THE BILINGUAL JOB FAIR BLOG

Mr. Brown: My First Friend in the US

September 10, 2009

Once I made the decision to move to the States, there was no turning back. My airplane, headed for New York, reached twenty five thousand feet altitude and I had just said good bye to my family and friends. At this point, I could no longer see the blue ocean that surrounds the island of Puerto Rico, or the palm trees, the tall buildings, or any roads in San Juan. What worried me the most though was leaving my loved ones behind. I was not going to be able to see them every day anymore… my parents, my friends, or my neighbors. I only knew about five people in the entire state of New York; and in the whole USA, for that matter. How was I going to make it? I did not know.

I guess the flight attendant could see the emotion in my face, and she smiled at me several times throughout the trip. I smiled back at her through my tears. It seemed like I had gone through about twenty tissues so far. But I kept encouraging myself because I was determined to learn English and to become bilingual.

As soon as I arrived in New York City, I looked for and enrolled in an intensive English course. On the day of my first class, after walking ten blocks and having to wait for the bus, I wanted to sit down. Well, I was out of luck this particular morning because the available seats were all in the very front of the bus, where I thought, handicapped and older people sat. The bus driver looked at me and offered me a seat in one of the front seats. He gestured for me to sit. So, I did. I smiled at him in return and he looked at me several times from his rear view mirror, to see how his ‘new passenger’ was doing. I think that he knew this ‘bus routine’ was all new to me. He was about fifty-five years old and a true gentleman. He had a very warm smile. Unbeknownst to him, he made me feel at ease with my first bus ride in New York City.

When I reached my college, I smiled at the bus driver when I was getting out of the bus, and he smiled back. The next morning, he was my bus driver again. This time, I noticed his name tag. His name was ‘Mr. Brown’. He remembered me from the day before, and smiled really big this time. The bus was kind of empty the second day. It turned out that the day before there was a mechanical problem with another bus and Mr. Brown had ‘inherited’ a lot of other passengers from the other bus. But they were not there this particular day. Today there was ‘Mr. Brown’ and about ten other passengers. There was a lot more room on the bus. But I sat in the front again anyway.

Mr. Brown looked at me and asked me, “What’s your name?” I understood that, and answered, “Mylene”. By my face, I guess he realized that I was afraid to speak English back to him. He then asked me, “Learning English?” I understood that too. I answered, “Yes, sir”. He smiled and kept driving the rest of the way. Every day, afterwards, I looked forward to seeing Mr. Brown.

As time went by, he kept asking me different things, about what I was learning in my classes, and about new words I had learned recently. I particularly remember when I was learning the alphabet; how I would practice with him and how he would ‘correct’ my English. I also remember when I was learning the names of different fruits. I would practice my pronunciation with him and he would be happy and proud for me. We also practiced ‘telling time’, as I was learning how to read my watch. He would always ask me, “What time is it, Mylene?” and I would look at my watch and respond. For months we did this. He enjoyed it as much as I did. I would pay for a seat on the bus, but I would never sit. I would just stand up near Mr. Brown, near a pole, in front of the bus, for the duration of the bus ride, about half an hour each and every morning.

Mr. Brown gave me so much courage to continue to learn and to do well. He would give me such big smiles when I pronounced words and phrases correctly.

By the end of three months, Mr. Brown kept saying that I had to stop talking to him and start talking to the other passengers on the bus. He kept saying that he loved talking to me but that I was ready for the rest of the world now. He was so pleased with my progress. He gave me so much positive reinforcement. More than he will ever know! Without him or me knowing it, he became my first friend in the USA! Mr. Brown, yes, he was my first friend in the United States. And I will never forget what he did for me, when I needed him the most.

Note: Part 2 of ‘My first friend in the US’ is coming. Mr. Brown’s story continues…

You can read about what motivated me to become bilingual here. I’ve written about the five stages you go through to become bilingual here.

Filed under: mylene

Tags: bilingual, languages