Greg Mortenson did not disappoint tonight as he spoke to a packed Moby Arena. He remains a humble man earnest in his convictions, hopes and gratitude despite the fact that many nights he stands before a huge crowd with no less than 5 jumbo screens on him and on this particular night an elite little circle of Fort Collins' civic celebrities hanging on his every word. It meant so much for me to see him tonight and I was grateful for the company of Crystal and Missy. You cannot underestimate the power of inspiration. His book, "Three Cups of Tea", which recounts his personal journey in building peaceful and respectful relationships on the other side of the world and schools which specialize in educating girls in places where it was never before allowed, has inspired the masses. It truly is a must-read book and in fact, has become so for the Pentagon and military in Afghanistan. And yet, it is a book that speaks to me in my minuscule little city trying to spread the same ideals and understanding for respect, cooperation and communication. When I first began reading the book I was trying to finnagle the exit strategy of my beloved Language Exchange. I was at the end of my rope. Over and over I ask myself "Why, why is the work of creating opportunities for our community to learn from, interact with and benefit from the richness of each other's heritage and language like trying to bathe a cat"? I am so tired of hitting my head against the brick wall with the community-at-large. In a city of more than 186,000 people are you seriously telling me that the number of folks who value, really value language acquisition, multicultural interaction and diversity in their day-to-day lives is only about 200 people?
This, unlike tonight's speaker, does not inspire hope.
A year and a half ago I read "Three Cups of Tea" and cried through the entire thing because my cause, my school, my city means just as much to me. I understood again that the work and purpose of Language Exchange of Northern Colorado is bigger than my 60 hour weeks without pay, bigger than not seeing my children in their formative years, bigger than my financial well-being and bigger than any one popular language or culture.
By the end of the book I decided to dig in and keep swinging as Greg Mortenson had done so many times.
I came to Fort Collins 13 years ago and even then I knew this place was special. It wasn't perfect but it came pretty close. My belief then and now is that if you love a place, the way I love this city you should preserve those things which are important to you, those things which are good about it and work to change the imperfections. That's what the school has been for me; a missing piece in this city that I could be responsible for filling.
As I talk to Crystal I know that it is so deeply appreciated by some, that my heart floats knowing that I have some part of it. Vicki says that I have to get the word out because this is so important. When I watch our students interact with their Chinese teacher during Tai Chi or see people making lasting and impressive relationships at our cultural events for the community I feel in my soul that I am in the right place, that this school must survive. But when I listen to parents complain about paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month in tuition for schools where they are dissatisfied but can't see spending half that on immersion education, when I get phone calls from city offices who don't want my business to dawn international flags I can get more than a little discouraged. Today unfortunately was one of those days. But I got through it. Parents of our students get me through it, my family gets me through and today Greg Mortenson got me through it...again. Thank you to everyone who gives me the reason to do it all over again.
See you tomorrow.
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As Greg Mortenson proved, some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and though the Language Exchange struggles financially, when I watch our kids "befriend" through literature and education people who live all over the world I count the Language Exchange as a phenomenal success. The Language Exchange is a gift; it does for American minds what Pennies for Peace does for the Central Asia Institute's schools: Create a better world through education! A school like this helps kids feel closer to children in other parts of the world, as if they had actually shared that third cup of tea, and that education is priceless. Thank you, Dannielle and all of the teachers for doing what you do.- Crystal Ferreira
ReplyDeleteRegarding your cause for educating about diversity in Fort Collins, I previously attempting to reach out to your organization and was dissapointed by the delays in responding to my inquiries and the limited information I received. I had contacted LEXNC for both personal and professional purposes and had indicated why I was calling, but was not met with much interest.
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