September 26, 2013
I
decided to make a day at CIES and observe several Foundations classes, meet
Isabella for lunch, and then tutor and have our TEFL class. It worked out well
because Isabella is in all Foundations classes, so I could coordinate with her.
At lunchtime, she escorted me to
Even
though I’m not a big fan of dining halls, I really enjoyed eating at Suwannee with Isabella. She was so proud to show me the
different lines and where the juice was versus the soda. This was her domain.
We paused in front of the display food, and she pointed at the different dishes
as we named them. Then, she gave me an explanation that made me smile.
“On
this side,” she said, gesturing to the right, “is the true foods.”
“The
real food?”
“Yes!
There is meat, rice, vegetables… And on this side,” she pointed to the left,
“is the lying foods.”
“The
lying food?”
“Yes!
There is pizza, hamburgers, fries…”
“You
mean...fake food?” I asked.
“Yes,”
she confirmed, waving her hand as if the actual word was inconsequential. She
had communicated. And it was true; despite her unconventional labeling, I knew
exactly what she meant.
We
selected our foods of choice and made our way to a booth, where we sat with
Rinner, Amanda, and Caitlin. Caitlin and I reminisced about our days at a
dining hall, and Isabella shared how much she liked the décor. “The first day,
I take a picture. It is like Hogwarts!” she exclaimed, gesturing to the arching
ceiling, heavy wooden beams, and long windows. We also as a table discussed the
concept of “seconds.” In Spanish (and Portuguese), one “repeats” when one gets
more food. When Isabella tried directly translating that, it was the perfect
opportunity to teach the term “getting seconds.” Isabella quickly caught on.
“I’m getting thirds and fourths and fifths….” she told us, smiling.
I
loved seeing Isabella confident and secure in her environment, to the point
where she was showing me around. I’m glad she’s so comfortable on campus in her
daily routine.
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