They are really not a rabble, although the game was a bit spirited and disorganized at times. For the past seven months or so, we have been hosting a English conversation group every Saturday at Moraine Valley Community college from ten a.m. until two p.m. Volunteers like Kipp, Manal, Justin, Mohammed, Sara, and Carmela come in and we spend a very unpredictable four hours immersed in the language. We talk, play games, go over vocabulary, go out for lunch occasionally, and always, always have fun. Today we played scrabble after a vocabulary lesson, and it was an interesting glimpse at culture, international affairs, and human nature.
I often marvel that so many students come week after week for these four-hour sessions. Kipp and his crew have succeeded in making a safe and trusting environment where they feel comfortable and supported. There is a lot of spontaneous hard work that happens along with a lot of laughter. They listen and they participate and their English skills are improving, but there is so much more happening there. They have made friendships and they have taught us so much about the human condition as they chase down their dreams in this new country. It is the most quietly amazing thing I have witnessed in some time.
We have quite a collection of folks coming to these weekly meetings - fraternal twins who are very competitive and both want to be doctors; two Syrian women, probably on either side of the conflict who put that aside and share a ride in on Saturdays; another Syrian woman displaced by the war, finding herself here with her daughter as a refugee trying to forge her own path forward; kids from Pakistan, Jordan, and China, not afraid to have a little fun with us older folks; Palestinian and Yemeni women whose English skills are slight but whose hearts are big and courageous; a couple of best friends from Brazil who are polar opposites; pragmatic but fun Eastern European students who keep us honest; and of course, the wonderful volunteers who give up a significant part of their weekends just to share some time with these special students. I am very proud to be a part of this.
So no, not a rabble, but a spirited group of people that could teach or reteach a lot of us about the dignity and poise of immigrants who make this a better place to live.
I often marvel that so many students come week after week for these four-hour sessions. Kipp and his crew have succeeded in making a safe and trusting environment where they feel comfortable and supported. There is a lot of spontaneous hard work that happens along with a lot of laughter. They listen and they participate and their English skills are improving, but there is so much more happening there. They have made friendships and they have taught us so much about the human condition as they chase down their dreams in this new country. It is the most quietly amazing thing I have witnessed in some time.
We have quite a collection of folks coming to these weekly meetings - fraternal twins who are very competitive and both want to be doctors; two Syrian women, probably on either side of the conflict who put that aside and share a ride in on Saturdays; another Syrian woman displaced by the war, finding herself here with her daughter as a refugee trying to forge her own path forward; kids from Pakistan, Jordan, and China, not afraid to have a little fun with us older folks; Palestinian and Yemeni women whose English skills are slight but whose hearts are big and courageous; a couple of best friends from Brazil who are polar opposites; pragmatic but fun Eastern European students who keep us honest; and of course, the wonderful volunteers who give up a significant part of their weekends just to share some time with these special students. I am very proud to be a part of this.
So no, not a rabble, but a spirited group of people that could teach or reteach a lot of us about the dignity and poise of immigrants who make this a better place to live.
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