Moving onto chapter 7, “Harvard Man, 1993-1997,” Talusan is headed towards Harvard Square, and starts with an interaction with a taxi driver. While she is speaking to him, she begins to realize that he may be from a foreign country. Interesting enough, Talusan is able to speak French with the driver, and tells the reader about her ability to comprehend other languages. “It was true I had a good ear and didn’t need much practice to make sounds like those around me, whether in English or French.” (Talusan, 2020). Personally, as a bilingual person, I feel as though she makes a point, though it may come with a risk of being judged by others, such as people saying, “You sound white,” or something similar. In the following paragraphs, the interaction gravitates more towards her personal life, which the taxi driver is curious to know about. As the interaction comes to an end, Talusan is ready to explore the Harvard area, and hopes to feel welcome there.
After reading this paragraph, I began to realize that it feels as though I was living these experiences alongside her, and now that she is getting to the point where she is able to move forward with her life, it inspires me to do the same.
Interesting paragraph that you have used for the post blog since it involves not being judged about how the person speak and try to talk to someone in their language. It’s difficult on how people talk towards people who don’t speak the same language since it makes it difficult to talk to them well. And is helpful to learn a different language since it could help out one day.
A very good summary Chris, I got a strong idea of what Talusan was going through and how she was treated, and I realized that a lot of others are going through similar experiences. I wasn’t born in the United States, and a lot of people tell me that I talk this way or that way, and it’s a sad thing because a lot of people are trying to do their best to fit in, but because of some people, they lose their motivation and choose to remain silent.
Hi Chris,
Nice summary! I am not reading Fairest but you wrote it in a way that makes me actually interested in it.
Thank you for adding your personal thoughts, as a bilingual person I feel the same way.
Karen
Chris, I think you have a very well-developed paragraph. You have a good citation, an interesting title, and a good tag. I’m not reading fairest but you make it easy to understand the narrative.