The Last One

For Tristan and I’s last conversation, we met with Chris Appelman and his conversation partner as well because our partners knew each other. We figured that it would be a good opportunity to get more perspectives on issues that we talked about and possibly spark some new conversations. Tristan and Chris’s partner are both from China, but different areas of China. We all got a table in the BLUU and ate together for lunch. The conversation started with us talking about our plans for Thanksgiving break. Chris and I are leaving Fort Worth – I am going to South Texas and Chris is going back home to Boston. Both of our partners are staying in Fort Worth for the holiday. I felt a little bad because they couldn’t go home, I’m sure they wanted to be with their families because they have been away from them for so long. I thought that being away from my family that’s in New York is hard, I can’t imagine being away from my family for months on end while in a different country. I hope that Tristan has someone to eat a Thanksgiving dinner with. I asked him and he said that he should have plans and I hope those plans go through because no one should eat alone on Thanksgiving.

            From there, our conversation was extremely regular – like four good friends getting lunch together like they do every week. There were no times where I felt awkward for having nothing to talk about and our conversation seemed to flow from topic to topic. We bounced from shopping, to traveling, to music and Christmas gifts.

            What specifically interested me was our conversation on Christmas gifts. Apparently, they had never gotten their families Christmas gifts for the holidays and they were confused as to what they would buy their parents if they had to get them something. They were not accustomed to kin buying their own parents gifts for Christmas. So they asked Chris and me questions on what we get our siblings and our parents. Somewhat ashamed, I had to admit that I don’t actually buy my parents anything while Chris explained the kinds of gifts he usually gets his parents for Christmas. Then it was my turn to try and justify why I don’t buy my parents anything and to try and explain the system my family uses for gifts. My parents never want anything for Christmas. They tell my siblings and I never to get them anything, so we don’t. What happens is that my dad will buy my mom a gift and put all of our names on it, so no one has to compete over who got my mom the better gift. The same system is used when my mom buys my dad a gift. I don’t think that they quite understood the system, but it was worth a shot.

            Then we got on the topic of fake IDs somehow. I think it was because Tristan knows someone who might be interested in buying The Lab, a bar nearby. They were so intrigued by the fact that a lot of American students have fake IDs and wanted to know more about them. I talked to Chris about it afterwards and he said that his partner has brought up the subject before. I wonder why they are so interested in them. Maybe they want one? I don’t know, but I think that it is interesting that they are so interested in the subject.

            I must say that this conversation did not go as deep as Tristan and I’s conversations tend to be, but I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation equally to Tristan and I’s past conversations. I found myself laughing much more than I usually do, which was strange to me. No one said anything that was particularly funny to me, I just found myself laughing sometimes for no reason. It made me realize that laughter really is a social activity. I wouldn’t have laughed if I had just been talking with Tristan but because there were more people, I found myself laughing much more than normal. I guess it’s just because I wanted to share my joy and happiness with the people around me and make them feel as I was feeling as well. After all, humans are social beings and part of socialization is making people adapt to your norms. If my norm was laughter at that point, in my opinion it makes sense that I would try and get others to laugh as well.

            After I had left the BLUU I had realized how upset I was that it was my last conversation with Tristan. I immediately made it my job to make sure that it wasn’t the last time I got to talk to him. I texted Tristan after we parted and told him that if he ever had a performance, he needed to text me and let me know about it. I wanted to be in the audience. I also told him that if he ever needed anything to not hesitate to text me. I reflected back on our experiences together and could not be happier with the outcome and the process. I always felt like after we met I was happier and in a better mood than I was in before we met. I am grateful that I now have another friend and also thankful for the experience that allowed me to grow as a person. By hearing all of his perspectives on subjects it allows me to be more aware of other people’s views and opinions. I could not have had a better experience with my conversation partner.