Day One Acquaintances
On the very first day that I started this journey I met two very special people in my life. I did not know it at the time, but these two would soon become my very close friends here at TBC. They get special recognition as my very first (very late) blog post! I want to introduce to you Sebastian Tobar Arce and Monica Contreras. I met these two during our first few “ice breaker” days during orientation. We all shared the same love for reggeaton music and instantly connected. They found it so amusing that I listened to Latin music, but did not speak a word of Spanish except for “Hola”. I continue to joke to my family that I came to China only to learn Spanish due to the amount of Spanish speaking students in our program. Any who… these two amigos have placed themselves in a very special place in my heart. They both are a part of my support group as we all take on the daring adventure of “CHINA”.
Let me introduce you to my Pequena bonita bebe, Moni. She is this little sassy chicka from El Salvador and I adore her so much. As of now she is a double exchange student {El Salvador –> Chicago –> China}. When I am around Moni I am always outrageously laughing, we cannot help but just laugh at all of the silly things we do together. A funny story actually: While we were on our Silk Road excursion, Monica and I accidentally stumbled upon a restaurant that catered to homosexuals while trying to grab a bite to eat! From outside of the venue all we could see was pretty lights, live entertainment, and people looking like they really were enjoying themselves there! We walked in and were ushered to a table right away by very friendly waitresses. As we sat down and ordered we noticed that every couple around us was of the same sex and were all having such a romantic meal! We sat through our meal laughing hysterically at our innocent mistake of finding that little gem in Xi An. My favorite person to talk to because she always knows exactly what I need to hear and she does not play around with sugar coating things- honesty is all she is about. I learn new things from her everyday and cannot wait until we can have adventures when we get back to Chicago!
Sebastian Tobar Arce, or as everyone else calls him- TOBAR, is a senior from Pontifical Xavierian University. Coming here to China was his FIRST TIME LEAVING Colombia! He encountered many “firsts” while coming here and continues to experience so many new things as well. We were bunkmates while on the overnight train so I had the opportunity to
learn so much about him! Tabor loves to have a good time with anyone and will never turn down an invitation. He also is such an old souled nerd and I love that about him…I’m talking so nerdy he can recite every line from movies and shows in both English and Spanish! My favorite thing about Tobar is that he is the sweetest and kindest soul you could come across on this Earth. I think he has a sixth sense where he can detect when someone is anything but happy because he is always there when you need him.
If you are looking for a good time…look no further than these two amigos. BESOS Y ABRAZOS