April 2002, Flushing, New York

By Beatrice G. Davis

When Huang Yoo entered the classroom in the community center where I was teaching English as a second language, there were visible and vocal expressions of resentment among the Russian senior citizens in the room.

Why, they wondered, wasn’t she studying English with other Koreans or Chinese who live in one of the buildings served by this center? What was she doing in their class?

In her limited English, Huang Yoo said, as she seated herself at the table, “The other teacher is not a very good teacher. This teacher is better.”

I had no idea how she had come to this conclusion, but since this was a volunteer activity, on my part, I saw no reason for me to exclude anyone who wanted to learn what I had to teach.

I invited Huang Yoo to stay with us and said, “Anyone who wants to learn English is welcome here.”

No further negative comments were heard, though I could sense the air of resentment from the others. Huang Yoo and my Russian students continued to attend our weekly class sessions, but there was never any sign of recognition or communication between them.

Because one of my goals for the class was to help them converse with others in English, I usually started each session by going around the table and having each person tell something of interest about what they had done during the past week. I encouraged the others to ask questions so that they could become comfortable in conversing.

On one Wednesday in April, only Huang Yoo and four of the Russian students were present. When it was her turn to tell about what she had done the previous week, Huang Yoo announced, “On Monday, I am going to Korea to see my husband and daughter. I will come back on May 18.”

This was quite a startling announcement, considering the fact that only two weeks before, Huang Yoo told us that her husband had called her from Korea and asked her to come home.

“I told him I didn’t want to see him because he was still acting like a butterfly,” she said. “You know, going from girlfriend to girlfriend, even though he is an old man!”

Muted laughter and knowing looks had greeted this disclosure, so when Huang Yoo told us that she was leaving for Korea, the Russian students were suddenly interested in her reason for going back to Korea. What other tidbits would she share with the group?

“How many children do you have?” Fanya asked her.

Huang Yoo’s expression changed. Her voice softened. Tears filed her eyes.

“I have only one daughter now. My other daughter died while she was in medical school. She was such a good girl. Like an angel. Always helping people. She was very good to me all the time. I miss her so much.” She sighed and looked away. There were murmurs of consolation, which Huang Yoo accepted, her eyes down staring at the notebook in front of her.

When we started the lesson, Fanya told us about a story she had enjoyed reading in the school edition Reader’s Digest that I had given her the previous week. It was about the NBC newscaster Ann Curry.

Fanya was able to tell us about the article in reasonably good English. She particularly liked learning that as a young girl, Ann always went out of her way to help others.

“That was very good, Fanya. You really showed us that you understood what you read, and your English has improved a great deal,” I said.

Fanya looked pleased at her accomplishment and thanked me for the compliment.

“Today you look so happy. Because the teacher said you did good work,” Huang Yoo said to her.

Fanya responded immediately. “Why do you say I am happy? I cry every day. For 40 years, I was a widow and lived alone. Then I married again. After we were married five years, my second husband died. He was a good man, and we liked living here in America together. So now I am alone again. No I am not happy.”

As Fanya spoke, tears filled her eyes.

“Which building do you live in?” Huang Yoo asked.

“Why do you want to know?” Fanya replied to her.

“Because if we live in the same building, I could call you, and we could cry together.”

Beatrice G. Davis’ poetry has won several awards and has appeared in journals, elementary school workbooks, newspapers, and literary magazines. She is listed in the Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers, and has written more than a dozen study guides and workbooks for use in elementary classrooms, as well as handbooks for parents and teachers of nursery school through elementary school children. She lives in Queens, New York, and has a summer home on Canada’s Prince Edward Island.

Posted by Elizabeth Armstrong Moore on Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 | Email This Post

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