The Intern Adventures: Experiences

Intern Morgan here. I have less than a month left of being an Intern with the Elder Program and Healthcare Access Department in Louisville's Kentucky Refugee Ministries. HOW TIME HAS FLOWN BY! I really can not say enough about how thankful I am for this experience and as time ticks down I am missing everything more and more. Now I know what you are thinking; yes I do have a month left, but have you ever thought about how many places you have already visited for the last time? That is how I am taking every day right now.

Going into this internship,  I thought it would be a fun volunteer opportunity that gave me some college credit. I sort of knew I wanted to work with other cultures but I didn't know how. I didn't think it would help me decide on my future career path or give me so many laughs and smiles. I am truly going to miss this a lot. But enough mushy stuff-- I will talk about some of my favorite times here at the Louisville Elder Refugee Program.

From Left: Bal and Amber (Bhutan), Emma and Isabel (Cuba),
Ambar (Bhutan) and David (Karen State) playing Bingo.

Once upon a time (about 2 weeks ago) there was a little situation at the Elder Program. On the day of the Wall Together reception and exhibit, Emma and Ambar came 3 hours early and no one was there to open the door (uh-oh). Well I went down to the church, where we meet for class, and let the two in. It was funny just sitting there in an empty church with two refugees and nothing to do but wait. However we eventually got a letter bingo game going.  The prize for winning the unorganized game-- a cookie or galleta as it is called in Spanish. But then there was also crackers on the table as a snack, which are also called galletas in Spanish. So this led to a impromptu class on the word "cracker" and how crackers make cracking noises. It was really amusing sitting there with with about 4 refugees cracking crackers in half to hear the cracking noise. The refugees also found it interesting how I went from crack to crack around the room explaining that, yes splits in the wall and floor were also called cracks.

As more early birds came a long we had about 9 people playing bingo before the school bus arrived for the trip to the Speed Art Museum. It was a good memory for sure.

Fellow Intern Jon substituting in Julie's class.

I have also really enjoyed assisting the teachers during ESL class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My supervisors were really great in trying to get me to see every level of English class. Beth's class with the newest English speakers, was truly the most heartfelt. So many of those in her class have a hard time even writing in their native language, I can only imagine how difficult it is to learn a new writing system and language on top of it. 

Nothing makes me happier than seeing the expression of a refugee who has come to understand a concept. Kameela from Iraq, learning the color "pink" and pointing to everything pink as far as the eye can see is just an example of that happiness I felt. Sometimes teaching English is frustrating and difficult too, especially when you don't know that refugee's language. There were so many times in Beth's class I truly felt frustrated for Lan from Vietnam, She was trying so hard and had so much to say but she just did't know how to put it into words for me to understand. That sad look that would come over her face as she just gave up, She couldn't tell me what she wanted to say. She didn't know the words in English. I have faith in Lan. She is smart and I'm sure one day she will learn enough English to be able to tell the stories she has been wanting to tell.

Ler Htoo & David (Karen State) learning to use a computer.
I kept telling them we had no internet connection but....

I really could type more, but I feel that this post is already long enough. In the end, this experience has helped me to decide to get a TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign Language) certification. With it I plan on going overseas to teach English for a year or two. I hope to come back to Louisville one day and look for employment in a field where I can continue to work with diverse people and help make a difference in someone's life. I plan on visiting the Louisville Elder Refugee Program and volunteering a little throughout this Summer 2016, but it won't be the same as interning for sure.

Thank you Elders, Staff and other volunteers so much.

A selfie with the Elders during the YMCA field trip in January.