Little things that make my job the best in the world…

Today I want to talk a little bit about one of my English students, Rosalina.  I have so much respect for this woman because she is in her 70s and has just decided she wants to learn English.  In a class full of 20- and 30-somethings, she comes faithfully every Thursday and tries her very hardest, even though she’s not as fast as they are, throwing her whole little self into it.
She said to me today, “My son told me, ‘Mom, what are you doing trying to learn English?  You’re too old for that stuff.'”  But Rosalina got this twinkle in her eye, and with a determined smile, said “It is never too late to learn something.”  And yes, it’s a little bit harder for her, but the point is that she’s making it happen.

So anyway, as class is starting this afternoon, Rosalina pulls out first her folder, then her notebook, then a pencil from her purse.  Then she roots around and pulls out this mangled old pair of glasses that are no longer even strong enough for her to use, and balances them precariously on her nose.  They just won’t work, so finally she gives up and takes them off, squinting at the page.  “Casi no veo nada,” she says.  “I can barely see anything.”
Ta-daaaaa!  That’s where I come in!  “Come up to my house one day and I’ll see if I can find you a better pair.  I don’t have many, but maybe I have just what you need,” I tell her.  So at the end of class, she says, “Can I come right now?”

So we walk up the hill together, and she talks and talks and talks the whole way.  She tells me about her granddaughter and how lovely a name Valentina is.  She tells me about how one of her sons is having surgery and she needs to go to Nicaragua next week to be with him.  She tells me how she lives with one son, but their house is only one little room so if I want to visit her, we’ll go to her daughter’s house where there’s room.  On and on she goes, and her Spanish has a Nicaraguan accent so I only understand half of what she says, but still she talks.

I bring her into my house and down to the garage where the glasses are, and as I’m doing the vision test, she just beams at me, still talking and talking.  “You’re a Christian?  Me too.  I’m pentecostal.  You know, you need to come visit me, help me with my English studies.  My daughter in law depresses me because she learns so fast and I don’t.  Come teach me everything so I can understand.  I’ll cook you food.  One day we should take the bus to visit my granddaughter.  Would you like that?”  I just nod and laugh, barely able to get a word in edgewise, while she spills her life to me.

I’m able to give her glasses, ones that look nice and aren’t broken, and she thanks me profusely, over and over again.  Then on our way out, the smell of spaghetti sauce is wafting through the house, and she says, “That smells so good.  One day we should go to Nicaragua together and I’ll cook you my kind of food.”
Even as she’s walking out the door and down the front steps, she’s still just talking and talking and smiling.

The whole time I’m thinking to myself, I barely know this woman.  And yet she’s in my house, laughing and loving on me and thanking me and sharing her life with me.  I felt so loved, so appreciated today.  And I will be more than happy to go up to her house any time to help her with her English.

It’s people like Rosalina that make me love my job.  Even though my job sometimes can be slow, frustrating, thankless, and hard, days like this and people like Rosalina make it more than worth it.