Some of you may know that I've been taking a linguistics course this semester. The course is officially named "The Roots of English Etymology," which is a very funny/redundant name if you stop and think about it. Anyway, I digress...Some of you also may know that this course is taught by a very handsome fellow that looks a lot like another handsome fellow called Pete Yorn. Needless to say, this linguistics class has been my favorite for the past few months, and I never really consider it a chore to attend each week. A funny thing happened in class a couple weeks ago that ended up leading to another funny thing that happened just this past week in class. Let me explain. A couple weeks ago, we were all sitting in class waiting for Pete Yorn (let's refer to my linguistics professor as Pete Yorn for the sake of simplicity) to set up a DVD player when one of my classmates decides to make a coffee run. Before he leaves, he turns to all of us (there are only 6 students in the class total) and asks if anyone else wants some coffee. After nobody accepts his kind offer, he proceeds to say, "Oh, oh, my bad, you guys must all be Mormon, right?" Nobody chooses to respond to his seemingly rhetorical question, so he then decides to quiz us each individually on our specific religious inclinations. Now, this kid, the "coffee run" kid, is a socially awkward albeit well-meaning guy who happens to be Muslim. I know that he's Muslim because he's been very vocal all semester about his religious beliefs along with many other things that pertain to his personal life. So this guy goes around the room, asking everyone what their religion is, and one by one each person answers, LDS. He finally gets around to me, and asks, "What about you? What's your religion?" I finish chewing and swallow the last little bit of my York peppermint patty, turn to him and answer, "Yep, I'm LDS." To which he responds, "You are? No way!"
Now, I'm fairly used to this response, because he's not the first person that has been surprised by the fact that I'm LDS whenever they learn about this for the first time. I've always been confused as to why they are so surprised by this, but I think I've finally figured it out, thanks to Pete Yorn...Which brings me to the aforementioned second funny incident.
**Fast forward to the very next class session; this past week's class...**
This past week I arrived early to class. I was the first one to arrive and started unpacking my things when Pete Yorn walked in. Here's the conversation that happened between the two of us:
PETE YORN: "Hi, Monica"
ME: "Hey, how are you?"
PETE YORN: "I've been better. I'm feeling a little sick actually."
ME: "Oh, sorry to hear that. Weren't you sick just a few weeks ago?"
PETE YORN: "Yeah. So you're Mormon?"
ME: "Ha. Yes. I am."
PETE YORN: "Hmm. Wow. That's fascinating."
ME: "Fascinating?"
PETE YORN: "Yeah, I mean, I'm sometimes surprised to find out who ends up being Mormon. I mean, you could walk out onto campus, throw a stone, and be assured that whoever it hits would be Mormon. It's amazing around here."
ME: "Were you surprised to find that I'm LDS?"
PETE YORN: "Yes. I was. I mean, for one, you have a Mediterranean look and attitude about you. You know, the Mediterraneans are known for their laid-back personalities and such.
ME: "Hmm. Okay. Actually, I often come across people who are surprised whenever they find out I'm LDS. I don't know why this is."
PETE YORN: "Well, it's your shoes."
ME: "What?"
PETE YORN: "Yeah, your shoes...they don't exactly scream 'Family Home Evening.'"
ME: "Ha!"
PETE YORN: "Yeah, they look like the shoes of someone who used to hang out with the skater punk crowd in high school."
Right after he made the skater punk comment, a couple of my classmates walked in, so I didn't get the chance to respond. Actually, I'm not sure how I would've responded to that comment. But at least now I know why some people are so surprised to find out that I'm LDS...It's because of my shoes. Too bad I only have a couple more class sessions with Pete..I'll miss him.
