Conversation 6

April 25, 2014

When Anastasia and I sat down for the last time she was happy because her transcript from Russia had finally come in.  When she showed it to me I was utterly confused.  I had no idea what anything meant and her explanation did not help me much.  I asked her what she studied in Russia and she said her major was cultural studies, or that was the best way she could translate it.  She wants to continue in some sort of similar major at TCU.  Her hope is that somebody here is able to translate the transcript and she can get credit for a lot of course so she does not have to start all over. 

Anastasia confident with her English now is proud of how far she has come in two years in America.  She had to attend a TCU lecture for class and she was able to understand everything and believes she can start in advanced classes at TCU.  She feels comfortable writing in English after two years of doing it.  Her worry is that even though she knows English now and has put in that work in Russia she will not be able to translate those credits into a major here.   Anastasia remembers what she has learned in Russia and has seen classes in America that teach the same things she learned.  However, she is still scared about having to retake courses, because not many people here can read Russian, and even if they can they may not understand how translate it into American course hours and grades.

Anastasia was full of uncertainty in our last meeting.  She has no idea what she wants to do with her life yet and it scares her because she is already 22.  Her uncertainty and worry saddened me.  I have heard her speak beautiful English and I know she is exceedingly intelligent.  I have hope that everything will work out for her.

             My last meeting with Anastasia was a bittersweet one for me.  I was completing an assignment for class and nearing the completion of a semester of classes.  However, I was also talking to this incredibly sweet girl with a completely different life full of experiences than me for possibly the last time.  I had learned a lot and met a great person whose opinions and words led me to question many things about society that I had never truly thought about before.  I only wish her the best and thank her for talking to me during this semester.