【New York】紐約圖書館的免費英文課程

【Ny 生活日記】
仔細查一查，紐約有很多地方都有ESL (English as a Second Language) 的課程，給英文為第二語言的人們而開。不要害怕，去參加吧！

 

 Mid-Manhattan Library

//You just need to be brave to try something new!//

It’s actually quite scary for me to attend a class in an unfamiliar society ALONE. You don’t know whom you’ll meet, what may happen, and it’s even in a language not in your mother tongue.

However, I just want to give myself a try and break out my comfort zone to learn something and meet people. Therefore, I go to a free English conversation class in New York Public Library tonight.

Our team has 7 people, and we sit in a circle and shared their life in New York. It's quite interesting to meet people in New York, because New York is like a melting pot that you may meet people from the country you think it's so far from you that you don't think you'll meet someone from that country ever.

People in my team are a women who is now studying English from Slovenská republika, a man who has been a preacher for 35 years from Republic of Ghana, a Japanese girl who just moved to N.Y. because her husband working here, and an American with a Chinese girlfriend volunteering to be group leader here talking everyone….etc.

We talk about different subjects like I share that my favorite performance, Shen Yun, is on Lincoln center this week, and affiliated company of my company is called the Epoch Times and its Chinese version is where I knew the class tonight.

I think it has been a while that I’m only thinking about my work and myself. I stop being curious about this world and stop paying attention to people walking by.

By meeting these people today, I find out lives amazing again and there are many cool people that deserved to be known.

在大紀元報紙上看到，紐約各個圖書館有開不同的免費英文課程，於是就趕快查了一下最近的ㄧ個圖書館，今晚馬上出發！老實說我還蠻害怕自己去的，但總覺得要去試試看，而且在紐約上英文課對我來說太貴了，有免費的可參加，當然要把握機會阿！

 我參加的會話課形式大概七個人為一組，由一個英語為母語的人帶領，大家圍成一圈用英文分享在紐約的生活。雖然有時會有無人說話得尷尬窘境，讓我想起以前高中時參加過的「英語角」(English corner)，但很可貴得一點是，縱使大家英文都不太好，大家還是蠻願意分享的。

在紐約遇到的人真是各種人都有，有來自迦納，當了三十五年牧師的非洲黑人；從斯洛伐克和土耳其來讀英文的人；移民美國九年的廣州人；不太能跟上話題得歐洲老人；因為先生工作而搬到紐約的日本女生，還有來自密西根，帶領我們這組的美國人。

 我們討論的內容從食物，做菜，去哪兒玩，假日要做什麼.....等很多話題，而我也跟他們分享我一月有去看神韻的演出，現在三月又回到紐約，正在林肯中心上演。

除了練了些英文口說外，我覺得很大的收穫，我找回了對這世界的熱情和對眾生的熱愛。

當我在聽著他們講自己的背景時，我忽然覺得這世界原來有這個多形形色色的人，他們的故事和背景好有趣，而我好像這陣子因為太專注在工作，對事物變得冷漠、提不起勁。

我想今晚能遇到這些人，對他們，對我，或許都不是偶然。也很高興今晚做了個突破。