Laughs at the Zoo

After a day at the zoo, I discovered that people, adults and children alike, do not find animals all that funny. No, it was not laughter that filled the air, but rather shouts of excitement and exclamation. The spectators saw the animals as remarkable, not funny. Something to be admired and not laughed at. Of course laughter was present at the zoo, but it is present anywhere you bring together friends and family. The laughter I witnessed stemmed from interactions between people and not from their observations of the animals. For example, an animal is not even visible in the video shown above. The children are simply running across a bridge and laughing at each other's reactions to it. This example also proves the theory that laughter is contagious. After the first kid jumps, it starts a chain reaction of laughing as everyone else jumps as well. It also shows that laughter is the most effective amongst children. All it took was a walk across a bridge and one little jump to send them all head over heels. I find it hard to believe that if the kids were replaced with adults, the result would have been the same.  

Conversation Partner #3

This past week I met with Saeed for the third and final time. Unfortunately, since we were not able to start meeting till late in the semester, our conversations were limited to three. Although there were only a few, I enjoyed each of our meetings immensely and can only hope that we will be able to reconnect in the future. As for our conversation, it started up were it had left off during our last meeting. We talked for the most part about Saeed's plans for after he graduated. This continued to be the easiest thing for him to communicate, most likely because he is so passionate about it. During this conversation, he focused on primarily on his hope to obtain a CFA, or the Charted Financial Analyst credential. I had never heard of this before, but according to Saeed it is essential to first earn your CFA before trying to start your own business. It was impressive to hear how organized he was. He has his whole future planned out in steps with all of them ultimately leading to his dream of owning his own business. Saeed spoke about how important it was for him to have this high level of structure so as not to lose sight of his dream. He also mentioned how having a series of short-term, obtainable goals was a must, rather than one impossible goal. Of course, he has his dream, but according to him, that dream is only obtainable if he sets realistic goals that he can achieve without getting frustrated. Again, it was impressive to hear about this level of commitment and dedication he has put into his dream. The rest of our conversation consisted of talking about differences between his home country of Saudi Arabia and the United States. While he admitted to there being many differences between the two, he was quick to point that he believed the biggest difference between the two was their cultures. He did not give in any specific examples, but continued to repeat how liberal the United States was compared to Saudi Arabia. According to him, this was one of the main reasons he and his wife decided to move to the United States three years ago. He admitted that this change in culture was at first rather difficult to adapt to, but after getting settled, he and his wife have come to love both the US and its people. There are also many things that the two of them miss from their home. Thankfully, they have been able to meet many other Saudi Arabians who have made their home in the US, making it that much easier to live so far away from their country of origin. Despite getting to meet with him only three times, I greatly enjoyed getting to know Saeed and wish the best of luck in his future endeavors.