Roommate - Lost in Translation - REALLY cute!

[creekland]

Middle son has been in the hunt for a roommate at college. His college will place students randomly, but on their Facebook page, kids have created their own surveys and "shop" around. If they both choose each other, they can room together.

 

So, middle son has been looking daily. The first potential match liked too much loud music, so was shifted down to the "maybe" list. Another guy looked to be a nice match (different religion, but everything else seemed perfect) UNTIL he mentioned he smoked weed. Uh, yeah, for us that's a dealbreaker. (For middle son too, not just us parents.)

 

Then he met someone who seemed perfect - literally. This guy is overseas at a boarding school (English is not his first language), but the two are so similar in musical tastes, Christian faith, neatness of room, studying, and even have enjoyed the same (reading) books over the past 4 years. Their philosophies and lifestyles seem to be as perfect a match as one can get.

 

However, when asked if he wanted to room with my guy, all he'd say is he wanted to pray about it. That's fair enough to start, but there comes a time when one needs to commit (or not). So, yesterday middle son brought the subject up again. And he got the following response:

 

"I'd really like to, but I'm just not sure how I feel about rooming with a girl." :lol:

 

Apparently, my guy's name is more "feminine" where this guy is from. In our country, it's definitely a male name with some famous GUYS sharing the name (and spelling). It can be a girl's name in this country with a couple of letters added, but...

 

When my guy wrote back, "I'm a BOY!" there was supposedly quite a bit of laughter in that boarding school library (laughter about the situation, not disbelief about my SON).

 

The two young LADS are happily planning on being roommates now - prayer concern solved!

 

FWIW, pictures had been sent, but my guy's girlfriend was also in his pictures... since he'd checked "male" on the survey, he just didn't think that was something that had to be pointed out. ;)

 

So, yeah, a LOT of our lives can be taken in different ways pending our backgrounds. And some of the mistakes end up being CUTE!

[MyThreeSons]

That is funny! Glad it's going to work out.

[Nan in Mass]

LOL - Glad it all worked out. It likely to be a what-we-can't-take-for-granted learning experience all around. We thought we had dealt well scheduling something with a language gap last week. We opened the calendar on the table between us all so we could point, but I woke up this morning and suddenly remembered that European calendars don't run horizontally Sunday through Saturday. Hmm.... Maybe we didn't do as well as we thought. Assumptions... Tell your guy that if his roommate's English isn't perfect, he will have to vigilant about his roommate's growing vocabulary. My oldest rescued a classmate from some "friends" who thought it was very funny to "help" him with his English by substituting rude words for things he needed to say in public or in the classroom, like "I am confused about this". They are now good friends. There was a recent thread about how to add a global outlook to your homeschooling? Helping a foreign classmate survive a small rather redneck school is a good way to do it lol. My two older one's went to visit the friend in Europe one school vacation. You must be a happy mummy GRIN - a most important part of your son's college education has already begun! (And those of you who were wondering about why some of us want "the college experience" for our children have now had a concrete example of it. Obviously, there are other ways to learn these things, but in some families, this is the way these things are learned.)

 

Nan

[Sunshine State Sue]

Thanks for the laugh! :lol:

[Miss Marple]

That's hilarious! I just read it to my 2 college sons over breakfast. What fun...life is full of exciting episodes :)

[FaithManor]

AWESOME!

 

These years can be so memorable. I hope your son LOVES his time at Rochester!

 

Faith

[Halftime Hope]

Obviously, there are other ways to learn these things, but in some families, this is the way these things are learned.)Nan

 

I'm not sure you could learn these things in other ways. : ) Nothing like the experience, right?

 

Our recent "life learning" moment:

 

One of the things that I mused aloud (trying to be subtle) to dd as she plans for her upcoming summer internship in the country's capital is that there is just so much to see and do; working a two-day weekend job to earn mooh-lah might seem important, but it might not be the most important thing for this summer. (Tough to see when looking at the internship stipend.)

[mumto2]

:lol:How funny!!!

[plansrme]

How polite of him not to reject "her" immediately, when you know he is thinking, "No way!"

 

Terri

[peachymom]

Too funny! The same thing happened to my oldest daughter. Her name can go either male or female. The "university" teamed her with a male roommate. We found out via a school facebook forum that was set up for students to meet each other. My dd asked if anyone knew her roommate XXXX and another female freshman LOL'd in the forum and responded, "Yes, he graduated with me." We immediately got on the phone with Housing. They admitted that they didn't look at the gender of my dd on the app because based on her name in those parts, it's a boy's name. :)

Edited May 16, 2012 by peachymom

[creekland]

Tell your guy that if his roommate's English isn't perfect, he will have to vigilant about his roommate's growing vocabulary. My oldest rescued a classmate from some "friends" who thought it was very funny to "help" him with his English by substituting rude words for things he needed to say in public or in the classroom...

 

You must be a happy mummy GRIN - a most important part of your son's college education has already begun! (And those of you who were wondering about why some of us want "the college experience" for our children have now had a concrete example of it. Obviously, there are other ways to learn these things, but in some families, this is the way these things are learned.)

 

Nan

 

I'm thrilled he's getting this chance for a true cultural experience and hope he gets to visit his future roomie's country someday. I'm actually hoping we all get to visit. It's a not-often-visited third world country where we would truly need a guide. His boarding school is in a more common country and his classes have been in English, so his command of the language should be good, but there will still need to be nuances, I'm sure - and careful thought put into a few names! He's at the boarding school on scholarship and coming to UR on scholarship, so the socio-economic class might not be too different as far as high school is concerned. They had read many of the same books, so educationally are similar.

 

I've already told middle son that his friend is welcome to accompany us anytime, anywhere from dinner at drop off (parents and kids are supposed to eat together) to holidays if he can't go home and doesn't have other plans. I'd love to learn more about his life! Plus, I just think he'll be fun to have around.

 

What fun...life is full of exciting episodes :)

 

I imagine they'll be relating this story for years to come! Their grandkids will likely hear about it!

 

I'm not sure you could learn these things in other ways. : ) Nothing like the experience, right?

 

Our recent "life learning" moment:

 

One of the things that I mused aloud (trying to be subtle) to dd as she plans for her upcoming summer internship in the country's capital is that there is just so much to see and do; working a two-day weekend job to earn mooh-lah might seem important, but it might not be the most important thing for this summer. (Tough to see when looking at the internship stipend.)

 

I hope she does get to visit a bit instead of just working. There's so much to see... and much of it is free, but I understand the "not making much" issue too.

 

How polite of him not to reject "her" immediately, when you know he is thinking, "No way!"

 

Terri

 

How true! We hadn't thought of it that way. We were just thinking they must REALLY be wondering about college customs in free-wheeling America compared to his more conservative place. How much should he join culture vs retaining his values... all while not realizing UR doesn't give an option for male/female freshman roomies! In later years opposite genders can share suites if desired, but everyone has their own bedroom in those situations.

 

They admitted that they didn't look at the gender of my dd on the app because based on her name in those parts, it's a boy's name. :)

 

This is what we're guessing happened to him/us (but not with housing). Just the gender is reversed. Glad you caught it before move in day! That would have been quite the surprise... and not necessarily as "cute."

[Nan in Mass]

I'm thrilled he's getting this chance for a true cultural experience and hope he gets to visit his future roomie's country someday. I'm actually hoping we all get to visit. It's a not-often-visited third world country where we would truly need a guide... I've already told middle son that his friend is welcome to accompany us anytime, anywhere from dinner at drop off (parents and kids are supposed to eat together) to holidays if he can't go home and doesn't have other plans. I'd love to learn more about his life! Plus, I just think he'll be fun to have around....

 

This is how I wound up getting a mother's day card from my Ukranian foster son. : ) And from oldest's roommate, whom we've also adopted, since he lives far away. : ) I was so touched. They all just graduated and are living with us for a bit before their jobs. They are going to help me plant my garden tomorrow. They have enriched our lives so much. My husband and I are going to visit the Ukranian's family soon. May your new friend bring as much love and joy to your family.

 

Nan

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

My dad's name is one that is female in English but male in French (and with no doubts about it in either language!)

It was quite handy for my mom who was able to use HIS credit card to shop in the US... ;-)

[creekland]

My dad's name is one that is female in English but male in French (and with no doubts about it in either language!)

It was quite handy for my mom who was able to use HIS credit card to shop in the US... ;-)

 

This certainly must be what happened in our situation too. It's nice to know it could come in handy! I'm thinking my guy may want to choose a nickname if/when he gets to visit his future roomie's country.

 

My husband and I are going to visit the Ukranian's family soon.

 

Nan

 

That sounds awesome! I hope you have a great visit! I expect my guy will enjoy his new friend in person. They already have a great time together online. Meeting future roomies is so different from when I went to school. I met mine in my room - and found out she was a smoker, partier, etc (and I was neither). We only lasted one trimester together. I don't think she ever graduated, but maybe. To me, it's much better when kids can find someone of a similar mindset with study patterns, noise, philosophy, neatness of room, etc.