What can I do? November 29, 2008

     I am trying to recall my initial reason why I decided to study in the United States. it started with the moment that I was diagnosed with sterility because of severe stress from overwork and family concerns about ten years ago. As I was told by the doctor that I needed to take a rest, I had to quit my favorite job. Similarly, I faced having to give up my dream of getting married with someone and building my family as there is still a traditional custom in Japan that women should have babies as long as they are married.   

     I knew that that it would be easy to feel sorry for myself and to think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.  However, I tried to think as to what I could do in my life and to be grateful for what I had at the present.

     A few months later after I left my previous job, I got a new job. Less responsibility, l usually left work at 5:00 p.m., and my health condition got better. 

     One day, my boss suggested that I go to an English evening school. Then my new life started. However, it had  been still hard for me to give up not having a baby. Around then, I came across a poster on the bulletin board of the English school. The poster came from a NGO which was looking for sponsors who would send money to children in the Philippines who could not go to school because of their poverty. The decision was not easy because I had to send about 40 dollars every month because my income was so small. However, I saved the money and joined this sponsorship program. Now, I have a girl in the Philippines. I began sending aid to her in 2000. At that time she was in the first grade of the elementary school and will become a junior high school student this year. I receive a card from her every Christmas and a record of her progress (such as her grades or her health condition with her picture). As I don’t have any income now, I wonder how long I will be able to keep supporting her, however, I hope that I will find a way to keep sending her the aid and that she will receive good education because she wants to be a nurse.  

     Through English learning, I meet many people and learn that there are a lot of people who are suffering from poverty, who cannot go to school, and so forth. By becoming an English teacher, I want to teach the joy of learning about the world in order to create a global network enabling people to help each other beyond different cultures, races, and religions. After graduating from school, I want to teach English  as a second language to learners from different nationalities. That is the reason why I am studying TESOL in the United States.  I might be too arrogant to want to help people, however, if possible, I want to achieve this goal. 

     Even though I will not have my own babies, I have my Filipino child. English learning allows me to communicate with her smoothly. Through meeting her, I have learned that languages and education might play an important role to build a bridge between different cultures and people. I hope that my Filipino child will realize that the world is one some day.      

The information about the NGO (Childfund Japan): http://www.childfund.or.jp/english.html