A few weeks ago after many set dates and changed dates my refugee family group members and I realized that our family didn’t really need us anymore. As great as it is, it’s also been sad. I’ve really missed spending time laughing over pronunciation of words by the family (and my horrible Spanish pronunciations) but mostly I’ve missed having a family away from home.
While I’m extremely happy that my family has quickly acclimated to the American way of life, I also wish that I had more time with them. I knew after a few visits that our refugee mom was going to be fast at picking up English. By our second visit she was already saying certain phrases to her kids and greeting us in English. While the dad struggled more with English, he was extremely determined to find work. After only a month or so, both the mom and dad were able to find jobs. This has been extremely helpful for the family but has left them little time to spend with my group.
Hopefully I can see the family again and during Loyola Refugee Day. I hope that they can come take a break and just relax and update my group and I about their new jobs and their success with English and their ESL classes. I also really want to see the kids and just have a fun play day with them outside instead of all being crowded in their living room. (Although I definitely loved those loud Sunday afternoons with the parents trying to learn English while the kids continuously turned up the TV to hear it over them).
For me, not having a family has left me feeling a little disconnected with the class. By loosing my family, and not receiving my group project emails (as previously mentioned in my last short ranting blog) I feel like I’m not contributing as much as I’d like to. Upon talking to Dr. Amick however, we’ve figured out ways for me to stay evolved by volunteering to assist others in their group projects. I’ve already been able to help with the bake sell/Carmen’s Fundraiser sale and look forward to helping other groups in the near future.