Simple gifts...

I mentioned back in August that I said goodbye to Yuko, a young Japanese woman I was serving as an ESL tutor for.  Well, it's happened again.  Having such a good experience the first time, I jumped back into being matched with someone new.  And today we said good-bye.  

In late September I was given a few choices of adults who wanted to practice speaking English, I readily picked a young Chinese woman (named Jie) - who was hoping to soon find employment as a hospital nurse.   Having one ESL experience under my belt, I now knew that the arrangement could be short lived, but I wasn't quite prepared for it to end so soon.

But my new young friend has found employment - actually was offered two positions, I think quicker than even she expected.  So, while I'm sorry to lose another ESL conversation partner, I'm so very happy for her.  Her family is also moving to a new home, soon - about an hour away, and while we may occasionally connect via text or e-mail, I know her life will soon be very busy and full of the excitement of new things.  I'm glad to have been even just a small part in this time of transition for her.

Before we ended our time today, I asked Jie if she would write something in Chinese down for me.  I told her to write anything.  And she wrote this:

I asked her to translate and she said it means "be grateful".  And said that is what she feels toward me and our time together speaking English.    

As further explanation of the characters, she wrote this:

I have only a tiny bit of understanding that Chinese characters not only represents words, but that the characters also represent ideas.  So, while I don't quite understand how these words form the idea of being grateful, they are all very nice words, I'm thinking.  Not wanting to parse out what was clearly a compliment, I decided to just receive it and could easily return the kind words.  I could honestly tell Jie I was grateful for her and the experience, too.

I have found both experiences of being an ESL conversation partner with two young Asian women to be a gift I am very grateful for.  I am impressed by their intelligence, yet at the same time their humbleness in putting themselves in the hands of a stranger to practice speaking a language that doesn't in any way resemble their native tongue.  I'm impressed by their bravery - to live in a foreign country and learn how to maneuver.  To drive, to travel and do exciting things, in Jie's case to get a job.   Getting to know these young women has been a gift I am very grateful for.    And while I can't imagine being matched up with anyone as pleasant as Yuko and Jie, these two women have also given me the courage to see if it can happen again.  

So, while I think I will wait until after the holidays to begin another match, I'm looking forward to the new year, and hopefully another pleasant ESL experience.

Thank you, Jie and Yuko!  😊