The Immigrants

By Mary Elizabeth Burgess

Celie, teacher of ESL students, works with Gioi from Vietnam, Daniyel from Israel, Suk from South Korea and others, convinced she learns more from them than they from her. She persuades Chau to relate his familys escape from Vietnam, which he refuses to put into print. Celie will never look at a grain of rice in the same way again.

What will happen to Valeria whose family came from Bogota to escape the danger of drug lords? When Celie learns Valeria likes to swim, Celie invites her to accompany her to swim at the Y. She notices Valeria is gaining weight yet has complained of morning vomiting.

Celies best friend, Frankie, tells her a Walmart is coming that will bulldoze her cottage as well as Frankies condo. Maybe George Washington Carvers beautifully photographed renditions of Celies Sears and Roebuck Craft House will save the day.

Celie begins tutoring Kai Zhang, an adult Chinese refugee. When he gets discouraged at his progress and Celie tells him it could take up to ten years to become fluent, he says, I sure hope Teacher long life!

Celie invites her colleagues to celebrate the start of a new term with a picnic at her cottage on Labor Day evening. One teacher describes their school as the melting pot, but Celie demurs, asking, Do we really want our immigrant students blending in like everyone else and giving up their own cultures completely?

The group acknowledges the privilege it is to be inspired by those whose courage and resourcefulness are tested as they adjust to a new language, new foods, new everything. At nine they break into song, and Coach says, Morning comes early. We have to wrestle the huddled masses tomorrow.

Yearning to be free, says Lila.

Celie thinks, Aint it the truth?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491841518

Mary Elizabeth Burgess

A retired reading and learning specialist, Mary Elizabeth Burgess has authored a study skills manual, a children’s book, Victoria, and Once Upon a Time...Two, Poems and Tales of her two sons, Scott and Tom. Also numerous articles have been published in The Lutheran and educational journals. She won poetry prizes in 2009 and 2011 for “Grocer’s Picnic, 1959" and “Grand Canyon Sunrise.” Her short story, “The Flowerbed,” won the WITF contest in January, 2013.

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© 2013 Mary Elizabeth Burgess. All rights reserved.

Cover photo by the author, Washington, D.C.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/17/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-4152-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-4150-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-4151-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013922273

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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To All Immigrants,

whose courage and perseverance

have enriched the fabric

of the United States

1.

She parted her lips slightly and said,-ing, then more nasally, -ing.

Gioi imitated her perfectly.

Now, she said, try ‘sing-ing.’

He smiled. His pronunciation was perfect. Of course the l’s and r’s were difficult, girl, and world almost impossible.

She wished everyone were as eager to learn as much and as quickly as he. In fact, she sometimes paired him with a laggard when it was feasible.

He surpassed pronunciation within a few weeks and ate up any vocabulary instruction she could give. She never had to assign homework to him.

With God’s grace, Gioi accelerated and became the school’s star pupil and won all academic awards at graduation. His greatest struggle was choosing his field of study. Very talented in art, Miss Heidig thought it a shame if he didn’t continue in that field. Yet she knew the choice had to be his.

So the day he told her he’d chosen medicine she wasn’t surprised. Gioi, you can always pursue art. Many doctors use it as a relaxing hobby.

I know, he smiled. But medicine means more money.

That’s important. I’m just so glad you made your decision.

2.

Carmen was one of the most beautiful of her Spanish-speaking students. She’d come from Bogota that summer, was put into fifth grade, even though she knew virtually no English.

I’ve got my work cut out for me with that one, Celie said in the faculty room at lunch.

She seems bright enough, but her parents speak little English at home at this point, and math seems to be her forte.

"Uno, dos, tres, cuarto, cinquo, sechs, sieto, ocho, nueva, dias. Right?"

No, said Carmen. "It’s ‘see-EH-ta,’ not ‘see-AY-to.’"

It was easy for Celie to link English with math. They began counting in both languages, engaging tactile and kinesthetic senses by counting on their fingers.

Spanish-speaking children were so attractive with their black hair and eyes, olive skin. Carmen had the olive skin but green-blue eyes and brown hair, a legacy of her American father. He apparently was some kind of contractor in Bogota till the drug wars drove the family out.

Celie worried about her student’s sexiness, even though she was only in fifth grade. It wasn’t too early to think of the trouble children that age could get into.

When she had an MRI for her shoulder and noticed the Spanish word for pregnant on a poster, embarazada, she asked Carmen if she knew that word.

She smiled demurely.

You know? Celie asked.

Um. A baby, Carmen answered.

"Yes, to have a baby," Celie added.

–

Carmen was taller than most of the others. Her cousin Tony from the Dominican Republic was a year older, but the same height. Celie noticed an attraction between them when they came to her class together.

The way Tony looked at Carmen, Celie knew he found her attractive, her breasts blooming, grace in her step. And she had a way of tossing her long hair over her shoulder—did she have any idea how seductive she was becoming?

Tony himself already exuded animal magnetism. He probably had no idea he did this. He certainly was aware of hormones raging, but he seemed to keep things in quiet control, unlike his male peers.

Yet one day, he took one of Carmen’s drawings. He just held it, but it enraged her, and she grabbed one of his homework papers, scribbled all over it, and started to tear it up when Celie intervened.

What is it with you two? Do you want to go to Mr. Halleran’s office?

Tony looked to the floor. Carmen’s eyes flashed. She was not one bit chastened.

Do you, Carmen?

Carmen picked up her books and stormed out of the room.

Celie looked helplessly at Tony. I don’t know, Miss Heidig, he said sympathetically.

3.

Dear Miss Heidig,

Guess what? I’ve been accepted at Stanford! For medical school!

You did so much to make me successful. The Greek and Latin we worked on is coming in handy. I think it’s what helped me get accepted.

I’ll never be able to thank you for all your help. Write if you can.

With great affection,

Gioi (soon to be Gioi Nguyen, M.D.)

4.

Celie never missed not having a family. Her students were her babies. Not that she didn’t long for male companionship.

Perhaps having been orphaned at so early an age made her identify with children more than adults. Her mother was killed in a car accident, and her father, the driver, died of a broken heart shortly after. She was fortunate her grandmother took her in and gave her lots of