Channey Williams
We arrived at Catholic Charities as around 11:30 in the
afternoon. It was super chilly, brisk really, and over cast. There wasn’t any sun
and cold, heavy clouds hung over the sky. I thought that maybe because of the unpleasant
weather no one would show, but when we got upstairs and satin the classroom m,
which is usually reserved for English as A Second Language class, we were greeted
by a plentiful group of people all happy and willing to talk to us and participate
in a series of fun, wacky, ice breakers and discussions about their thoughts on
their homelands
We broke into groups and played a game in which we all
clustered into different parts of the room depending on things we all had in
common, such as how we feel when we wake up in the morning or our favorite
colors of how many languages we all speak. We then all sat down in a circle and
talked about sound, smells, and taste that reminded us of home. According to
the varying levels of English comprehension, many of the people had to help
each other to understand and to translate the various categories. What occurred
was a creation of a semi-physicalized universal language using physical symbols
and “acting out” to translate English into something everyone could understand,
in addition to the use of root words. The effectiveness of such was interesting,
considering that the people represented varied from Burma to the Middle East to
Cuba. It would seem through observation that at its root, all of humanity seems
to share cultural triggers, symbols, sounds, and movements that translate well
from culture to culture, for example, the sounds and movements associated with
a rooster, or the cultural symbol of the rooster as natures ‘alarm clock’,
crowing during the early morning and waking everyone up, and thus, a symbol of
the early morning.
I really enjoy this article on your first visit to Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities looks like a church or old school house on the outside, but when I entered, it was filled with energy. Classrooms, libraries, a very large gym, and the artwork are on displayed on bulletin boards. Each art piece explained their country’s traditions in greeting the host of a party. In America, someone may bring a housewarming gift, wine, favorite food dishes for a condolence gift, and most of the time nothing at all. Many countries, you greet the party host with gifts always: clothing, food, or money. One of my friends is from Palestine. On my birthday, I didn’t realize that he had spread the word about it; so when I arrived at work, everyone celebrated my birthday with food and took me out for an early morning breakfast at the Waffle House. He came to my house and gave me a painting and large fruit basket. He said, “In my country, we give fruit for prosperity and blessing.” I loved seeing how these unknown cultures are so very gracious. It makes me wonder about how easily it is to offend someone or appear rude from not bring a gift.
ReplyDeleteI like your statement about how each refugee helps one another understand English. It tells me that a community is growing in Catholic Charities. It is that same community helping them progress into American Life: family, careers, colleges, and homes. I saw some refugees interpreting the English language. It does help to act the words out, almost using sign language, and especially speaking slowly. We have a common thread in our body language, sounds, or humor; across cultures, we understand one another. I really appreciate you sharing this experience.
Thanks I agree, I think as people we can help to understand each other through movement body language and shared experiences
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that catholic looked that way on the outside. Honestly i though it was a school until Channey and I went for interviews and actually explored the place and it is like a maze!
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