A couple things happened that made me think about my mother. I’m taking a German class and on my first day, I went to the class and didn’t understand anything that was happening: didn’t know who were students, who were teachers, what class I was going to, etc. The students all seem to know so much more German than I did (they took the class together the last time) and for a moment I felt very…immigrant. (i can’t think of the right word) It made me think of my mother. I am about the same age as she was when she came to the US. I can just imagine her being thrown into a world that she couldn’t understand, people didn’t understand her, and she didn’t feel like she belonged.

My situation is VERY different than my mom’s situation I realize. She was forced to leave her country, taking care of 7 kids, me being the youngest at 5 years old ( My younger brother came later.) and with very little education in her background. I have all the advantages on my side and still, felt scared, lost, and stupid. I always thought I was pretty patient when I talk to others who don’t speak English in the US, but being on the other side is a humbling experience. It’s so frustrating how long it takes to get your thoughts across-if you actually succeed. And then I’m still unsure if I understood it correctly. It can make you feel and sound so stupid when you don’t understand or speak correctly.

On the other hand, I take pride in taking steps (albeit small steps) in communicating better. Today, I actually picked up the phone and 3 times too! I admit I was forced to pick up the phone- Thomas was out of the house. Ok, so two of the callers were English speakers, but I still answered! (btw: Thomas has been very good with trying to get me more integrated into this world.) Sometimes you just need to be humbled to appreciate other people’s experiences and your own situations.