From the Classroom to the Field....

         Yesterday marked the last English class of the season for many of the farmers. They mentioned the word 'graduation' a few times over the course of the class, indicating that they would like to move to the advanced ESL level next year.

      Above, we managed a serious photo, and below is a more accurate picture of what our time in the classroom is like, full of laughs and amusing chaos. There is SO much humor in communicating across languages and cultures, and we manage to remember that laughing is almost always the best remedy in places of confusion and misunderstandings.

      Some of the farmers mentioned the things they still want to work on: "I want to be able to talk to my customers, tell them that i am a Somali woman, from Somalia..." and things they have improved on this semester, such as using the calculator, writing vegetable names, and learning the vocabulary of a typical market day. Our hats are off to you farmers! Learning English with passion and drive on top of starting a farming business is not an easy feat.

            Thanks to the Lewiston Adult Education center for hosting us, supporting us and inspiring the farmers to advance and continue their language and literacy education.