Piano Lesson

Today I met with Sueli to give her a piano lesson.  I had a lot of fun and so did she.  I was actually surprised at how much she enjoyed the lesson and playing piano.  Even though she had said she really wanted to learn to play, I figured she would either get bored with the material or become confused by my teaching.  After our hour meeting she wanted to keep playing.  I felt bad because I had to go!  I found out she lives in Waits, and there is a piano in the lobby.  She took on one of my books to practice with during the week and also asked me to make her a study sheet.  I wrote down important terms and drew pictures of the notes and their positions.  It will be interesting to see if she actually practices during the week.

The lesson was a great learning experience for me.   I had never taught piano to anyone before.  Considering how long I have taken lessons, I figured teaching would be a breeze.  However, it was challenging.  I had to keep reminding myself to stick to the basics and teach slowly.  I eventually got the hang of it.  We did a lot of repetition and played games to help her learn the information.  She got frustrated with herself a couple of times, so I had to keep encouraging her.  She was able to play a 6 bar song today, which is really impressive!!

 Language was a slight barrier today.  She knew music notes in her native language, but not in English.  Also, sayings like Elvis’ Guitar Broke Down Friday, meant nothing to her.  I kept saying things like “See, it’s like this” or “See, you do it this way” and she thought I meant “C” on the piano instead of “see”.  Another funny moment occurred when I got up to check the time.  I still had twenty minutes before I had to get to my meeting so I asked her if she wanted to keep playing.  She said “No no no” kind of loud.  This was awkward for me because I thought she meant she didn’t want to play anymore.  I started thinking maybe I was a really bad teacher.  I also felt bad because I thought I had made someone hate piano after only 30 minutes of playing.  I said okay and started packing up the music and she started saying “no” again.  It turns out she did not want to quit practicing and had said no about leaving.  Our communication mix-ups caused lots of laughing! 

It was a great meeting and I can’t wait until next week.  We are going to start working on rhythm and I am going to teach her about the different types of notes. 

Conversation Partner

I am enjoying having a conversation partner from the IEP program!  I haven't blogged about our first two meetings yet, so I will discuss them both.

Meeting 1:  I was a little nervous about meeting Sueli for the first time.  I had no idea what she looked like and we hadn't exchanged phone numbers.  Situations like these are always awkward because you have no idea who you are looking for.  I was also a little worried about our conversation.  Her emails had been a little confusing, so I was afraid understanding her would be a struggle.  I had nothing to worry about though because our meeting went great!  Surprisingly her English is easy to understand.  She is from Angola and did not start learning English until May.  I am impressed with how much she has learned in just 5 months.  There were a few times where we would have to say what we were trying to say several different ways in order to make sense to each other, but we always figured it out.  During the meeting I got to explain my name to her.  In the emails she has sent me, she always addressed me as “Badger”.  Since my last name is Badger, I can see why she got confused. 
We spent the first meeting just getting to know each other.  We talked about our families, our homes, our dreams, and our daily schedules.  I learned a lot about her country and why she came to TCU.  She said her previous school was far away from her home. In order to get to school on time, she had to leave at 5:00 am.  Traffic is horrible she said.  She also said her school was not very structured or organized, which drove her crazy.  She said she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, but she is thankful for the opportunity to come to TCU.  I assumed we would have very little in common, but I was wrong.  It was easy to keep the conversation moving and we never had any awkward quiet moments.  I was really interested in how she was handling the transition of starting school in a whole new country.  She said it has been difficult, which is understandable!  She has family in Dallas, so she sees them on the weekends.  She also has a cousin here at TCU, which she says has made the transition easier.  However, she says she feels lonely sometimes.  She goes to class and IEP and then spends the rest of her time in her dorm room.  I still have no idea where she lives.  I have asked her what dorm she is in three times and I have no idea what she is saying.  I feel sad about her being lonely and isolated.  I can’t imagine living in a country where I am not familiar with the language or culture.  I am thinking about getting Sueli and her cousin together with some of my friends.  I think she would have more fun if she knew more people.  I don’t want her to be out of the loop.  She doesn’t know about all of the events that TCU offers.  I couldn’t believe she had no idea about the Lady Antebellum concert.  She of course has never heard of the band before, but I’m sure she would have enjoyed the concert anyway. It would have been a fun experience for her.  I am going to start coming up with different places for us to meet and different activities to do.  I asked Sueli what she would like to do, and she said she wants to learn how to drive.  I thought that was a funny response.  I can understand why she wants to drive (she has to take public transportation everywhere, including to her family’s house in Dallas), but I am not going to be the one who teaches her!! 

Meeting 2:  For our second meeting we met at the same place, 1873.  I was really looking forward to talking to Sueli again.  We spent most of our time discussing the types of music we like.  She knew many of the pop singers here in the U.S. because she said she watches MTV at home.  I brought my laptop, so she showed me YouTube videos of the types of dancing they do in her country.  I forgot what the dance was called, but it looked very complicated.  She said it is easy to learn and is going to teach me next time we meet.  That will be interesting!  I also brought my camera, so I showed her pictures of all my friends.  She enjoyed looking at my pictures and hearing about my friends.  She said she loves pictures and is going to bring some of hers next time.  One of the girls I had been telling Sueli about actually walked by while we were talking, so Sueli got to meet her. 

I am excited about our next meeting!!!!! Sueli told me that she has always wanted to play the piano.  Since I have taken lessons ever since the 2^nd grade, I am going to teach her how to play.  My parents came to Ft. Worth this weekend, so I had them bring my level 1 and 2 books from when I first started playing.  She is really excited and so am I. 

Yeats and Swans

I enjoyed The Wild Swans at Coole because of the imagery and because I found it easy to relate to. Yeats describes the surroundings beautifully, which makes the poem relaxing and calming. Phrases such as “trees are in their autumn beauty”, “woodland paths are dry”, “under the October twilight the water mirrors a still sky”, and “scatter wheeling in great broken rings upon their clamorous wings” make it easy for the reader to visualize each and every line of the poem. As I was reading, I felt as if I was actually at the autumn scene by the lake. Yeats does a nice job describing the swans as well. I could picture their beauty, youthfulness, and mysteriousness. Although the poem has a tranquil vibe, it is sad as well. The speaker is experiencing heart ache because they realize many things in their life have changed since the October day nineteen years ago when they first saw the swans. The speaker has changed and the world has too. Although I feel blessed to have such a wonderful life, I sometimes feel sad thinking about how things in my life have changed. I miss the things I used to do when I was younger, the loved ones I have lost, and the friends I have grown apart from. Change can be hard to accept, even when both the past and present are good. The speaker also mentions how as they grow older, the swans “hearts have not grown old”. The speaker is fascinated by how each and every move made by the swans is graceful and youthful. Growing old is painful for the speaker, just as it is for many people. Although the speaker may envy the swans and their unchanging nature, I think the swans represent happiness and hope. They show how life continues on. Even after the speaker in the poem dies, there will still be more swans bringing happiness to others. Yeats’ other poem about a swan, Leda and the Swan, contrasts The Wild Swans at Coole. Whereas the swans  in the first poem discussed are admired and loved, the second poem involves a violent swan that rapes a young girl. It is weird reading the two poems back to back because the swans in the first poem are graceful and gentle. They bring happiness to others. The swan in the second poem however brings pain.  I noticed how the diction Yeats chose when writing about Leda differs from the diction he used to describe the swan. When describing the swan he uses harsh words such as: dark, blow, great, glory, strange, broken, and brute. Leda is portrayed as helpless with words such as: staggering, caught, terrified, and broken. The contrasts helped me grasp the differences between the two characters and better picture the struggle. The poem is strange, but the mythology behind it is interesting.  I enjoyed reading it and comparing it to the very different first poem.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Based on the title I figured this poem would be lighthearted and filled with positive imagery. I guess after reading The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter I should have known better than to assume that just because a poem is called a love song or love letter doesn’t mean it will be happy. As soon as I began reading, I instantly realized this poem was going to be depressing. Eliot begins with a simile comparing the night sky to a patient under anesthesia stretched out on an operating table. I found this comparison very odd and disturbing. When I think of love, I don’t think of hospitals or death. After reading through the entire work, I decided this simile was a good way of setting the tone for the entire poem. Just like the lifeless patient, J. Alfred Prufrock himself is lifeless, empty, and lonely. He discusses his inadequacy and shortcomings during the majority of the poem. It is upsetting how Prufrock felt embarrassed by almost every aspect of his life. He mentions his dissatisfaction with his aging body and balding head. In addition to his appearance he is dissatisfied with who he is as a person. He lacks the admiration, creativity, and respect of Hamlet and Michelangelo.


I like how the poem has many repetitions, for they help portray J. Alfred Prufrock’s dull life and his indecisiveness.  Day after day he feels secluded and endures mockery. Prufrock feels that people are just like the days of his life in the fact that they are all the same. If all women are the same, he feels there is no point in even asking out this woman he loves. He knows what it is like to not be loved in return, so he decides it is best to go through that pain again. After reading this part of the poem, I was conflicted about whether or not to pity Prufrock. I agree that it would be frustrating to live a life with little change especially when the days are unpleasant and filled with mockery. However, by assuming that everyone is the same, he misses out on many experiences. His loneliness is partly his fault.

Although the subject matter is sad, the poem is very enjoyable. From the beginning, Eliot pulls the reader in with detailed descriptions. I could easily picture the yellow fog, hotels, and half-deserted streets. I especially enjoyed the rhyming and Eliot's extensive use of imagery. There were several places in the poem in which I felt like I should have felt sad, but the rhyming and word choice made me laugh instead.