After a confusing first-meeting with a couple who wasn’t our family, we finally met the ones we are assigned to.  I’m not sure if they were informed that we were coming, however, because when the wife answered the door she seemed very confused. We stood in the doorway for a few minutes trying to communicate that where we were from, but she didn’t speak much English. After we got through the first communication challenge and went inside, she made a phone call and soon after a man came in and translated for her and for us. This made everything go a bit smoother, but they were all very quiet and I wasn’t exactly sure how to fill in (what I was thinking were) the awkward silences.

We talked a bit back and forth about how long they had been in Chicago and what jobs they held. Their daughter is going to school and learning numbers, and she seemed to be catching onto English very well. The family friend (translator) told us that both he and the husband worked at sushi restaurants, but worked long hours quite often with little pay–he referred to how tired he always felt periodically. After about a half an hour the husband came home, and his English was a bit better, though I think he may have had a harder time understanding us then he let on. When we asked them if they needed anything in particular, they’re first concern was their daughter. He said that when she had questions on her homework, he wasn’t always able to help her because it was all in English. We told them that we could help their daughter as well as them, but I’m not sure if they understood exactly what we were saying. In any case, they both seemed very happy that we could help the daughter with her homework, and equally as grateful when we told them that we would be coming back the next week.

All in all it was a good and completely different experience–I think the biggest challenge will be figuring out how to adjust to their shyness without seeming too aggressive or imposing, and also break though the common problem of the language barrier. I’m interested to see how things will unfold, and very excited to make progress!

The initial meeting took several attempts, however, with persistence, I guess one does succeed.  We met our family last Thursday in the later afternoon.  The time was spent overall in good company.  The two of us had the opportunity to meet the mother and one daughter, initially, then a friend came by, and soon the baby daughter woke from her nap.  The father was returning from work to join in with our conversation before we left for the evening. 

The family residence is quite close to Loyola Chicago, so Tricia and I were able to meet at the CFSU.  We couldn’t get ahold of the family so we went in with another resident’s swip for our entry into the building.  We still had a difficulty this second time to find the family.  We checked both addresses.  The prize, I guess, was before door number two because we found our family! 

Upon entering, we removed our shoes as we noticed the family’s shoes near the entrance.  The mother offered us a seat in the living room.  We spoke with the mother for several minutes, then, she phoned the friend who came right over.  He has been in the country from 2007 to present, has a job downtown, and has a better English comprehension.  It’s not like we weren’t able to talk with the mother…  And well, actually, we did have a good conservation between us three.  The friend was able to tell about the family’s coming to Chicago, a little bit of his own experience, the father’s job, and the daughter’s attendance at a local grammar school near the family’s residence.

The mother left during our conversation , shortly returning with gigantic Arizona Sweet Tea offering one each to Tricia and I during our conversation.  She made us feel welcome.  We had a several conversations about school, English, Chicago, and religion–I found that they were Christian Baptists.  Having known of some English, the friend and the father were able to use the roman alphabet.  The friend before the father came had written out the names for us, and that’s when I realized that the friend wasn’t the father.  I had assumed this to the case until he stated the father was returning. 

The family’s phone rang, the mother answered the telephone, and she promptly opened the window to drop the keys to her husband.  He was in to visit with us.  The group stated we could help the older daughter with homework.  The father said that he couldn’t offer her any assistance with it and well, that’s what we’re here for–We’re here to help!  We left the family for the day after letting them know that we would be back next week. 

-george

Walking into this, I had no idea what to expect and felt extremely under-prepared. I ended up being pleasantly surprised, however, at not only how well the family has adapted to Chicago living, but also at how much we all have in common. My partner and I are working with a husband and wife from the Congo, and even though we’re from different sides of the ocean, it’s almost eerie how similar we all are. Before coming to Chicago, they lived in a large city and had lots of university schooling. The wife studied radio and TV journalism, and my partner is studying journalism as well. The husband has Bachelors degrees in Economics and Math, I’m studying math also. He also completed all of his classes for a Masters in Economics, but unfortunately never received his degree as his final examination process was interrupted by war and he came to America. I can imagine it is incredibly frustrating for him to have gone through extensive schooling and then to have to come here where he works a low-skill night-shift job because of the language barrier.

We’ve visited the couple twice, and both times have been a great learning experience for all of us. The second visit was on a day when the husband didn’t have to work and when we arrived he was assembling a desk for their computer, which was nice to see. They seem to have adjusted very well so far, acquiring the basics (bed, chairs, kitchen items, groceries, etc), as well as the American basics (TV, DVD player, computer and internet). We took them to the lake and they talked about how it was the same as the ocean in the city where they lived in Benin. It seems like they were very happy there and I’d like to find out what events led to them coming to Chicago. 

I was thrilled, after weeks of reading about refugees and hearing stories from students who worked with refugees last semester, to finally meet a family that I would be able to exclusively work with. I prepared myself for a difficult task. Perhaps I would have a family with four or five children. Maybe the family would not be able to speak one word of English. I knew I may also become the “cultural broker”  for every new/ foreign/ American thing they encountered.

However, none of this was the case. Our family is a cute, little couple from the Congo. The husband has been here for more than a year and hence, is pretty comfortable with our culture. But the wife still has much to learn and we are discovering that a French-English dictionary is very handy during our visits. Furthermore, what makes this refugee couple so unique is that they are both well- educated. The husband has degrees in both mathematics and economics, while the wife, to my pleasant surprise, was a journalist in newspaper, radio and TV.

After visiting two times with the family I am starting to wonder more about their past. Although we try to talk about it with them, it is hard to understand why these two smart, young Congolese would be classified as “refugees.” They both seemed to have good lives in Africa, where they worked in the country of Benin after leaving the Congo. Both had jobs and seemed happy…but here their degrees mean nothing, due to a lack of knowing English. I hope that throughout this semester I can help them to put their knowledge to good use and to help them feel more at home, even though they may not show any intense difficulty in adjusting to life here.

On Wednesday Gracie and I went to visit our family for the first time.  There are three kids and two parents.  It is kind of tough because they do not speak any English.  There is a translator in the building, but she does not speak the same dialect as the mother, so at times she can’t translate.   We did not really meet the father, as he was kind of in and out.  However, he speaks the same dialect as the translator so hopefully next time he will be there and we can communicate a little more.

When the kids got home from school, they wanted us to help them with their homework.  With the younger girl we did spelling words and the older girl showed us her english and history homework. It was hard for us to help them though because f the language barrier.  I can

I had a very interesting and memorable first meeting. We arrived to our family apartment and meet up with alex our contact at the ecac. When we arrived only the husband was home, the wife was at work and the three kids were up stairs at a neighbors, Soon the kids came in to meet us, there were a four year old and 2 year old girl and a 4 month old boy. Alex helped to break the ice, but even though he spoke very good english, we had trouble starting a conversation, after many awkward silences we somehow ended up talking about race relations in america, he had trouble comperhening why african-american treated people from africa so differently, in many cases shunning them, he also was perplexed as to why african-americans spoke differently then everyone else considering that everyone went to the same schools and grew up in the same areas. We had few answers but did our best to explain race relations. As this conversation was drawing to a close the wife came home, however she was much quieter, and didnt say much past pleasantries. After roughly three hours we had to leave but we agreed to meet weekly. This was a very intresing first meeting that left me thinking. I was relieved that our family was very friendly and that they spoke some english and had been here for several months. Im looking forward to the rest of the semester, getting to know our family and helping them in every way we can

This past Thursday was the first opportunity I had to visit my refugee family. My partner and I first had to pick up a translator on our way. I had a difficult time understanding the translator, so I was a little afraid of the troubles I would have once my family began learning English.
Getting to know the family was a bit of challenge. I feel like everyone was fairly nervous and unsure. The family consists of 4 people, 2 parents and 2 sons, with a baby on the way. They seemed curious as to why we were visiting them, but hopefully they won’t be as apprehensive when we see them again.
As my partner and I attempted to make conversation with our family, I realized how difficult and how scared I would be if I was placed in a country of which I knew very little. I am sure that I would be frustrated with the language barrier, as well as not knowing or having the opportunity to get around the city. I imagine that overall the entire process would be a challenge. Seeing the few possessions that they family owns helps me understand little aspects of my life and our society that I take for granted. Even such small things as knowing how to mail a letter or pay for parking could be obstacles for someone who is unfamiliar with the intricacies of American life.
I look forward to learning a lot more about my refugee family and seeing how they adapt to a different culture. I am sure they will have a lot to teach more about theirs, and I can’t wait to learn.

Erin and I went to visit our Burmese family for the first time last Thursday. We were both a little anxious because we knew that our family absolutely did not speak English but relieved we would have a translator just so introductions would go more smoothly. We also decided it would be nice to bring a gift but we were skeptical about bringing food when we did not know their preferences so we decided to bring a plant instead. A gift we later deemed a little bizarre but we hope they liked it.
Before heading over to our family’s apartment we had to pick up our translator. This resulted in an especially beneficial experience for me because we happened to run into the daughter of the Nepalese family which I had spent time with last semester. Seeing and speaking with her gave me a boost of confidence to visit my new family because I recognized that I had made a friend last year helping refugees and presently had the opportunity to make friends once again.
As expected our first visit was brief and a bit awkward at times but introductions and plans were made for future visits. Our family appeared a little skeptical of learning English but they made it clear that they disliked the language barrier they experienced in the United States. So hopefully if all goes well next week we can start helping them learn some English and we also hope to see our plant on their windowsill.

So far, my partner Brendan and I have been to see our family twice. The first time we went, we definitely felt rather awkward as we wanted to reach out to them and let them know we simply wanted to be there for them as friends and help in anyway we could, but I know I didn’t realize how hard that is to convey when there is a slight language barrier. The second we went to visit our family, we were all much more at ease. I think it definitely made me and Brendan much more hopeful.
The thing I want to reflect on the most in the language barrier that does exist between us. Luckily, in our situation while we are talking to them, there is no pressure to really speak “perfectly,” yet I know I was very surprised at how eloquent they have become, even if they don’t know the correct vocabulary to use, and they have only been here since February. It often makes me reflect back on the 7 or so months I spent in Chile and how hard I felt it was to really be me and show my personality, but in Spanish. I was nervous enough that other people were not going to understand me, let alone trying to be funny. Now, that I have been to see my host family twice, I have noticed a similar struggle, as the sisters in the family also like to joke around with each other and also with us. I remember reading in Mary Pipher’s book about how when she was with the family with the “beautiful laughing sisters,” I was reminded of the same scenes she discusses when I was spending time with our family from Bhutan. It was apparent to me that these sisters, even though they had been through more than I have in the same amount of years, still had some of the same worries, doubts, thoughts, and joys in their lives as I do. For me, it re-emphasized to me how strong the connection of humanity really is, no matter how far apart we are raised or how different our worlds may seem.

Renee and I met with our family for the first time last Friday.  The family is from Burma and speaks a little English, but language has been quite a barrier.  At first, Renee and I were both a bit unsure about what our role was going to be in working with the family.  We have been helping the kids (a 12 year old boy and 10 year old girl) with their homework.  As Renee mentioned in her post, the kids don’t get home from school until 5 pm (they participate in extracurricular computer classes), but they are always ready to get to work right away.

I have been mainly helping the son, who is in seventh grade, with his homework.  It has proved a tremendously difficult experience.  I am constantly astonished at his diligence in working through problems that are extremely difficult for him to understand.  He is very smart.  His math skills are definitely up to par with the standards required by his seventh-grade pre-algebra class, but his lack of English skills is a constant block.  Explaining a line graph, for example, is complicated by having to first explain the words “time,” “temperature,” and “change.”  Math problems become very frustrating, and though he never gives up, I can tell he often feels discouraged.  English homework is often even more difficult.  The son brought home a worksheet about genres of novels that instructed him to write an example of a book in each genre.  He has only been in the United States for a couple months, and has never had the opportunity to read a book in English.  In his homework folder, I found an essay he wrote entitled “My Autobiography.”  His teacher had helped him write it, and I had him read it out loud to me.  He had a big smile on his face as he read about his hometown in Burma.  I can’t imagine how homesick I would feel if the situation were reversed, and I were suddenly dropped in the middle of a country and culture I didn’t understand.  The kids are so brave for being so young.

The family is struggling to find enough work to support themselves.  Their living situation is very meager, and they are becoming frustrated by the Chicago job market.  The father told us he is in English classes and is hoping that English skills will help him find a better job.  They plan on moving out of state soon in search of a better work situation.  It seems so unfair that they will have to uproot their lives again, especially with their kids in middle school.

Since June I have been visiting the family that Jason and I are both currently visiting. The family consists of a mother and father, a daughter who is around 11-13, and two little boys, both under the age of 3 I believe. I think they have been here since April or May. Since then, they have somehow procured a tv, a dvd player — on which we often watch their Ethiopian soap operas! — and I see the dad zipping around the neighborhood on his bicycle. One of the main things we do when visiting the family is teach ELL. Jason and I — and Alex, too — decided to do this because the family specifically asked for our help learning English. The first day we visited them, back in June, I was nervous but excited. Luckily, two representatives from the ECAC who speak Tigrinya and Amharic came with us so communication was a lot easier than we had anticipated. After having Ethiopian coffee (bun) in the traditional way, (which is very strong, VERY  sweet and is encompassed in an entire ceremony consisting of three rounds of coffee, incense, and other rituals), one of the ECAC representatives asked Jason and I if there was anything we wanted to say to the family. We said we were excited to get to know them and asked them if there was anything they wanted help with. The father said he would really like to learn English, that he thought it was important, and that he was eager to learn to read and write as well. Thus, we decided ELL was something we could do with them. The family has also been teaching us some words in Tigrinya — it’s a lot of fun! We also want to help them understand things in Chicago and the U.S. that they have questions about because they may not have encountered them before. And of course, it’s important to have fun — we’ve taken a trip to the zoo and we  ALL enjoyed ourselves!

As we approached our family’s door, my heart was racing because I did not know what to expect. My partner and I had brought some cookies for our family as a sign of welcome to this country. I had never met a refugee in my life and I wasn’t sure what to say or how to approach them. “Karan” opened the door for us and invited us into his home. I sat down and met his two very shy children. We started to talk him in English and I could see the tension in his face because he could not understand most of our conversation.
As he started to open up to us, we found out that he spoke Hindi. After this point we all became more comfortable with each other. He shared information about his feelings and where he came from. Listening to his story was heartbreaking, but I realized that even though he has been through so much adversity he is still here and fighting. His main focus was to give his children a better life and more opportunities. “Karan” did stress the point that what he thought America was wasn’t really what he sees. He feels as though he is in a jail cell and has nowhere to go.
My partner and I assured him that given time, his family will learn how to live in this country. Later on his wife “Kareena” came in. She had better English and was able to communicate with us. The main struggle they wanted to overcome was the language barrier. “Karan” said he rather be fed English words and knowledge than eat food. I really hope that my partner and I can help them learn English so they can get better jobs. Both husband and wife have so much potential and I really want to see them succeed.