Day 178: L & Influence

The reason I moved to Spain and took this job and tried my best to get really into it and do a good job was all based on one thing L said to me once the summer I was here and with her. We had been talking about learning languages and I asked her why she was so darned good at English, especially having never even lived in an English speaking country. Her answer was so sweet. She said that in her town her school had had a native English speaker who would help teach English in her school. She told me all about the girl who had taught her and how much she adored her. She went on about how she'd always want to talk to her and play with her, and how fun she made life (and English). And thanks impart to that girl, she'd kept learning with enthusiasm and ended up completely fluent.

Maybe L would have continued learning English and maybe she would have eventually become fluent, too, even if that girl hadn't influenced her - but the way she remembered her with such happiness made me think that the girl really had left a special impression on her that L would never forget.

I loved her story and wished to be able to do something like that for kids, too. In a strange sort of a way, I wanted to be able to repay the Universe for giving me this girl for a whole summer who was able to speak my language thanks to somebody who had inspired her so many years ago. And I wanted to repay the Universe by doing my best to inspire some other children with enthusiasm for my language, and inspiration to learn as much as they could. Maybe someday I would be that girl one of my students would talk about to their future friend or business partner or significant other who natively spoke English. Maybe they'd tell them about how there was this one American girl back when they were a kid who would come to their class every week to make them giggle and to hang out and to play and sing and dance and do crafts... and how that girl had inspired them to keep learning English with enthusiasm... and that's how they got where they were.

I knew it might be a far off wish, but it's what's driven me every week. If just one of the 250 is long-term affected by my presence in their school like L was by her auxiliar, then my my year here has been an utter success!!

Of course, there's no way to tell yet if I'm anywhere near that goal, but this week something happened that made me feel like I am well on my way there. :) More tomorrow.


XOXO