On cold days like today, I'm especially thankful for a roof over my head. (For those not in this area, today is a chilly -12 C.) I certainly will always have one with my family, but another roof has also been provided. At the end of January, I contacted an organization I used to work for, that has two apartments for international staff who routinely return to the USA. Since one apartment was empty for the next few months, they agreed to let it to me. So, on Feb 1, I moved into a "new" apartment. Ironically, it is the same apartment I moved into on February 1, 2012, when I moved back from the UK. (Could that have been three years ago?) This will be home for another two months. After that, we will see what doors open!

Classes are going well, as ever changing as always. My regulars are doing really well, truly making me proud of them. On Tuesday, I might have as many as eight new students, nearly doubling my roster. Several of my students have progressed to being able to hold simple conversations with me, which is a vast improvement from when I would get blank stares in response to anything I said.

I don't teach on Fridays. Instead, I supervise intakes and assessments for new students. It is nice to at least get to meet my students before they pitch up in class, and I think it reassures them to know it will be a familiar face. This past Friday, I wore a necklace from India, one with several strands of small blue beads. Two caseworkers, both originally from Nepal, commented on my necklace. The first man, Lol, looked at my necklace in shock and said, "Where did you get that?" I told him that I bought it from friends who live in Goa.  "Wow," he said. "In Nepal, a man would give that kind of necklace to his wife when they are married.  Usually, it's green, but it's like that."  He proceeded to introduce me to the two students I would be testing, who were both Nepali/Bhutanese. They looked confused by my name, until he said in Nepali, "Aasha."  Both faces lit up with smiles as they nodded approvingly at me.

After I began the assessment, a different caseworker popped his head into the conference room.  "Can I say something to them quickly?" he asked. Interruptions work both ways between our departments of Employment, Resettlement, and ESL, so I nodded. He had a quick conversation with my future students, and then did a double take when he saw my necklace.  "Can you wear that necklace?" he asked me teasingly. We rehashed essentially the same conversation, ending with Rohit telling me that my Nepali students would all think I was married.

As I've been writing, another friend has been messaging me on Facebook. He speaks Arabic and always calls me Amal. I love having a name that translates into other languages. Inevitably, my students' faces light up when they hear my name in their language. To my Spanish-speaking students, I can be Esperanza. To my Nepali speaking students, I can Aasha. To my Arabic-speaking students, I can be Amal. I haven't had any Somali students call me by my Somali name, but I believe it is Rayeyn. Some of my newest students speak Tigrinya (from Eritrea) and Kurdish, so perhaps I can learn how to say Hope in two more languages soon!