GarretCP#6

On October 14th I met with Khyrsi. Khyrsi actually happened to be in the class that I taught for the TEFL program. At the end of that class I asked for a show of hands from everyone who was not returning to CIES (it was relevant to my lecture), and she happened to be on of the students who was not planning to return for another session at CIES. The 14th was Khyrsi last day in the US, at least for a few months. We mostly spoke about her plans for the future. She explained to me that she could not afford to do another session at CIES and so she will most likely continue her studies on her own. I thought this to be interesting because it put so much into perspective in regards to how lucky we, American born citizens, are to be born and raised speaking English. Of all the students I met and spoke with this Summer, I noticed a reoccurring theme in all of them, and that was this idea that the US is at the apex of the world in terms of achieving "success." So many of my tutees would equate success to how much money you make annually. I couldn't help but to feel grateful being born here. But at the same time, I felt bad because I feel like we perpetuate this idea of success being how much money you make, and that is what is fed to other countries through the media, music, etc. Anyhow, Khyrsi said that she would remain in contact with me, and that upon her arrival back to the US, she will probably end up in NYC where a couple of her friends own an apartment.