French

In class we talked about a short chapter from the book Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. It talked about his experiences learning french while visiting France. I visited France for my 13th birthday and knew how to speak a small amount of french like; bonjour and merci. The french there were not as excepting to the Americans as I would have expected. Actually they looked at me like I was an idiot or a pest. So I can relate to how David was feeling when his teacher said "I hate you, I really hate you(67 Perryman-Clark)," in clear perfect English.

 

Perryman-Clark, Staci, ed. Mercury Reader. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011. Print.

Language

   After class and discussing how language is different due to the factors of where you were raised or who taught you language, I started to look around and notice the differences how everybody uses language. Being a freshman at Western I get asked quite frequently where I am from. I tell them "oh I'm from Traverse City, MI." Many people I've met find it odd that I am from Michigan due to my accent. They describe the way I speak has a southern twang to it and how I use my words is slightly different from what they are used to hearing. Other than my own  language I've noticed the people here in Kalamazoo. People that lived right around the corner in Detroit to all the way from Indonesia live here and there way of language is completely different from what I am used to. It fascinated me that all these languages and cultures were in one place.The place I live. This made me realize why the United States is so great. Its because we have the opportunity as Americans to be apart of other languages and cultures from all over the world with people who are our friends, family and neighbors.

Where I am from

I am from the bay, from long walks with my mom, where I grew up.
I am from my grandparents house, a place to get away, a spot where I feel safe.
I am from the peninsula, with the snooty, stuck up moms and the gadgets and motor toys loving dads.
I am from where laughter, tears and anger occured, from where I learned the hard way.
I am from where hipsters, organic food, and cruiser bicycles is the trendy way to be.
I am from the pinky, with the cool gentle breeze in the summer to the harsh blizzards in the winter. With the lost tourists and the understanding locals, the place I call home.

A little bit about myself

Thanks for reading ANYA L Jongen's blog. First I'd like to give a small introduction about myself. About a few weeks ago I became a Bronco at Western Michigan University. It has been a huge change. I moved all over the country when I was younger, but mainly I lived in Naperville, IL and Traverse City, MI. I have two siblings, a dog, a cat and a fish. I am the oldest out of all the children, grand children and cousins. I really enjoy being at the beach and just chilling out or going jet skiing and killing the waves. That is one thing that I miss about home is being surrounded by water. I also love playing tennis though I'm not that good. Im excited to be in college and hope to find my place in the world by being here.