“Ni hao ma? [How are you?]” my Posse older sibling greets me in Mandarin Chinese.
“Norminah! [Alright!]” I would respond in Russian. “Kak dela? [How are you?]”
“Wo hen hao. [I’m well],” replies Luis, a fourth-year Posse scholar, in Chinese again.
The conversation would then follow with Luis asking a clarifying question about Chinese grammar while I ask him how to translate a phrase from English to Russian. Once we have exchanged our mini-language lessons, we would hug, say goodbye in Russian/Chinese and then depart for our respective classes. [While these encounters were frequent,] Our language exchanges also often extend beyond the minute-long mini-lessons.
At night, when I am studying for an upcoming exam or struggling with my Russian homework, I would often barge into Luis’s suite and ask for assistance. Luis would then take out his whiteboard and proceed to give me a Russian lesson that was more in-depth, easier to understand and more attentive than the language labs that I went to in the morning. Whenever we reviewed the old quizzes and practiced applying the language concepts, my grasp of the language was usually better [than when I arrived]. After listening to my difficulties, Luis would always grin confidently and assure me that I will understand the language somehow.
As I continue to adapt to my first-year at Middlebury, I still find myself holding back during the conferences with my professors. If a professor is explaining a concept that I do not quite comprehend, I would often just nod my head in agreement—afraid to offend the professor and to admit my lack of command. With Luis as my mentor however, I have been less inclined to do that. Whenever I have a problem, I actually feel comfortable asking him again even when he had already explained the concept a number of times. As I continue to muster the confidence to admit my struggles with my professors, I am thankful to have Luis as my Posse sibling. Our commonalities as Posse scholars have allowed me to be honest with him about my [linguistic and academic] struggles and that is exactly what Posse is there for.
Karen!!
I’m ashamed to admit that I got teary-eyed reading this! When you tell about Luis and his whiteboard, I just thought of all of the times I’ve come back to the suite after a long day, and he’s just sitting there, whiteboard in hand, studying–and sometimes, you’re there next to him! I also thought of how many times he’s scolded me for almost breaking the whiteboard when I throw myself onto the couch next to him=).
Thank you so much for sharing–I love that Posse Sibs is working out so well for you! And that you visit us frequently!