RMST 202 INTRODUCTION: A little bit about me :)

Hi everyone! My name is Sam Makkar and I am a fourth year at UBC studying Sociology!

I was born and raised in Abbotsford, BC, so not too far out from Vancouver. In Abbotsford, I was raised by immigrant parents who worked so hard to give me the life I live now. My mom was a dental assistant and my dad runs a pizza franchise called J’s Pizza! Growing up in Abbotsford was tough at times but overall I had an amazing childhood and will always cherish my years in my hometown. Despite there not being much distance between where I was raised and Vancouver, moving and living in Vancouver has been worlds different. My hometown is mostly farmland and is very conservative and to an extent small-minded. Moving to a school as progressive as UBC and a city as big as Vancouver, was super important in my growth. I was able to learn so much not only through my classes but also through the people around me. I have joined multiple clubs however the most memorable has been being a part of The Calendar. Not only did The Calendar provide me with work experience but also life long friends and memories I will never forget! Last year, I also did an exchange semester in Amsterdam which was one of the best experiences of my life as well and has shaped my understanding of so many different things and the world around me!

I don’t have too many expectations for the course. I kind of like to go into things with little expectations and just appreciate and take things as they come. It is my first time doing a romance studies course so I am very excited to be able to explore that especially after my exchange I am super interested in it. 

I think the biggest takeaway from the lecture videos for me was developing my understanding of the connection between literature and language. Since I am so new to romance studies and romance languages, it was interesting to learn about how they connect to literature. I was interested to learn the importance of literature when it comes to language and how it impacts representation. I know that we are looking at pieces of literature from across many different times and many different languages; with one of the main goals of the course is making connections, I find myself increasingly excited to continue with the course! I also found it very interesting to think about the idea that the Romance World is nowhere yet everywhere at the same time. It will be intriguing to think about geographical locations while also understanding that this idea of the Romance world is not tied down to a specific location!

A question that can be discussed beginning in this class could be, what are your previous thoughts on “The Romance World” and how has this changed after watching the initial lectures within the course?