Momentos

Hey there and welcome back to A Summer of Refuge, everyone's favorite online summer reading column. If only... :)
This past week at Exodus, we graduated all of our current students, both the advanced group and the basic group. Although I felt sad at the thought of not seeing my students every day, I also felt very proud of them. These men came to class every day, ready to learn, and put forth their best effort. Looking at their comparative test scores, I can see that most of them improved quite a bit from the level they were at before taking the eight-week course. This week, we had a class field trip and we took the students to the Indy Reads Bookstore, which is a bookstore that takes donated items and all the profits go toward adult literacy programs in Indianapolis. This is one great thing about my internship; not only do I get to have a group of students and gain teaching experience, but I also make connections with important non-profits in Indianapolis. I've come to realize that although Indianapolis might not be my favorite city in the US, it's filled with people trying to make a difference in ways that are often not apparent to the public eye. For World Refugee Day, we took our students to Indy Urban Acres which raises organic vegetables for low-income families in Indy who can't afford to eat healthy food. Indy Reads is an organization that helps adults in the city become literate, and today a friend told me about a non-profit for opera singers that puts on shows to help students be able to study music who usually wouldn't be able to afford to do so. It just makes me think that there are so many ways to get involved, and there is something out there for everyone who wants to make a difference. The world is full of opportunities, isn't it?
Anyhow, after getting sidetracked, the students each got to pick out a book in English to read. The two most popular books were dictionaries and the Bible. Not surprising at all :) Many of our students from Burma are of a very strong Christian faith. Every time we ask, "What did you do this weekend?" The answer is always: "I went to church." We also have the advanced students write journal entries every week, and they are quite interesting to read. While some of them are pretty funny, some of them are sad and some of them are hopeful. But they all talk about God and how God has helped them through these times. And trust me, these guys have seen some pretty hard times. On our last day, we played a game where they each were given a few cards from a stack that had various questions on them. And I mean, VARIED. Some cards say, "What is your favorite color?" while other cards say, "Do you believe in the death penalty?" I think we need to go through the stack next time and pick through the questions whose answers will start a debate that takes up 2 of the 3 hours of class. But one question was, "What makes you sad?" One of my students wrote, "Flashbacks." Flashbacks. It's moments like this when I realize once again that it's not just fun and games in English class.
As an English teacher, sometimes it's easy to forget what the students have been through. In class, there are always stories and laughter and interesting discussions, so it's easy to feel very good about the situation and think that the students are so happy in class. However, every once in a while there comes a moment in which we are once again reminded that life hasn't always been, and in many ways still isn't, enjoyable for these people. This moment may come when talking about family or friends without remembering that many of these people lost their loved ones and most of their family. This moment may come when talking about sports with an amputee who tells you that he loved playing soccer before he lost his legs. This moment may come when teaching elderly men and women how to differentiate between the letters I and L, knowing that they are probably never going to learn how to read in their lifetime. It's moments like this that force me to put what I do into perspective. I admit that sometimes I think too much about it and become really sad and angry, wondering how the world can be such a cruel place. But honestly it's of no use to sit around and be sad about it. The whole purpose of my internship is to help people, so that's what I'm going to keep doing. I've come to the conclusion that it's normal to get a little emotional about what the students go through, but it's also important to keep a good head on my shoulders and put my best foot forward. Maybe seeing their teacher happy will make them happy too :)
But the time has come for them to move on, and after eight weeks together I've become very close with them. Hopefully they will go on to get jobs and become self-sufficient. I can only hope that the our class together has helped them in some way and that I was of use to them in their new life. But no fear, the next class will be coming soon and I am excited for the new group! This time around I will be getting my very own single group who I will be working with each and every day, so I'm looking forward to having some freedom in my curriculum and becoming close with them in my last month at Exodus.
Thanks so much for reading and I hope this blog is at least somewhat insightful!
Anna