Who Doesn't Love a Good Tarantino?

“Kill Bill is my favorite movie.”

Wait, what?

“Volumes 1 and 2. American Gangster is a close second.”

It was at this point in the conversation that I saw a whole new side of Alejandra.  Here I was, sitting across the booth from this petite, soft-spoken young woman who is expressing her love of Tarantino movies, and you might say that I was more than a little taken aback.  But don’t get me wrong, I was loving it.  She also said that there was a good month or so where she watched Kill Bill every day and apparently her ex was extremely aggravated by this.  I didn’t want to pry, but I can’t help but think that there might be a correlation between that event and the fact that he is now her ex. 

I must admit, I was more than a little nervous when it came time to first meet my conversation partner.  I mean, I can barely hold a conversation with a native English speaker, much less a non-native one.  I will admit, it was a bit awkward at first.  But once we were out of the Chick-fil-A line—a place that is not at all conducive to forging friendships—things went much smoother. 

She originally hails from Monterrey, Mexico, about a nine-hour drive from here.  Her family, including her parents and little brother, moved to the DFW area six years ago.  She decided to move here as well only a short time ago because she hated being so far away from them.  I honestly felt a little uncomfortable asking her how old she was.  Some women can be touchy about such things.  But honestly, she could have been anywhere from 15 to 35.  I had to know, so I finally just got up the nerve and asked.  She happened to be right in the middle of the two, actually, at a still very youthful 24.

“And you’ll never guess my profession.”

After an introduction like that, I honestly didn’t even care to venture a guess. 

“I'm a physician!”

She was right.  I never would have guessed that.  I mean, she still looks like a fetus; how could she possibly have a medical license already?  She continued saying that she was in the Intensive English Program so that she could pass the TOEFL and get into dermatology school in the U.S.  I was pretty impressed.  That’s a lucrative field.  Yes, yes, it may be her “passion” or whatever, but most importantly, she will be raking in the dough.  She couldn’t argue with that.

After the small talk subsided, I asked her a question that I like to ask all of my friends who are from out of the country.  What is the biggest difference you notice between where you’re from and the U.S.?  I find that it often yields some fascinating insights.  She had to think about it for a moment.  But finally, she came to the conclusion that the starkest contrast she noticed was the differing perceptions of time.  When Americans tell you a time, they expect you to arrive at that time, if not a bit earlier.  In Mexico, if someone tells you that something starts at a particular time, they will fully expect you to arrive one to two hours later.  They are just much more laid back when it comes to these types of things.  This honestly baffles the anal-retentive part of me.  Just tell the person the actual time you want them to arrive, and there will never be any confusion.  Perhaps that is why she arrived fifteen minutes late for our meet-up.  I was willing to chalk it up to cultural differences and shrug it off.  This time.

Or heck, for all I know, she could have made the whole thing up to explain away her tardiness.  I wouldn’t be surprised.  We Americans can be an easy bunch to fool.