Saying Goodbye
Since July, I have been teaching English to one of the nicest Japanese guys I have ever met. I have so enjoyed teaching him and having the opportunity in this way to re-connect with Japan. Last week was our last lesson together and I wrote the following right after. He will most certainly be missed…
Saying Goodbye – by Nathalie Vachon
Today was our last lesson. Book 4, Side by Side, Tag questions. This tea is good, isn’t it? You like Japan, Don’t you? This has been great, hasn’t it? I’m going to miss you, aren’t I? We focus on the lessons; I correct, help with pronunciation. But on this day, this last lesson I had to stay focused. Focus on the letters, the way the words roll off the tongue. Laugh at the mispronunciation of puppy (not poopy). Review present continuous. Take note of how I explain things with my hands. Remind him how we use ‘a’ the first time we mention something and ‘the’ the second time. A lion escaped from the zoo. The lion was captured.
Ignore No Vision (after Maya Angelou)
PROMPT: Using two lines of a poem written by Maya Angelou to Oprah Winfrey for her 50th birthday (Ignore no vision… and increase your spirit), each writer was to create two lines of inspiration and encouragement to create a group poem. We picked numbers randomly to decide the order and here is the final poem:
Ignore No Vision – by Sabrina, Catherine, Carol, Alice, Vanessa, Maryaleen and Nathalie
Ignore no vision which comes to enlarge your range And increase your spiritFearlessly, be your own champion And tend fiercely to your sweet and tender dream shoots
Allow softness to grow your heart open Accept tininess, accept flaw as the beginnings of power
Where is She Today
PROMPT: This prompt came from the group scanning a set of books and picking out titles or phrases that jumped out. The phrases that Sabrina wrote from: ‘a tourist in your own town’ and ‘where is home’.
Where is She Today – by Sabrina Dias
Where is she today? Sometimes as she walks up her street of nine years, this thought pops into her head: “Does this feel like my home?” Or she asks herself “Have I really lived her this long? So why am I still asking myself if this feels like my home?” She finds this very bizarre. She is happy, she is content; life is very good for her. Neither she nor her husband is jobless, nor are they suffering from any terrible illnesses. They have no children so life is relatively calm and uncomplicated. But where is home then?
Teeth
PROMPT: Write about teeth!
Teeth – by Sarah Batten
I have not been to a dentist in years. I won’t say how long. I ask myself why. I have come to the conclusion that I do not go because of the dentist I was forced to go to as a child. He was brutal. That is the only word that springs to mind. I felt as though I was abused by him. I guess I was, but perhaps not in the usual way. He was so rough; his hands were not the least bit gentle.
Dr. Dmitri and his assistants would stand over me breathing out their strong, bitter, coffee breaths. “Hoooooow are yooooouuu todaaaaay Sarah?” Before I could answer I experienced a sea of hands coming at me and grabbing inside my small mouth.
An Inspiration
As some of you know, my Uncle Paul has always been an inspiration to me. Where my father encouraged me to be a doctor, dentist, lawyer and stay clear of the arts (of course he meant well, as many parents do) my uncle lived a creative life and was living proof that an artist can not only survive but can flourish. I wasn’t sure if he really knew how he was a beacon for my own creative dreams but before he passed away this summer I tried to let him know.
And after he passed away I wanted to do something to honour all that he meant to me and to so many others. This song was written in hopes of capturing how dear he was to all of us.
Written, created and produced by Ross Lynde (hubby extraordinaire) and myself. Photos care of my also wonderful cousin Pierre-Etienne.
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