Conversation Partner Meeting #2

Today, I was supposed to have my third meeting with my conversation partner, but Omar had something come up so we rescheduled for another time. It then occurred to me that I hadn’t blogged about last week’s meeting, so I’ll be writing about that instead.

            Thankfully, our second meeting went much smoother than our first; we both arrived at the designated place right on time. Strangely, Omar keeps referring to me as “ma’am” in our texts, so that was one of the first things I brought up. When I asked him about it, he didn’t seem to get what my problem was. Two ROTC guys walked by our table at this time, which prompted a discussion about the Venezuelan military. Unlike our military in the United States, the Venezuelan military is a disappointment to its people. Apparently, the military in Venezuela is used more to enforce questionable laws than it is to serve its people. Also, with Mardi Gras coming up soon, the topic of partying came up in our conversation. It’s called Carnival in Venezuela, and it’s one of the things he misses most. Omar says one of the most shocking things here in the US is how we party. He had seen movies like “Project X” and others that show wild parties, but he had thought those were just extreme examples. He said he learned otherwise when he visited The Lab, a bar close to TCU, and saw people wasted and making out. Things are much more toned down in Venezuela, and Omar thinks it has a lot to do with the fact that alcohol is legal to them at a much younger age. By the time they’re twenty years old, they’ve already tried alcohol and don’t feel the need to consume such outrageous quantities anymore. Speaking of age, he was also shocked that Americans can serve in the military and risk their lives at eighteen, but cannot drink until they’re twenty-one. I hadn’t really thought of that before, and I couldn’t think of an answer to that.

            He had to leave shortly after that. Now that I think about it, his family was supposed to come into town this weekend to visit him, so that’s probably what kept him today. As I learn more about Omar and Venezuela, I’m also starting to learn more about myself and the country I live in. We are so fortunate to have a military that defends us instead of harasses us and leaders who do their best to serve us. The opportunity to converse with people like Omar and others from the program is one that I’m glad I have.