My Last Meeting with Omar (Meeting with Omar Part 6)

Today was my last meeting with Omar. It was sad knowing that I likely would never see him again; he finished his finals this week and leaves for Mexico on Saturday.  He truly has taught me so much about myself and has impacted how I view my life. Omar has been a shining light throughout this whole semester and has never failed to put me in an amazing mood. I cannot say enough great things about Omar and my experiences having a conversation partner; it has been hands-down my favorite experience I’ve had since coming to TCU.

As usual, Omar and I talked about a variety of different subjects in our conversation. However, our chat focused mainly on different holidays in the United States and Mexico since Christmas is right around the corner. We talked about Christmas, and how it is equally a big deal in both the United States and Mexico. It is such a joyous and giving time of year, and Omar and I both agreed it our favorite holiday. We then got chatting about various other holidays throughout the year. One holiday in Mexico, called, “Day of the Innocents,” occurs on December 28^th every year. Omar told me that it is a day where people play jokes, tricks, and pranks on innocent friends for some good fun. Immediately, the first topic my mind was drawn to was April Fool’s day here in the United States. It sounded strikingly similar to me since on April Fool’s day, we play practical jokes on our friends and family. I told Omar and he seemed to agree. I thought it was extremely interesting how there is practically the same exact holiday in the United States and Mexico, but on two completely different dates. It truly shows how similar the two countries are.

Another topic Omar and I focused on today was politics, due to the upcoming presidential election. Omar was amazed at how complex our government and political system is. For Mexico, the presidential election runs for two months. This is drastically different to the United States, where it seems as if events for the election have already been going on for ages. I also asked Omar further about politics and police in Mexico. I have always wondered if they are as corrupt as they are always portrayed in movies. Omar said that Mexico is just a corrupt country. The politics are unethical, and the police are even more dishonest. The police will often pull you over and ask for bribes instead of writing a ticket. Basically, if you have money, you can get away with doing essentially anything. I compared this to the United States. I believe that politics can, at times, become corrupt and dishonest. However, it is in the nature of the U.S. politician to lie in order to please their constituents. Often, corrupt actions will occur, but I do not believe that they will ever be to the extent of the situations that occur in Mexico. Moreover the police in the United States are, as a whole, not corrupt. It is generally believed that our police are well-trained, law-abiding individuals who are working for the good of the country. The Mexican police, on the other hand, are working for the good of themselves. I found this topic fascinating to focus on solely because it is so different. It truly highlighted the fact that Omar and I come from two different backgrounds. However, even though our backgrounds are different, we bond over these differences and have become amazing friends.

I cannot believe that this semester has come to an end and I will not be able to see Omar on a weekly basis. I had never thought I was going to have such an amazing experience with my conversation partner, let alone make a close friend from it. My time with Omar has created some of my favorite memories from this semester and I am grateful to have had this opportunity. He has taught me so many lessons throughout the semester that I know I would not have learned on my own. Omar was a primary reason I appreciate the importance of pushing myself to step more outside of my comfort zone, and gaining a deeper understanding other cultures. This semester has been truly unforgettable thanks to Omar.

Hunting for Humor

My adventure to find and photograph laughter was much harder than I was anticipating. I was expecting to get a flawless picture of a group of people laughing. Instead, my pictures turned out to be far from perfect. It was difficult to photograph a group of people laughing without them knowing about it, but also not be totally creepy.

My hunt for laughter took me to Sweet Sammies and the Super Target on Saturday night. I dragged my roommate (pictured below) to come along with me so I did not look like a totally crazy person. We first went to Sweet Sammies and we sat there for about 30 minutes while I tried to sneakily take a picture of laughter. However, I did not get great footage. Other than my poor attempt to take a photo of the two girls laughing behind me by taking a selfie (pictured below), I had come up empty handed.

My first (and failed) attempt to photograph humor

My roommate Tori, smiling for the camera

As a result, my roommate and I drove across the street to the Super Target. We walked around the store for around 15 minutes while I attempted to get some photos of people laughing. Although I did not get any action shots of people laughing, I was able to get a picture of a mom and her daughters shopping together. In my pictures, it looks as if they were talking, however, within their conversation before and after my picture was taken, they were joking and laughing. I was able to eavesdrop on what they were talking about.


 Photo of mother and daughter

  First attempt to photograph mother and daughters

The mother and two daughters were looking at the women’s clothing section and a lot of their conversation was cheerful and playful. The three ladies joked around with each other and laughed about it. At one point, one daughter picked out a dress that was hideous and teased about how she thought her sister should wear it. The three of them thought it was hilarious because because the dress was so atrocious. I also found that laughter seemed to be contagious between the mother and daughters. Whenever one of the ladies would start to laugh, the other two would think that the comment was funny and let out a chuckle. Overall, it appeared as if the ladies were lighthearted and easy-going. A large part of what made them laugh was focused around making fun of themselves and not taking everything too seriously.