Job Update

I just wanted to post an update about my new job. I’ve landed a temporary part-time job as a teacher’s aide at the community college. I’m helping in a classroom of Level 1, pre-lit refugees as well as doing some tutoring on the side. It is very challenging and demanding! Things that I take for granted aren’t obvious to these students, who in some cases come to their first class day without knowing how to hold a pen. Since I’ve been hired in the middle of the quarter, it’s hard for me to gauge what they’ve accomplished and what the class is aiming for, but I'm starting to figure it out.

As I mentioned, the class consists of refugees who have been placed in Spokane. The majority of them come from Bhutan, but we also have students from Afghanistan, Iraq, Burma and Eritrea among others. I say that because class membership varies day to day. Often students have appointments or circumstances that prevent them from coming.

They are all very motivated and a delight to work with. Most of them are older, from 40 to 60 or so. One day a student told me “Teacher, go slow. Students old. Not young.” Another student was trying to give me a small gift (there are some perks to being a teacher) and finally said “I’ve been trying to give you this, but you move kinda fast.” Hm. Well this is understandable since they are all constantly asking for one-on-one help. The more advanced ones are almost worse than the newer students because they are always wanting me to check things for them. “Teacher! Teacher! Here teacher! Is correct?” I feel like their pet doggy. I am trying to learn how to prioritize their needs, but still find myself tearing around the classroom at 50 mph. I should get one of those anklets that tells you how many miles you’ve walked.

They all have funny little mannerisms that I can’t help smiling at. One of my older students has a hard time keeping up with the younger, highly motivated students in my small group. She will hold her head in her hands and sigh, “Ooohhhhhhhh, teeaaacheerrrrr, Iiiiiii dooooonn’t knooooowwww” in a high, cracked voice. It cracks me up every time. Many of them seem to be cold and not only refuse to remove their coats but also sit through class wearing some very colorful hats. One older man answers most questions addressed to the class with “no… no… yes!” reminding me of Jim from the Vicar of Dibley.

It is so strange to walk off the streets of little, whitebread Spokane into classroom filled with hats, hijabs and colorful ethnic clothing. In addition to that, half the staff seems to be Russian, which means they all sound like they could be in a James Bond movie and have awesome names like Tatiana . The other day I was eating lunch in the break room when a woman walked in and asked me in a thick Russian accent if I would like some Russian cake. As far as work environments go, it could be worse.

In addition to work, I’ve been enjoying the company of a refugee family from Burma after signing up to volunteer at a great little organization called Global Neighborhood. I like it because it’s relationship based and focuses on empowerment. In all honesty I don’t do much more than go and hang out and maybe teach them a little English. It’s a large family and I have yet to figure out how many people actually live in the house as it seems a different set of people are there every time I visit.

The last time I was there, they needed to go to the store to buy some rice. I offered to take them in my car since they only have bicycles and bus passes. We pulled into the parking lot of Spokane’s “Best Asian Market” where I felt somewhat conspicuous as I examined aisles of egg noodles, pocky and soy sauce. The oldest son, who I’ll give the generic Asian name of “Lin,” signaled that he was finished shopping and began to wheel out some puppy-chow sized bags of rice. I watched in disbelief as he heaved five 50-pound bags into my trunk. I could feel the weight of them as I drove back to their residence where he carried each one into the house, making a waist-high stack. I guess if I start to miss rice, I’ll know where to go.