Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Intern Adventures Continue!
Hello Again,
Intern Morgan here. I've been interning for about  one month now. Things are going well. I am really enjoying teaching in the class room.  I am helping out Beth's class, which is the lowest level. Most of the students in her class are just learning their letters and how to introduce themselves. I spend most of my time going back and forth from Damber, a Bhutanese refugee who is very very quiet and Jesus, a Cuban asylee who is very very talkative. Damber is new and just getting to know how to write. Jesus is very determined. He participates in class and if he is confused he will ask in Spanish.  In class Thursday,  Jesus thought Damber was the name of a country. So we had to sort out that, also he never had heard of Bhutan so I had to show him on a globe.
I also work with Kameela, from Iraq and Lan from Vietnam. Lan is sweet and tries really hard to learn English. You can see it when you talk to her she has so much to say but just don't know how to express it yet in English. Kameela is a rambunctious lady. She really likes the color pink or "bembi" as she says in Arabic.
Oh I forgot to mention the refugee who makes me smile the most. His name is Saw. He is from Burma. He is in the class I help. He is at the level in English where he knows his letters but not words yet really. He can understand better than talk. He smiles so much and laughs so much it warms my heart. Things that aren't really that funny are hilarious to him.
  Some of the former refugees have already received their citizenship but come for the activities,  friends and further English lessons.
I am really enjoying the classes. I also spent one day in the office, doing computer stuff but that isn't anywhere as fun nor makes me feel as energetic like teaching does.
 
Morgan helping Damber from the Karen State learn his letters.

The Intern Adventures

The Intern Adventures
Hello! My name is Morgan and I am a new Intern with the Elder Program. It's my 3rd week here with the Elder Program, and only this week did I actually meet the elders (what with all the holidays and all). I've been getting used to the complicated building and getting an ear for accents and new languages I haven't heard much. Every one at KRM is very nice and Eva & Michaela are taking good care of me.
So far I have taken  refugee elders to the bank to set up accounts and have tried to explain Star Wars to a few (unsuccessfully I fear). I also have enjoyed my time playing checkers with David from the Karen State of Burma and talking about traveling with Jolyana and Zaki who are both from Iraq. All the refugees I have met so far are always very courteous and have tried to teach me their languages, which I enjoy. I have found the new word I am using most often with Arabic speakers is "sa'ab" which means difficult, because as Murphy's law states: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. 


Wednesday, January 13, 2016

The Elder Program Has a New Intern!

Our new intern likes cows.
 This is Morgan, our new intern who started with us in December and will be helping out until May. She is in her final semester of undergraduate at Indiana University Southeast and will be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She became interested in our program after traveling abroad to Oaxaca, Mexico and realizing she would like to work with lots of different cultures and types of people as a job. Reading about the Kentucky Refugee Ministries' involvement in helping resettle Syrian refugees solidified where she would like to do this work.
Morgan's hobbies include watching lots of foreign movies and TV shows. She also enjoys listening to music in lots of different languages, even ones she can't understand. K-pop is her favorite. 
***Look forward to updates to come from her about her experiences with the Elder Program.
 

Wednesday, January 6, 2016




Tis the Season for Long Sleeves and Hats

November and December were not so busy what with all the holidays and breaks happening. Still there was time for some Bingo and eating cake.


A friendly game of bingo in November.

Elmira made a cake!

October 2015

We continued the Speed Art Museum project, visited Huber’s and had a blast, plus added 3 more citizens!
September 2015

Carnegie Center and the Amphitheater in New Albany, IN!



 

Three close friends: Cuban ladies Isabel & Emma with Hong (Vietnam) in their midst  during the visit at Carnegie!



Lovely group photo at the end of the visit at Carnegie Center.














What we have been up to the last few months...
July 2015

The Elder Program resumed classes in July after a two-weeks break and dived right into exciting hands-on class sessions. We welcomed three new American citizensHit Ler from Karen state, Burma, and Kamala Pati and Bishnu Subedi from Bhutan! Congratulations!!!! We are so happy with them!

Hit Ler (Karen state/Burma) is sooo happy to be an American
citizen and having been able to obtain an American passport! 




 August 2015


We enjoyed the Elder Art Show at the Iroqouis Library which exhibited the beautiful creations worked on throughout the year. Another highlight was the opportunity to welcome US Representative Yarmuth to the Program. 

Saw (Karen state-Burma) in front of his great art.
The Elders with Representative John Yarmuth

What we have been up to the last few months.... 

June 

Our outing at Willow Park with the Family Center and Francis of Assisi students was a blast! Another great day was the World Refugee Day Celebration at Tyler Park, and a visit to the Zoo rounded up the activities for June before the short break in July!


World-drawing contest with the Bhutanese @ Willow Park
Musa (Sudan) is selecting his meal.  
Sabee (Iraq) at the Zoo.