AliThinks: Aly Answers

A couple of weeks ago I posted a Q & A I'd done. So many of you asked to be interviewed in turn! It was quite surprising, really, and I turned a couple of you down while I was on vacation last week. (Suzy and Mel, I will interview you now if you'd like. You are the "lucky" two, though. After you, I'm done with this meme.)

My dear friend Aly, who does not have a blog even though she should, lamented this fact in the comments to my original interview. I wrote back and told her I'd interview her and post her answers here. She sent a quick response:

ALLRIGHT! I'm heading out of town this SECOND, but I want to do it! I would be honored (and really excited) to be a guest on your blog.

Aly has already been a guest on my blog. I haven't seen her for about six or seven years, but we are better friends now than we ever were in France. And I'm not sure she knows how much I appreciate her.

Anyway, she went out of town and so did we; therefore it was just yesterday that I interviewed her. Her answers to my questions appear below the fold. Do click through. Aly's pretty special.

1) You've lived in three countries. What is your favorite thing about each?

Let's start at home. My favorite thing about the US is the fact that you can be ANYWHERE, in line at the grocery store or the bank, walking down the street, standing outside a shop, and people will start up a conversation with you...likewise, you can approach nearly anyone and make a joke or laugh about something together. Americans have this openness that just doesn't exist (in the same way) in other places. Of course, the downside is this apparent friendliness tends to be superficial--I have seen many elderly or disabled people (or even myself a few times) fall down, and no one actually stops to help them. That's sort of an odd twist on our general attitude. However, in casual situations, this friendliness makes my day.
Living in France was my first experience as an ex-pat. Surprisingly, I'm not going to say that my favorite thing was the food because, strangely, it wasn't (although the beer and wine were right up there on my list!). In France, I fell in love with the countryside, and that is what I miss the most...I loved the rolling green vineyards and the castle-dotted hills...the cobblestoned cities and towns and the care taken to keep everything as it always has been. I loved the diversity of each region, how the language, cuisine and geography changed so drastically from one place to the other. And yes, I did love warm brioche smothered with strawberry jam in the morning, and a crusty baguette smothered with nutella in the afternoon (those were the sweet-tooth days!). I guess it is impossible to talk about France without mentioning food at least once!

My most recent expat experience was Mexico, and it is a place I miss every day so excruciatingly, although I never regret leaving it. There are three things about Mexico that totally rock: The food, the weather, and the people.
The food is fresh and colorful, spicy and sweet. Fruit falls from the trees, fresh salsa is served with everything, and the most mouth-watering mariscos are washed down with best beer in the world. And the CHEESE. France has nuthin' on Mexican cheeses! What I wouldn't give for a plate of giant prawns stuffed with manchego and grilled on the barbie, served with fluffy rice and warm tortillas, pico de gallo and a plate of papaya con limon, all washed down with an ice cold Pacifico! That's LA PURA BUENA VIDA right there.

I lived on the beach, so the weather was warm and humid all the time. Summer kind of sucked, but winter was SO much better than the snowy cold I grew up with.

And the people truly speak for themselves; anyone who has been to Mexico knows this: They are warm and welcoming, patient and kind, truly among the most generous people on earth. Why is it that the less people have (materially), the more they are willing to give?

I could go on forever--Each experience has been so rich and wonderful, challenging and life-altering, that there is really no way to sum up the colors and flavors, the sensory overload of being an ex-pat..I would do it again in a heartbeat.

2) Are you ready to experience life in the US east of the Rockies?

I have never been east of Colorado (other than Europe of course, WAY east!)--Born in CA, trips to Hawaii and Mexico, family in WA and OR, raised in CO--I'm truly a Western girl. I am preparing for life on the East Coast the same way I prepare to move to a new country. I am expecting culture shock, and a new language, different people, and strange ways of doing things. I think I'll be fine as long as I let go of the idea that the East is MY country, and instead treat it like a foreign land. I do take a lot of pride in my Western heritage, and I hope to never lose that part of me!

3) That was a rhetorical question wink wink, nudge nudge. What's your favorite color?

My favorite color changes with my moods (and Lord knows, those change drastically enough!)...I love whites and ivories on hot summer days, cool blues and greens on the beach, chocolate browns and rust orange on cold, gray days.....But, mostly, my favorite color is any one that is rich, vibrant and natural (no hot pink please!).

4) Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert?

Jon Stewart, although Colbert was always my favorite addition to Jon's show....I miss the two as a team!

5) I hope you have cable and Comedy Central. If not, this may be the fourth question, but it's definitely the last. What is the one piece of advice you'd give the students you deal with?

Ay Dios Mio! I'm an international student advisor, so advice is literally the name of my game! I give my students all kinds of advice, although there is ONE thing I tell them everytime that truly makes a difference for them: Each year, my students arrive from all over the world to this tiny little town in the Rockies. They have all kinds of expectations and preconceived notions, they are usually away from home for the first time, and they are always jet-lagged and very disoriented.

The advice I give them is something I myself didn't understand or abide by until very recently, but I see now how important it is....I tell them to take it EASY, to take one thing at a time, and to try not to conquer the world all in one day. It's important to take on only what you can at the time, and to not expect everything and everyone to change overnight. The world simply does not bend to your will, you have to work on it, wear it down, and do one little thing after another until it comes together.

I used to be the opposite, and I still tend towards that--I can push really hard when something isn't the way I want or expect it to be, and all that pushing and fighting just causes more stress and worry for me....You have to go with the flow, and takes small chips out of big mountains, and be patient! My students arrive already wanting to know everything, to understand everything, and to be part of everything here...but it doesn't happen like that, it happens naturally, gradually over time, and before they know it all the little efforts, every chance meeting with a new friend and hour spent in class adds up to them being PART of things. And life goes on from there. People (myself included) are so goal oriented, and it's so much nicer to enjoy the process and to appreciate each moment. That's where life is really happening.

You see? I got to be part of this blog, in my own small way, and who knows what this small achievement will lead to?...It's part of some bigger thing, of that I'm sure!
Thanks for including me!

_________________________

Aly, you're welcome. It was a pleasure to interview you, and to post your thoughtful answers here. Do think about starting a blog! You'd be great at it.

Comments

I completely forgot about that guest post I did. I so enjoyed reading it again and taking that little stroll through the past.
This was really fun, and I just love that you let me be part of something that is so truly yours.
You made me feel very special, Ali--Thanks for brightening up what has been a very long, very hard week for me!
Oh, and, about that comment that I SHOULD have a blog? Well, let's just say you got me thinking...

Posted by: Aly | August 30, 2007 at 13:43