Before Thanksgiving each year, my daughter's school hosts a friends and family meal. It's one of my favorite days of the year! This year, Diana proudly showed me how to go through the cafeteria line to get my lunch and then, we sat down at the long bench table to eat with her classmates and their friends and family. The kids were being silly and fun, and it made my heart happy to see my kid in her element.
Then, one of the school administrators tapped me on the shoulder and asked if she could get me to scoot over to make room for a little boy. She placed a tray with a banana and milk down on the table, and then, explained that it was his first day and that he didn't speak any English. She said that they had a teacher that could translate, but that teacher was working with another student at that moment. So, while they waited, the administrator took the boy through line, doing the best she could to figure out what he wanted to eat, and then, looked for a parent to seat the boy next to for a few minutes.
My heart went out this boy - I can only imagine how scary it must have been for him. It's hard enough to start a new school, but to also not be able to speak the language and to have it be on such a chaotic day seemed like just too much. My heart also went out the boy's parents. I can't imagine how scary it must have been for them to drop him off at school that day, knowing the challenges that he would have.
One of my resolutions this year was to learn Spanish, and I have been using an app called Duolingo to practice a little each day. My motivation to learn it was so I could speak Spanish when we traveled or with friends or family that are native speakers, but so far, I had been too intimidated to actually attempt a conversation with anyone in person. I was diligently practicing every day (for 286 days in a row!) but hadn't stumbled across an opportunity to try out my new skills.
Until now.
I decided that if he could be brave enough to come to a school where he didn’t know any of the language, I could be brave enough to try to use what I have learned so far to try to help him. (Ironically, the lesson that week had been about meals and different foods.)
I turned to the boy and started a very simple conversation in Spanish. I told him my name and that I was Diana's mom, and that I spoke a little Spanish and would like to try to help him. He cautiously started talking to me, introducing himself and explaining that his mom had packed him a lunch that was in his bag. I asked the administrator if we could get that for him, and they sent a student helper to get it.
And we were off! We had a stilted conversation about his family and starting school. He asked lots of questions about what was going on that day, why there were so many parents there and what the difference decorations meant. I answered them as best I could while we both ate our lunches.
Diana and her friends noticed that we were speaking in a different language and started asking questions about how to say different words like friend, play and welcome. I taught them how to introduce themselves and how to invite him to play with them, and he patiently smiled while we bumbled through our introductions.
Then, it was time to go. The kids started cleaning up and getting in line to go back to class, and he wrapped up what was left of his sandwich to eat later as a snack. I hugged Diana goodbye, and told him, “Disfruté almorzando con él y practicando mi español.” He smiled and gave a little wave as they went back to class.
I left feeling very grateful, which is the perfect feeling for a Thanksgiving lunch.
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