Spotted: Sickly Gringa in sweatpants with two Taiwanese gals, one Sporty and one Spice.I've officially adopted Heiku's roommate Jamie as a 2nd conversation partner. Yay! My little international family is growing! Jamie's English is at a Group 4, however she expresses her insecurities with speaking English because she doesn't have many opportunities to talk with Americans. She says it’s hard for her to meet other students and spends most of her time with her Taiwanese friends.
Jamie, Heiku & I sat and drank tea & coffee at Starbucks. Although I was feeling drowsy, since I am all doped-up on cold medicine, the conversation was fun and went smoothly. Heiku is definitely much more confident in her speaking from our first meeting. I can tell she is now very comfortable with me. When we reach an obstacle in our dialogue, I try to move past that point as quick as possible and continue on with the conversation. She can take longer pauses and focus on the details in her classes at CIES. I feel that I best serve her by providing a fun & motivating environment for her to practice, practice, practice.
The girls shared with me that they are fans of the CW show Gossip Girl, which they said is very popular in Taiwan. Jamie loves to see what new trends the girls are wearing then shops online for the discounted version. Apparently, she's a real shop-oholic. Heiku told me she has a crush on Blair. I was curious if this meant she “liked” girls or she just admires Blair like how I admire the Dixie Chicks. This was a moment when the translation could have been interpreted wrong and I could have asked her to explain what she meant by “crush”, but I chose to let this one slide. Looks like I may have my own Gossip Girl episode unvailing as I get to know these two more. Lol.
Ohhh, the gossip spreads! Yes, these situations are a bit sticky to deal with and you were probably right to "let it slide" to avoid embarrassment. Nevertheless, if you hear her say it agin, you may want to clarify applications of the word.
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