tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post6334567364974063666..comments2008-07-30T00:45:27.094-05:00Blog Antagonisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09378330862349859998noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-66594764432914031562008-07-30T00:45:00.000-05:002008-07-30T00:45:00.000-05:00

(sorry this is so late) <BR/>GOOD FOR YOU!! I am so glad you spoke with her. Will you see her again? Can you spend time letting her practice her English with you?<BR/>I'm a little bit passionate about this because I've lived overseas, and it's soooo hard! People get impatient with you or think you are stupid, and you just long for someone to understand. So sorry to go off in your comments section.

planetnomadhttp://planetnomad.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-14999664448454278522008-07-05T15:15:00.000-05:002008-07-05T15:15:00.000-05:00

I just can not imagine going to another country, not knowing the language, and trying to survive. How overwhelming and frightening it must be to be in her shoes!!<BR/><BR/>Good for you for showing her that people care and are willing to help her. I'm proud of you, Mama :)

Amy Yhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303953793008491241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-21638949561556475662008-07-05T12:03:00.000-05:002008-07-05T12:03:00.000-05:00

that could totally have been me 15 years ago when I met my husbands family. They are all from Europe and English is not their first language. When I went to their house of course you had to learn the language -- sink or swim. I did a lot of treading and floundering.

IIDLYYCKMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14869455386756512706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-83373988790840340692008-07-05T10:00:00.000-05:002008-07-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

I agree. . .a perfect post for this weekend. <BR/><BR/>It has got to be so hard, so isolating. . .good for her for trying so hard to learn, and good for you for trying to help, for listening.

Fairly Odd Motherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11974404093257620566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-12371229014150127862008-07-04T22:28:00.000-05:002008-07-04T22:28:00.000-05:00

A perfect post for this weekend*!*<BR/>Wonderful story~hopefully she will run into more people like you :)

Diannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02358945687143273474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-64682095361591361912008-07-04T22:06:00.000-05:002008-07-04T22:06:00.000-05:00

It is so, so hard to learn another spoken language. It's the humiliation of suddenly sounding like a toddler again that makes it so hard. Only the brave try it.

Veronica @ Toddled Dredgehttp://toddleddredge.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-64593978990822155562008-07-04T21:33:00.000-05:002008-07-04T21:33:00.000-05:00

Another thing maybe you can do for her is just drop a mention in conversation with the other baseball moms that "so-and-so's mom (with the headphones) is trying really hard to learn English, maybe we can all just say hi and a sentence or two to her when we see her..."<BR/><BR/>And Antique Mommy has it SO right - so many native English speakers get so aggravated with immigrants who "aren't trying"

gurukarmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-5967267926496040562008-07-04T19:12:00.000-05:002008-07-04T19:12:00.000-05:00

We had some friends in this weekend. He is American, but she is Thai. Her English is improving, but my goodness, even after many years, it is still hard, so many nuances. Sometimes we can laugh over something she says that is "slightly" wrong. I tell her she is doing well and that makes her face light up. I tell her she is doing much better with English than I would with Thai. And it is true.

Antique Mommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03705408422052963389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-78286851048346986232008-07-04T12:09:00.000-05:002008-07-04T12:09:00.000-05:00

A great deal of my daughter's friends are new immigrants....<BR/>And I help in the gentle or not so gentle maze of the English language... for the parents...<BR/>It is so hard, and they are so brave having left Russia and Thailand... and really, it does take time to help...<BR/>I am so blessed to be given the honour to do so... <BR/>and they in turn have taught me about their countries... and so

Pendullumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11833881250780345533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-40994273285764945232008-07-04T10:45:00.000-05:002008-07-04T10:45:00.000-05:00

I'm proud of her too, at least she's trying to learn

The Womanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03123983791768139547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-74199987051717721062008-07-04T10:18:00.000-05:002008-07-04T10:18:00.000-05:00

Bravura to the both of you.

the only daughterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12334580430376973159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-85306435878328322032008-07-04T07:19:00.000-05:002008-07-04T07:19:00.000-05:00

That was a beautiful post. Thank you for taking the time to understand her. My son's girlfriend came here in the 8th grade from Brazil and was put right into school, not understanding the language. She was so embarrassed, so frightened and tired of trying to communicate that she hid in the school bathroom stall to eat her lunch alone for the first month. It is very difficult for ELL students

Mary Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08923591889426758103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-49430719886669163552008-07-04T00:53:00.000-05:002008-07-04T00:53:00.000-05:00

There's a woman in my nutrition class who will be in nursing with me. She speaks english quite well though her original language is Hindi. She thinks I veri special because I explain our idioms to her. I help her write her english assignments. If I need her to repeat words so I can understand she is patient with me. She asks me why other students aren't so nice. I don't know. This is a

Crazed Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09433413927453925851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-62727968653554661032008-07-03T22:18:00.000-05:002008-07-03T22:18:00.000-05:00

sometimes it just takes a little encouragement, doesn't it?

flutterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828689769747130419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-52380582173218688062008-07-03T20:45:00.000-05:002008-07-03T20:45:00.000-05:00

Good for you. What a great post to start the Fourth of July weekend.

cndymkr / jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05925212233815659494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-27054256308699435962008-07-03T16:40:00.000-05:002008-07-03T16:40:00.000-05:00

Little does she know that she struck up a "conversation" with one who is brilliant with the English language. I wonder if she could somehow sense it.......

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-73061979510471341622008-07-03T15:41:00.000-05:002008-07-03T15:41:00.000-05:00

what a happy and touching story. i really needed that today. thanks.

Larahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04389047861929002263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-52342944226305028962008-07-03T15:33:00.000-05:002008-07-03T15:33:00.000-05:00

very nice helping her - it's good for both of you.

Pgoodnesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15446275487595330171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-49281409159129655242008-07-03T15:19:00.000-05:002008-07-03T15:19:00.000-05:00

Having lived in another country and needing not only to speak the language fluently, but to read it in an alphabet that was not roman letters and had NO VOWELS, I can relate to how hard it is to be that foreigner. It almost hurts to be so out of touch with society and it takes so much to learn. English is a tough language, but you might want to help her find a volunteer ESL tutor. Our public

margalithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09782326504951603071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-78254029832336122422008-07-03T15:11:00.000-05:002008-07-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

My heart breaks for her and tears came to my eyes, I lived in France for a while and know the feeling of not understanding. Even now sometimes in this country I feel like that and I do speak English, just sometimes not the same English.

Boliathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15362098708722733048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-34888465840588284372008-07-03T14:59:00.000-05:002008-07-03T14:59:00.000-05:00

What a sweet story!

Karen Sugarpantshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02648840299789088421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-83054549908096137132008-07-03T14:52:00.000-05:002008-07-03T14:52:00.000-05:00

Awesome BA. Well done. Good on you for saying hello to this woman and now you have a new friend. :) I am actually jealous.

g.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-65282058648495453482008-07-03T14:25:00.000-05:002008-07-03T14:25:00.000-05:00

You were the perfect person to help her, too.

Hairline Fracturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10065962367181064516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20982663.post-61951641485106509802008-07-03T13:37:00.000-05:002008-07-03T13:37:00.000-05:00

This is great! I get so agitated because there are so many people who refuse to learn anything about the country they live in. For every 1 willing to learn there are 9 others who rebuke any effort, scared they are going to lose their idenity, their culture, their ancestry. What they don't realize is that they are gaining a culture to influence, hopefully, in a good way.

Chellehttp://disillusioned.sweetly-evil.orgnoreply@blogger.com