My Favorite Night of the Week.

Every Tuesday Baxter and I drive our cars from their respective different directions, and meet at the church to teach ESL. Being that each of us drive 15-20 miles from our different work places/cities, by the time we get there, we are tired. Working late and dinner on the run is never fun . . . but thankfully there are precious faces, hilarious explanations, and of course snack time to look forward to.


Two falls ago, I signed up with a friend to teach an ESL class. Now I don't have a teaching OR English degree, but I figured hey - I speak English every day, so surely I could teach this right? What i didn't realize was how this experience would open my eyes to an entirely other world that I supposedly lived "in". I am a self-professed news junkie, so while I didn't know all the ins and outs of immigration issues, I for the most part consider myself to be pretty aware. WRONG. Our community is the highest grossing dairy community in the state of Texas, and subsequently has a very high immigrant population. As these people became my students and friends, it no longer became issues or policy, but the reality of those who I know and love. Public policy aside, I was and am astounded by the intricacies of living and learning in another culture (timely, right?).


This year Baxter joined me as my partner, and let me tell you - without question, every Tuesday evening I leave full of joy and gratitude for our time there. Sure, last week I had to talk about underwear to explain the difference in the prepositions "under" and "below" . . . and I may or may not have taught my class words such as "booger" and "gold-digger". These are important things to know, right?


This is Ramon . . . and don't be fooled. This little Honduran firecracker is a RIOT. It's a guaranteed party when this guy is around, and let's just say that he's the one I'm trying to teach the importance of identifying gold diggers.


This is Jose Luis and his son David. David likes to bring his "muchillo" for when he comes to "la escuela", and we are always glad to have David in class. Even if he rolls cars all over dad during the lesson. Jose Luis and his wife Cecelia (who makes a MEAN tamale) are expecting a baby girl in June, and I think we're all waiting to see how David adjusts.

These friends deeply challenge me every week. They work, live, learn and love with a tenacity I can only hope to mirror in the coming months.