I volunteer!

I read and I heard people saying that volunteering is a good way to get a job. So I was looking for volunteer opportunities in order to find job opportunities. That being said does not mean that I do not have mercy for people. I am always willing to help people even though I mostly find myself in a less advantaged position to help other people. Knowing that only 10 dollars can help a child have a SMILE operation, I have never given 10 dollars to donation. I would rather contribute my time and other resources to help people. I went on a one-month summer trip to help local schools out of Ha Noi when I was in college. It was fun and a great way to make great friends. I volunteered on a committee at graduate school. I didn't do much and felt like being in a token position. I worked a couple of hours a week for a local hospital in Missouri. There was not much to do but opening doors, answering the phone, and registering patients, but I saw the importance of my presence there. Then I moved to the DC area, I found a volunteer position teaching ESL to my fellow Vietnamese people. These people were mostly recent immigrants. They need to learn English to live in the country permanently and to find a good job. The course I taught was to prepare them to an English program at a community college. From there, they would complete a few month course towards a certificate in the health care field. They would become a dentist assistant, a clinic assistant or a helper in a hospital.

So my students were very diverse, from some fifty year old man to 18, 19 year old young boys and girls. After the one or two first days of class, my class downsized to 12 students. Most of them came to class regularly and did homework at home. Some were better than others. Some understood but couldn't talk back. Some could read well but rarely opened their mouth. One would want to answer all of my questions. Most would stay quiet until name was called. Some worked very diligently. Some would find every opportunity to flirt with the instructor (a.k.a. me!). It was not the first time I taught ESL nor first time with a non-traditional class. But it was the first time I taught such a diverse large group. It was hard for me to make sure everyone understand equally. Sometimes they were lost in my English blah blah, and I was lost in their unresponsiveness. Sometimes I had to let my better students explain to other students in Vietnamese because I wouldn't allow myself to speak in Vietnamese to them. It would make a bad habit for us, I believe.

For the eight weeks, once a week, I drove an hour or so to class. We got to know each other better. I read their homework and learned more about their personal life. One of my students has twins, one boy and one girl. She must love her family so much that she could write long essays full of joy and pride about them. I also learned that a student had a bad pollen allergy. He was a live example for me to explain the word "Allergy" in English. We had fun in class and after class, my students would hang around and talk. Some would exchange phone numbers and address in case one needs a ride. Actually an older student offered to drive two other students to class during all that time. They would give each other advice on immigration paperwork and interview. On graduation day, people brought food over and had a party. It ended up too much food for that number of people. So at the end, everyone had to bring some home. That was fun!

I didn't think that that short course would be enough for my students to get into the English program but to my surprise, they all did very well. All of them got through, some got placed into an advanced class. I thought their placement tests must be very simple. I was so happy for them. People would say that I must be very proud but not so much. I felt like their success was due to their efforts more than my teaching. I didn't feel that I helped that much. I hope I did a little bit. I know they are grateful to us and I am touched by that. That was why I stayed 2 to 3 hours in the traffic to teach a two hour class one day a week in 8 weeks. That was my pleasure to know my students and offer my help. And knowing that a little thing I do can possibly change someone's life will keep me volunteering on whether I have a real job or not.