Some ponderings on this sunny day

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on this uncharacteristically sunny winter day I have seen children's smiling faces enjoying a bike ride or a ride in the back of the truck, turning their faces towards the light; usually their faces are frowning, bundled up and cold, it's amazing how fast children forget pain, cold, and hurt. While writing an email today I finally figured out what it is that is so bitterly frustrating and unsettling about not being able to communicate or understand the language of the place you live, it's the helplessness of knowing when you wake up every morning that finding the places you want to go, ordering food, every little thing you do every day in your native language at home is a struggle here and it's hard to cope. I can now empathize with ESL learners completely, and I can't imagine what it must be like to have to move to a foreign country out of necessity, knowing you can never return home, one of my greatest comforts is knowing that I will return to the US. Today I am very proud of myself, I found a place with WIFI and successfully figured out how to use it and got the password. Walking around Beijing today, understanding very few Chinese characters I think about what it must be like to come to the US with little to no English, it's very easy to be overwhelmed by the amount I don't understand but instead I try and find characters I recognize and pat myself on the back. It's all uphill from here...

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Comments

[Mom]

Positive
That is the way to do. Look for what you know. The rest will come in time or you will be home and not need it anymore. Love you.

[Colleen]

Good for You!
Dear Bliss, It's good to see that you're already gleaning some value from this very difficult experience. Often, it's life's hardships that help us achieve things we wouldn't have thought possible otherwise. I, too, have become more understanding of people whose second language is English. Don't give up, and I'm glad you can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Love, Colleen