Internationalmatt's Blog

Pushing On to New Horizons- Those Among us May Have Ability We Don’t See

This afternoon I met with a friend who came here as a refugee from Vietnam in 2009. He is a talented young man with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science. Currently he is doing assembly work in a factory while he works to improve his English in hope of entering a Master’s program. We talked about how there can be times of transition in life when we know we are capable of doing more in life than our present job. We also talked about how it is during those times we need to persevere and not give up.

The conversation made me think about how it is too easy to pass by people and miss their potential. In my work I constantly spend time with people who have so much ability but tend to be overlooked. I meet people who are bi-lingual, tri-lingual etc. Some have college degrees from their home country. Some were professionals in their home country. Many of them have abilities and talents that are not fully appreciated.

I had a situation several years ago that showed me how I can that myself. I had a student who was nice old man from Afghanistan. he had a long white beard and would always smile and shake my hand when we would meet. I enjoyed teaching him English. He had heart surgery, so I went to his apartment to teach him when he got to feeling up to it. There was always plenty of food for me and the lesson would turn into a two hour event. I helped with his English for traveling since he wanted to go visit family in Pakistan. I called when I knew he should be back in Lincoln to ask if he wanted to continue his lessons. His son told me he was in Washington D.C. for meetings. I asked why he was there and was told he was in meetings to discuss the new Government there since he was a high ranking judge before the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. I realized that I had completely missed his hidden potential and ability because I only viewed him as the nice old man who was my student.

August 25, 2011 - Posted by internationalmatt | Afghanistan, Cross Cultural, Cultural Ambassdors, Discrimination, Experiences of international friends, International Friendships, Internationals, Refugees