Mashithhaa conversations

I have been involved in some amazing conversations in the past few weeks - OSU and the COTA bus system has provided me with some great conversation fodder. With big kids, little kids, kids who climb on rocks - many people. (Even kids who have had chicken pox - four times!)

First, the bus system. If you're not aware of "bus etiquette," it generally means - never sit next to somebody unless all possible rows are filled, and maybe offer a nice smile of pity to the person you are forcing to sit with you. I, however, have had a number of different experiences - I must look quite friendly!

One lady was going to be a caseworker because she thought she could really help people, which is awesome, and one younger guy was impressed by my attending grad school. I asked him what he wanted to do - and he stuttered for a minute before laughing and saying I asked him too quick. (He turned to his friends, who had taken up the last empty seats, to share his mirth.) I tried to remember a time when I didn't have at least three responses to the question "What do you want to do?" Granted, it's ranged from ice skater to actress to math teacher to my current answer of "research question mark" ... but I've always had one. I wish I could run into him again so that I could find out if he'd dreamed up a goal yet.

I've also had a conversation end with the rock and the guy telling me (censored version), "God's f-ing awesome!" These stories neglect to mention random guy who was stunned by me.

Other conversations have been with my cohort. I ate a real Korean dinner a few nights ago, even eating anchovies (because they couldn't remember the name in English, I didn't know what they were until they were up close, in my sesame leaf.) The whole meal (spicy hot soup, sesame leaf "wraps" with bulgogi and other toppings, and rice) was really good and four of the five Korean students in my program were there, so I got to learn about the culture. Nobody had eaten apple crisp, which is what I brought for dessert. Together, they decided it was mashithhaa (pronounced closer to mash-ta) - delicious - so I was happy.

In other news, every time that I go see a movie, I have dreams about vampires, apparently. And we didn't even see any previews for Twilight or Twilight-inspired movies. (The Informant! really confused me - but I laughed a lot.)

For those of you who are looking for ways to help, I have a friend who is doing Teach for America in Miami, Florida. She's teaching second graders at a high-poverty school, and she just recently put her classroom on "Adopt-a-Classroom." Find the information here for her classroom site. The site is neat because 100 percent of the donated money goes to her classroom; nothing is taken out for administration or upkeep. If you want to read her blog, it's miami2miami.blogspot.com and she tells fun stories and admits her struggles with moving from Miami of Ohio culture to Miami public-school culture.

To make you smile: