Last night Jenny and I went to the library for “English Talk Time”. It is an evening class that is lead by a teacher for anyone who wants to learn Enlgish. I thought it would be good for Jenny to practice her English with some strangers.
The class had 5 other people besides Jenny. There was an older couple from Iran, an older couple from India and a woman from South Korea. Jenny’s English was much better than any of them. She had trouble understanding the other students – because they had heavy accents. The 2 couples were just here for the summer. I think they were visiting their children. They are both going back to their own countries in September. The South Korean woman has lived in the states for 17 years — and she still doesn’t speak English!! Jenny wanted to ask her how that was possible – but I didn’t think it was a good idea to ask. The woman said she wants to learn English now, because she has a 17 year old daughter who prefers to speak English and she is having trouble communicating with her.
The teacher was great. Very nice and very helpful. She had several exercises to encourage people to talk and it was excellent.
Each person also spoke about their own country and what is was like. It was very interesting.
Later, Jenny and I had a talk on how hard it must be for immigrants. I told her how lucky she is to be able to travel and learn other languages and have friends and family who support her. We talked about how the Korean woman must have felt coming here 17 years ago and trying to find work and support a baby on her own and not speak the language. How she must have clung to others who only spoke Korean for comfort and never got to really know America. It was also interesting for Jenny to see the program that was available free to immigrants. It is just like taking a course at a school -but available to anybody who wants to make an effort – which is great.
I think it was a good experience for Jenny. She said – she thought her English was weak – until she met the other students – then she realized she speaks much better than she thought!
This morning – Jenny was up at 6am to go to the gym with Richard and then to his office. They had fun.
Today Jenny, Richard, and the boys are off to a Mariner game. I hope they will WIN finally!!
I am home alone. I think I’ll have a glass of wine and go to bed early!
We can’t believe Jenny’s trip is almost ending. It has been great.
Unfortunately we forgot the camera
