A Sunday abstract

There were heavy clouds this morning, but as I sat in my living room I could see bright splashes of sunlight breaking through, making lovely patterns on the blinds.  So I tried a few shots, hoping to capture those shining spots, but I think the camera lens blocks some light when pointed at something very bright, and I didn't get the effect I wanted.  What did come through was the clouds, making dark patterns through the light.  I wish this were Thursday, since it's so abstract.

Yesterday was my volunteer day, and I spent part of it working with a woman from Gambia who does not know how to write or read.  It was my first time working with someone so illiterate, another interesting challenge.  We worked on recognizing letters reading sentences aloud; she would spell them out, and I would read the sentence to her when she was done.  The library provides basic skills materials for literacy, so we were able to use that resource.  At one point I asked her to say a few sentences to me in her native language, Mandinka, so I could get a feel for what it sounds like.  Extremely different from English, so I'm not surprised this is so difficult for her.  

Later two other women, one from Colombia and one from Korea, joined us for a small conversation group.  The Colombian woman is working here as an au pair in order to build up her English skills before returning to her studies in industrial engineering.  The Korean woman, whose husband is in law school here, is working to improve her English enough to pass the TOEFL so she can get a Masters degree in Law.  I'm getting to work with such a diversity of people, from many countries and with many different interests and skills - it's wonderful.