Conversation 4

Last Thursday, for our fourth conversation, Brandon and I decided to go and eat out. Originally we were indecisive whether we should get something more Americanized or for something more foreign like Chinese. Then we decided to go try Indian but that was quickly changed once we passed Papa Changs Chinese cuisine. This place was a small shack right off Berry St., right near Sonics. This place was sketchy, honestly I don’t trust many Chinese places in general let alone one in a small shack in Texas. Initially, it was uncomfortable but then we ordered and got to just hanging out. Brandon talks about how he has eaten here before and how its not as bad as one would think, I was still skeptical.

We sat down and I ordered the spicy peppered shrimp and he ordered the lemon chicken bowl. He talked about how this cooking kind of reminded him of his home, with something as sweet as a lemon with chicken, in some sort of broth. Brandon talked a lot about cooking from home, sounds pretty good actually. They eat a lot of things we don’t, they seem more adventurous with their food, all the while us Americans like to stick to our red meat and wine. He talked about how they ate a lot of fish and everything seemed fresher at home compared to the BLUU. I had to correct Brandon here a little but saying that the BLUU is not really comparable for anyone here. We had a pretty lengthy conversation about our couple horror stories of the BLUU, none of wish I have a desire to publically share.

In light of Easter coming up, I touched on the fact that I was going to be going home for the weekend, and how I was just tired of school. Brandon expressed his desires to go home also. He misses his family a lot. I do too. It’s weird for me to walk around TCU’s campus and for people to think that California is that far away. Brandon is 6,500 miles away, that’s almost four times further than I. Its crazy to think someone can leave their country, their culture, and their family all for an education in Texas.

That idea was what I took away from the conversation. In order to get an education, there is always a sacrifice. For some of us at TCU we may be lucky enough not experience the financial burden that is put on our loved ones when attending this school. Some of us, like Brandon, have to abandon everything all for the chance for a better future for themselves and their family. We are all lucky.