Last week I was able to travel to Italy thanks to generous funding from EURAC to attend their MSC We
Last week I was able to travel to Italy thanks to generous funding from EURAC to attend their MSC Week. One of the best parts of this trip was having the chance to meet my Syrian Arabic teacher, Asalah, in person for the first time. Asalah’s been tutoring me via Skype through a program called Natakallam since 2015 when she was still living in Lebanon and couldn’t work legally. Last December she and her husband were notified that they had been chosen for resettlement in Italy and were relocated just 10 days later. Since moving to Milan Asalah’s continued tutoring me and other students via Natakallam, and has also been learning Italian full-time and working on weekends in a school for heritage Arabic speakers. It was incredible to see how quickly she’s adapted to her new city and country, learning about the cuisine, culture, history and political situation in just a few months. Last Saturday she even invited my friends and I to come see a protest for immigrant rights that she was participating in along with the school where she works.I’ve learned a lot about Asalah via Skype, but it was something unique to actually meet her in person. People’s resilience and tenacity, especially that of individuals who leave everything and start anew, never ceases to amaze me, and I’m feeling very grateful that I have people like her in my life to give me hope. Here’s a story that Marketplace did last year on my conversations with Asalah through Natkallam. -- source link
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