My first meeting with my partner self and comuunity project partner was in many ways successful. As I walked towards our agreed meeting point, I braced myself for all possibilities. I wasn't sure whether he would be snobbish or jovial, willing to admit his specific difficulties or defensive in this regard, etc. However, when I met Mr. Ramirez half of my worries immediately dissipated because by from one look at him I could tell it would be easy to work with him.
After brief introductions, we sat at a table to converse further. I really appreciated the fact that Mr. Ramirez was quick to tell me what he wanted help with. This helped eliminate the need for me to dig in and identify his problems. He first asked for help with English verbs. He said he knew a good number of verbs, but had difficulty applying them in sentences. I promised to return next week with a comprehensive list of verbs and to compile a set of general rules that would assist him in buiilding sentences.
For the next twenty minutes or so, we went through the papers and he pointed out words that he had difficulty with. To my relief (and astonishment) I was able to provide a simple synonym or phrase to descibe all the words he asked about. I found additional satisfaction in how much he appreciated my assistance.
For the last part of our meeting we discussed many different topics. I found out a number of things about him, his family and his aspirations in this period. I was also particularly pleased that he shares some of my passion for soccer. At the end of the meeting, we agreed on our next meeting point and bade farewell.
My first meeting presented me with the opportunity to pursue conversation with a new kind of person. I felt a strong sense of inner satisfaction and fulfilment as I walked to my apartment after the meeting. In such a short period, I was able to reach into the mind of my partner, at least to a certain depth, and learn a few things about him. I was also lucky enough to learn a few things about myself along the way, like how many words I actually do know. I see great outcomes from this project.
4 comments:
Hi Eddie, Thanks for the great response to your first meeting. I am really pleased that it went well. Thanks for taking the plunge. I understand that it is not easy to meet someone from an entirely different background--and then work with that person. But indeed the rewards are great. From what you wrote, You and your partner should be a great match. We can talk about different kinds of lesson plans in class. Please let me know if I can help in any way. Dan W.
Hi Eddie,
Soccer!!! Yay! I like soccer as well but it's not my partner's interest so we could not discuss about it - -.
Anyway, I'm glad that you first meeting went well. Hope that it will be even better next time.
Jimmy
Hi Eddie, I am also meeting with Mr. Ramirez and I really liked reading your response to see how your first meeting went. Mr. Ramirez is so easy and enjoyable to work with and I am glad that you are having a similar experience to mine. We went over some verbs and their usage in different sentences which I think was helpful. I gave him some of the worksheets that Professor Williams gave me so maybe those will be helpful to you too if he brings them to your next meeting. I hope everything goes well.
Kate Putney
nice progress man!
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