A white woman born and raised in a small town, that's me. I am grateful for my roots, but long to continue growing. I have been placed within one of the most amazing jobs possible. I am surrounded by culture, beliefs and languages differing from mine on a daily basis. My goal is to grow in cultural competency in any way possible in order to better serve my students. My students deserve a teacher that not only knows them, but appreciates all that they are.
I had the opportunity to attend a service completely in Swahili today, after hearing that one of my student's dad is a pastor at a church I had been wanting to attend. I asked my friend if she was feeling adventurous, and she quickly agreed to join me in attending a service that was sure to be memorable. I wasn't even able to get to the door without being greeted by a group of my students running to hug me. They couldn't believe that I had come to go to church with them. We entered the lobby, and were greeted by at least 10 more of my students from throughout my time as an EL teacher in Kentwood. My girls (as I call them) were dressed up with pretty dresses and high heels, and my boys were adorning suits and smiles from ear to ear. I instantly felt so much love entering this church.
The service began and our pew was filled with sweet kids, as their parents looked on probably wondering who we were. I mean, we certainly stood out in the crowd. This got me to thinking throughout the service about how my refugee students must feel when they start school. You walk into a place where everyone looks far different than you, they are all sharing experiences in their language and you are desperately searching for clues which would tell you how to behave--to fit in. Your head begins to pound after a long while of trying to pick out any words that you may know from the fast paced foreign language being spoken to and around you. You find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the unknown.
I found myself retreating from focusing on language to just focus on the beauty, a universal language. I watched as the beautiful women cared for their babies and the babies of their friends. I smiled as I watched the beautiful men praying over the congregation. I wiped tears from my eyes as I watched the beautiful children singing proudly in front of their church, and smiled extra wide when I made eye contact with one of my students. I loved watching the beauty of an infant baptism, and the large group of people up front to support the family and baby.
As the sermon began, I thought I would be sitting in the pew for approximately 30 minutes not understanding anything that was being spoken. I thought about all of my students and how they endure 6 hours a day of mostly incomprehensible lessons. Just as I began to settle in, one of the pastors approached our pew with a great smile, "I'm going to interpret." What a blessing. Two English speakers come to a Swahili service, and accommodations are made for US. Amazingly gracious hosts.
I developed a headache as I was hearing two languages simultaneously and my brain tried to decipher which one to absorb. This is how my student's parents must feel at school-wide events and conferences as they're listening to both their child's teacher and the interpreter--both English and their native language. It is exhausting. I was yet again humbled for all that my students and their families must overcome.
At the end of the service the pastor introduced my friend and I to the congregation. I asked all of my students present in the congregation to stand up, it was a proud moment for all of us as a learning community. Following this introduction and the closing of the service we were met with a line of people welcoming us with hugs and smiles.
I am thankful every day for the job that I have working with refugees. They have overcome so much and bring with them such wealth and beauty in culture and language. Oh what we can learn from others if we just welcome them. I encourage you all to learn more about others around you, it truly is a rich, humbling experience.
I will close this blog with a video I took of the children's choir :)
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