Summary -- Emma Shreve

In Summary...

I’ll admit, when Alex and JuanJuan started putting up all those posters in the classroom, I was a little apprehensive. I wasn’t entirely sure of the activity and it seemed a little repetitive. As we were filling in the papers though, I realized I was at a loss for some of them. My other classmates’ answers gave me inspiration, however. It was easy to play off of their ideas and form some of my own. The major realization that I came to during that activity was that immigration and immigrant children are complex, to put it simply. I’ll never forget the first time I sat down to talk with Dayana. I’ve never been at such a loss as to what to do. I literally could not understand her. It wasn’t even that she was speaking a language I didn’t understand, I wasn’t sure if she was speaking English or Spanish. Those first few meetings were a little rough, but soon it got easier and by the end, I was usually pretty sure of what she was saying. Our time at AMIS was really rewarding, both with our mentoring and the small group. The first day we walked with the Flying Piglet kids, they just ran, but mostly sat, around the gym for fifteen minutes. By the end, we had them doing laps and getting checked off for those laps around the playground. They had structure and a purpose by the end. As much of a hassle as it was to drive twenty minutes both ways to be there for fifteen, walking and playing with the kids made it worth it. I learned so much about what it means to be an immigrant child. I experienced firsthand the difficulties that they face every day. I can’t imagine how much harder it would be if they weren’t at a school like AMIS where they have bilingual teachers and other classmates going through a similar experience. The most important thing I learned from my time at AMIS is to always have an open mind and be flexible. You never know what experiences a person has had or what they are going through. You can’t assume anything about anyone. If you go into any situation with an open mind and just observe for a while, sans judgement, it’ll turn out better for everyone in the end…

Lenny, one of our accomplished walkers, at the Flying Piglet