Journal Reflection #3

Today is my final day of volunteering 5/12/10. This was by far my best expereince at Escula Vieau. Today I decided to stay late till 8pm to work with adults in the library with the English as a second language class. They had exams today, and seemed quite nervous about it, but in a good way. I was impressed by two women specifically on how far they had come along in there knowledge of English language. The first woman's name was pronouced loose, and the second women's name was Elsia. They explained to me why it was important to learn english not only for themselves, but for their children and there jobs. Another women opened up to me and told me she was taking lessons because her husband had passed away, and she made friends with the woman in her group so she decided to join. This was incedible to me that she was willing to discuss this when it was clearly still difficult to discuss, let alone to a stranger. The woman seemed very interested in learning English as well as about me. It was quite hilarious at the beginning when I sat down with them one woman began speaking Spanish directly to me, after she finished I said habla no Espanol. Three woman laughed after they realized I was being serious when someone translated that information for me. Needless to say I finally got to meet some adults and the also accepted me right away which the feeling was mutual. I would really like to continue assisting in that program however I will have to wait till next fall, as they only offer it during the school year.
What I gained from this entire experience is that although we have a slight language barrier, it is not difficult to overcome. A simple smile is a good start to a conversation that can bring a lot of knowledge about each other's ideas and way of life. Although it's difficult to not notice the prominent heritage posted in the hallways, or signs in Spanish I never felt uncomfortable more curious than anything. There is still a lot I would like to know about there heritage, and there language, and hopefully I can continue gaining these through more volunteering.