy taking your order at McDonalds may be saving up for an engagement ring...
2) Think back to the jobs you've had, like when you scrubbed toilets to get through school, or when you worked at Wendy's or something else that wasn't your dream job, but was a means to an end.
This will help us to be more patient if we ordered curly fries but got steak fries, or if we get put on hold for a little longer than we wanted. These individuals are not as different from us as we may think. Usually they are doing the best they can in situations that my be difficult for them. A little patience, forgiveness, a friendly smile, simple conversation, or acknowledgment that they have a name could totally change their day. And a little hint from one who's been on both sides of the counter: if they're more happy, you are a lot more likely to get the service you want and sometimes even more. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
When I moved back to the United States in 2009, I didn't really have any money, and I hadn't finished my degree yet, so my resources were limited. I needed a job. I wasn't going to find one near where my family lives in rural Idaho, so after about 10 days at home, I decided to move back to Provo where I would begin school in a few months. I had no real connections, and my resume was a little weak, so I ended up taking the first job I could get, working as a desk clerk at the Super 8 hotel near the university. This is actually a really good story for another time. During my time as a hotel desk clerk, I learned a lot about working with people from a point of view that I hadn't had before. For the first time, I was providing assistance, rather than being assisted. Some customers were great; happy, gracious, friendly. Others were a little difficult. They made really complicated demands, yelled at me for things that had nothing to do with my job, made threats, treated me like a servant, or worse, some sort of appliance or fixture. I remember times when peoples' credit cards would be declined, and they would scream at me as if it were my fault that their account had issues, or as if I had power to fix it. One time a lady yelled at me because we didn't have an elevator and demanded that I carry her baggage to her room. This isn't usually what the clerk does, but the customer is always right, so I smiled and did it. When we got to the room, she decided she hated it, so she had me change her reservation and carry her baggage to a new one. She tried three different rooms before she decided that one would be "good enough to survive the night". I did all sorts of things, fixing AC units at 3 a.m., cleaning up vomit, getting additional towels and sheets, etc. One time someone called my front desk at 4:30 a.m. to complain that they couldn't turn the shower on. I grabbed a monkey wrench and a toilet plunger (I'm not actually a plumber, but in my mind these seemed like the most adequate tools for the job), and I ran up to the room. The lady took me into the bathroom where with minimal effort I turned the faucet on and water began to come out exactly the way it should. The woman looked really perplexed, and I realized what the problem had been: "Ma'am, I think you need to turn it clockwise," I said. I rarely got tips for doing these extra tasks that were, at times, very demeaning.
Sometimes I felt less than human. I realized that these people couldn't see past the dorky hotel uniform. They couldn't see me. To them, I was defined by my job. I remember sometimes when I was being treated in an exceptionally cruel or disrespectful way that I had the desire to shout "Who do you think you are? I'm not beneath you! This is an honest job! This isn't who I am, this is something that I'm doing in my current situation as a college student! I'm paying for my own education! I work from 10:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday after which I still go to several hours of classes, do my homework, and try to catch a few hours of sleep before I start it all over again! I study at a very competitive university! I'm on the dean's list! I speak three languages! Can you say those things about yourself?" Of course, I never said those things out loud.
I really hate chick flicks usually, but onetime when watching the movie "Stardust" with my little sister, I heard a quote that I really like. In the movie, the character Yvaine says: "If there's one thing I've learned about all my years watching Earth, it is that people aren't what they may seem. There are shop boys, and there are boys who just happen do work in shops for the time being. And trust me, you're no shop boy... Thank you." This is why I take the time to talk to individuals who help me out. I know what it's like to be treated like a shop boy when in reality I was just a boy who happened to work in a shop for the time being.
The next time someone helps you:
1) Think about who they probably really are and what their situation might be. The lady cleaning your office probably has little kids or grandkids that she takes care of. The girl at the grocery store is probably going to school. The guy taking your order at McDonalds may be saving up for an engagement ring...
2) Think back to the jobs you've had, like when you scrubbed toilets to get through school, or when you worked at Wendy's or something else that wasn't your dream job, but was a means to an end.
This will help us to be more patient if we ordered curly fries but got steak fries, or if we get put on hold for a little longer than we wanted. These individuals are not as different from us as we may think. Usually they are doing the best they can in situations that my be difficult for them. A little patience, forgiveness, a friendly smile, simple conversation, or acknowledgment that they have a name could totally change their day. And a little hint from one who's been on both sides of the counter: if they're more happy, you are a lot more likely to get the service you want and sometimes even more. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Basic Programming...
Yesterday I was talking to my roommate about computer stuff. He works for Adobe and does lots of programming things. A good portion of my colleagues in the Linguistics MA program at Brigham Young University also work with computer programming, as a big focus of modern linguistics involves computer language (to use a very simple term). This area is COMPLETELY foreign to me. I know how to type a document, check my email, and do a few other basic things, but other than that, I'm pretty crippled when it comes to the cyber universe. Even writing this blog has provided some unique challenges, which brings me back to my conversation with my roommate. I had experienced some difficulties with inserting images into one of my posts, and I mentioned it to my roommate. He went off on some detailed lecture about code that left me completely lost. He must have noticed my blank stare, because he took pity on me and started showing me some really basic stuff. Here are a few things that I learned:
HTML is not short for "hotmail" as I had previously thought (I know, I know, you think I'd have figured that out before I finished a BA and turned 24, but I learned it yesterday). It actually stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. I still don't know exactly what all of that means, but I do understand that it is the computer language of most websites. You can find it if you click the "Edit HTML" tab at the top of the page where you make a new blog post for example. I still can't decipher most of it, it just looks like lots of abbreviations, parentheses, symbols, etc. What I did learn is that it describes what all of the elements and functions of a webpage are, and if you can manipulate it by adding things, removing things, or writing new instructions, you can change how a page looks and how it functions. I found this article that explained a few things, and wikipedia has quite a bit more.
I also learned that every little character and space in HTML is important, so if you write something incorrectly, it could alter the way the program functions. Apparently there were some complications with the HTML of my blog, because I had been putting two spaces between sentences, the way I learned in elementary school. This made my buddy laugh really hard when he figured it out. He explained that this actually is not correct, and he showed me this article explaining why. I thought it was funny. This is probably another one of those things I should have learned before graduating from college. Well, better late than never.
So these are a few new things I picked up yesterday. I was purposefully vague about the actual mechanics of HTML, because I don't actually understand them yet. If I misrepresented something here, just chalk it up to my ignorance. I have decided that this is something I will continue to learn about, as the world is becoming more and more dependent on computers. I welcome any advice and instruction in this area!
HTML is not short for "hotmail" as I had previously thought (I know, I know, you think I'd have figured that out before I finished a BA and turned 24, but I learned it yesterday). It actually stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. I still don't know exactly what all of that means, but I do understand that it is the computer language of most websites. You can find it if you click the "Edit HTML" tab at the top of the page where you make a new blog post for example. I still can't decipher most of it, it just looks like lots of abbreviations, parentheses, symbols, etc. What I did learn is that it describes what all of the elements and functions of a webpage are, and if you can manipulate it by adding things, removing things, or writing new instructions, you can change how a page looks and how it functions. I found this article that explained a few things, and wikipedia has quite a bit more.
I also learned that every little character and space in HTML is important, so if you write something incorrectly, it could alter the way the program functions. Apparently there were some complications with the HTML of my blog, because I had been putting two spaces between sentences, the way I learned in elementary school. This made my buddy laugh really hard when he figured it out. He explained that this actually is not correct, and he showed me this article explaining why. I thought it was funny. This is probably another one of those things I should have learned before graduating from college. Well, better late than never.
So these are a few new things I picked up yesterday. I was purposefully vague about the actual mechanics of HTML, because I don't actually understand them yet. If I misrepresented something here, just chalk it up to my ignorance. I have decided that this is something I will continue to learn about, as the world is becoming more and more dependent on computers. I welcome any advice and instruction in this area!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Suco de Limão com Casca, Brazilian Limeade that will change your life...
So, I’m not a great cook, but every guy should know a few things to impress girls. Every once in a while, I try some new food that I think is fantastic, and I add it to my list of recipes to master. During the first week that I lived in Brazil, a friend gave me Suco de Limão com Casca or Brazilian Limeade as we call it here. WOW! It has a fantastic flavor and is sooo refreshing.
A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to know the recipe for myself. I looked up a few recipes online, and did some experimenting of my own. My dad and I made a batch for my family, and they loved it. I recommend giving it a try.
Ingredients:
2 limes, washed
¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
½ cup sugar
3 cups water
Ice
Process:
Combine sweetened condensed milk, sugar, water, and *ice in the blender. Blend until well mixed. Cut each lime into 8 wedges. DO NOT PEEL! Put wedges in the blender and **pulse 5 to 10 times. Strain the limeade to remove peels, and serve! Each batch serves 4 and is best served immediately, as letting it sit for an extended period of time can allow it to become bitter.
*We like blending the ice up in the drink, but you could also put the cubes into the glass and pour the juice over it to serve. Or you could do both.
**The number of times may depend on the blender, but make sure that you don’t blend it too much, because it will become bitter. It doesn’t take much to get the juice out of the limes.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Everthing IS amazing...
About a year ago, someone showed me this clip, and it totally changed the way I think about things.
I catch myself complaining all the time when my internet connection is slow, I can't get a cell-signal, I'm caught in traffic, or when any other little inconvenience happens. Rather than getting frustrated, maybe we should be amazed and grateful that at virtually any moment we can send and receive information to and from thousands of resources all over the planet, or we can use a little handheld device to talk to practically anyone at virtually any distance, or that we can leave our houses, sit in comfortable chairs with AC and music that will transport us from one location to another with very little effort on our own part. If we take a second to stop and think, there are thousands a truly amazing things in our world that we take for granted: laptops, blenders, Netflix, cars, toilets, microwaves, cell phones, washers and dryers, stereos, airplanes...the list goes on and on. The next time one of these incomprehensibly awesome conveniences doesn't quite perform flawlessly, rather than being impatient with the speed of light, maybe we should "give it a second to get back from space".
I catch myself complaining all the time when my internet connection is slow, I can't get a cell-signal, I'm caught in traffic, or when any other little inconvenience happens. Rather than getting frustrated, maybe we should be amazed and grateful that at virtually any moment we can send and receive information to and from thousands of resources all over the planet, or we can use a little handheld device to talk to practically anyone at virtually any distance, or that we can leave our houses, sit in comfortable chairs with AC and music that will transport us from one location to another with very little effort on our own part. If we take a second to stop and think, there are thousands a truly amazing things in our world that we take for granted: laptops, blenders, Netflix, cars, toilets, microwaves, cell phones, washers and dryers, stereos, airplanes...the list goes on and on. The next time one of these incomprehensibly awesome conveniences doesn't quite perform flawlessly, rather than being impatient with the speed of light, maybe we should "give it a second to get back from space".
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