Haircuts, How I Met Your Mother, Las Vegas, and Alarms

             Today was my third time meeting Joe.  I met him at the tables in front of 1873, just as we did the first time.  We were both happy to see each other again, but – I’m not going to lie – I was feeling a little stressed and exhausted (which was fitting, considered my professor talked about burnout in one of my classes this morning).  I started off by asking him how he had been.  In response, he told me that I asked that question a lot, and he did not understand exactly what I meant when I used the word.  He elucidated by grabbing his bangs, and said (in an accent), “Ben.”  Oh, I get it now.  I then corrected him, and told him that the word I was using was actually, “been”, which he pronounces as “bin”.  It’s all a little confusing, right?

            His mentioning of bangs, though, provoked me to ask him if he had his haircut recently, which – to my relief – he said he did.  He continued by asking for my recommendations of hair salons.   Before I did so, I warned him that I usually get my haircut at home, so my advice might not be all that helpful.  However, I started naming some places that I knew of.  I told him about Sports Clips off University (for males…to my dismay), Great Clips off Hulen, and the salon in University Park Plaza (at least I think there is a salon there…).  He knows where all of those places are, and he told me that he needed to find a new salon because he normally gets his haircut in Dallas.  Yes, Dallas.  Holy cow! No wonder he wanted to find a new hair salon!  Furthermore, he likes the nice salons (there goes Sports Clips and Great Clips).  I proceeded to tell him that I might not be the best person to ask; I told him to try seeking the advice of a male, a male who gets his hair cut at nice salons.

            We continued to discuss more topics (i.e. plans for this weekend), when Joe started talking about the CBS series How I Met Your Mother (which I will abbreviate as HIMYM).  Now, I do not exactly remember what led up to this moment, but I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN HE MENTIONED IT (side note: being a busy college student, I rarely have time to watch TV.  In fact, I do not even have a TV in my room.  However, I WILL make time to watch this show!)!  We both agreed that the sitcom is hysterical, and the anticipation of finding out the identity of the “mother” is absolutely killing us!  I asked him if the show helps him learn English, and he told me that it does.  He says that it is a useful tool, and he can watch the same episode multiple times and still laugh.  I agree that every time I watch a show, it is still funny.  Even though most of the cognitive shifts are eliminated upon the second viewing, I think knowing that something funny is about to happen is what makes us – or at least me - laugh.  Also, he told me that this week’s episode of HIMYM is Legen-WAIT FOR IT-Dary (this is a show reference, so I apologize to any readers that are confused)!

            As the conversation progressed, Joe and I started talking about traveling.  We both agreed that it is important for him (and any international student) to explore the United States as much as they can.  He proceeded to tell me of his plans to go to Las Vegas over Thanksgiving break with one of his friends.  He wants to go during this time because virtually no one will be on campus and because his friend will be 21.  I told him that Las Vegas is an absolute blast, and the culture there is quite different from that of Texas.  His mentioning of him and his friend both being 21 and able to drink in Las Vegas prompted me to ask him what the drinking age is in China.  To my surprise, he told me that there is no drinking age; I couldn’t believe it!  I thought it might be younger than in the United States, like 16 or 18, but I was so wrong!  This truly baffled me, and I asked him if it was difficult for his friend to come to the U.S. and to not be able to drink (Joe is already 21, so the law does not affect him as much).  He told me that it is weird for his friend, especially since he was able to drink at home.  Joe cautioned me, though, that his friend does not have a fake ID because he does not want to get in trouble – thank goodness.

            As we were nearing the end of our conversation, Joe and I were talking about our plans for the rest of the day.  We both had work to do (how shocking…).  I told him that I needed to take a nap, so he told me to set an alarm.  However, Joe had difficulty in pronouncing this word.  He had to use other words to explain what he was trying to say.  At first, I thought he said “airplane,” but –trust me – he did not.  When he started talking about a clock, I understood what he meant.  We then sat at the table for a few minutes, and I had him practice saying, “alarm.”  He told me that pronunciation is difficult because one pronounces things here differently than he/she would in China.  He was getting better with his pronunciation, though, and I continued to encourage him.

            In summation, I think my third meeting with Joe went well.  I learned some things about him and about Chinese culture, and he learned some things about me and about English – a fair trade in my book.  While Keith was an excellent conversation partner, I think Joe is getting more out of our conversations, which make me happy.  As we said goodbye, Joe told me that I am a great conversation partner (how kind!), and I told him that he is, too!