This is the thing about an International English Institute....when you get students together from all over the world, the only way they can communicate is in English. This takes effort, deep listening, eye contact, charades, thought, laughter, and compassion. What a lesson in communication! If we all, who speak the same language, gave our conversations the same care.
It is unbelievably touching to see a Korean, male, 24 year old cry at our weekly graduations as he bids farewell to his friends he made from Brazil, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and more. It is moving to hear the students speak of how the teachers have taught them more than English and have given them the memories of their lives.
Yesterday we celebrated the upcoming Christmas holidays. While not everyone celebrates Christmas, part of the experience of coming to America is to be immersed in all the traditions of American life. And truly, what does "Merry Christmas" mean, but a greeting of peace, joy, love and hope?
We like to sing an American song at our Friday graduations, and yesterday Marcia's class came up to help lead "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." We followed this with "Silent Night" in English, and then invited the Brazilians to sing the song in Portuguese. They were so happy and their voices were bright and joyous. A realization: we sing the same songs, all over the world, in different languages, but with the same meaning.
I learned a new quote yesterday: "Begin anywhere. But begin."
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