Tuesday, September 2nd
Trinity, Don Bosco High School, 8:30 am
Today Miriam had to start her lessons at Don Bosco High School. Even though she had received encouragement from her workmates, she was really nervous when she left her home for the school. It was the beginning of a new life, but also of a new career. She would teach three levels of Italian Language: the first level with fourteen-year-old students, the second intermediate level with fifteen-year-old boys and girls and the upper intermediate level for the oldest students. The intermediate and upper intermediate were the classes that worried her most because they had had another teacher the previous years, Mrs Driscoll, and Miriam knew from experience that it was always difficult to take someone else’s class, especially if that someone was loved and admired by the students. Today she would start from the upper level so her anxiety was even greater.
The school day began with a blessing in the hall and the performance of the National Anthem. This was not done in Italy and Miriam reflected that this habit of beginning the day with a homage to your country was really important.
The corridor leading to the classroom seemed incredibly long to Miriam, and at the same time, inexorably short, because, beyond that door, a new experience was awaiting her. She had been waiting for this moment for so long that she still didn’t know if it was only a dream, but at the same time, she knew that beyond that door there was either the reward for many years of study, of practice, of sacrifices, or the disillusionment of an experience that would not be worth all her dreams. She longed to meet her new students, to get to know something about their young lives, their personalities, but at the same time, she was afraid of the possible difficulties, of the inevitable challenges that a teacher must always face when dealing with young people. She stopped in front of the door, then she gathered all her courage and she turned the doorknob. The classroom was fairly large, and just in front of the door, there was the teacher’s desk so she slowly walked towards it, conscious of about twenty young students that were studying her, forming their first opinion of their new teacher. She put the register and her books on the desk and turned to face the completely silent class.
She smiled and said, “Good morning, my name is Miriam Busati, I come from Italy and I arrived last week in Canada. In fact, it is the first time I have ever been to Canada. I am looking forward to getting to know you, and … remember, I will teach you Italian, but whenever you need to talk to me about anything, I am always ready to listen.”
The young people in front of her were listening intently. Miriam didn’t know anything about their previous teacher who was much older than she and maybe preferred to keep a distance between her and her pupils because, from the young faces in front of her, she could perceive that what she had just said was new for them. But this was her way of being a teacher, this was her way of dealing with students and she always started her first lesson with similar words.
She opened her register and she did the roll call, stopping at every name and asking the boy or girl to briefly introduce himself or herself in Italian. She noticed that their use of the language was fairly good, with some minor mistakes due to the influence of their mother tongue. At this stage, she decided not to correct but to let students speak freely.
Before her first lesson, she distributed a sample of a CILS Italian test, the exam prepared by the University of Siena for foreign people for the different levels standardized in the European Framework. She gave them a level B1 test, just to check their general knowledge of the language. She noticed that they took the test seriously and she was happy to see that they were used to working with attention and dedication. She didn’t want to mark this test, but when they had finished, she corrected it with them so that they could see what they had done wrong and make a kind of self-assessment.
After the test, she decided to explore their knowledge of Italy as a country, she projected on the interactive board a physical map of Italy and gave some general information about the characteristics of the peninsula, inviting them to add any information they had. Then she projected a map of Canada and they described it to their teacher. Miriam recognized a real love for Canada in their eagerness to describe their home country.
After letting them intervene and talk freely, she asked them to work in pairs and create a list of vocabulary useful to describe a country and its physical features. The lesson went on smoothly and Miriam realized that the lesson had ended only when she heard the bell because time had really flown by.
She said goodbye to the students, advising them to review the vocabulary they had learned before the next class.
While she was putting her books and her register in her bag, she saw two young girls who had remained in the classroom and evidently were waiting to talk to her. She smiled at them and said, “I am sorry but I have not learned your names yet.”
The girls laughed happily and one of them answered, “Hello, Miss Busati. We just wanted to say that we liked your lesson very much and that we love everything about Italy and Italian culture. We are so happy to study in your class. My name is Meg.” The girl who had just spoken was slim with brown eyes and auburn hair, she was dressed simply but with taste and her eyes reflected her excitement. She was an exuberant, lively girl but she was very polite in her manners.
The other girl was not very slim and she had green eyes and blond hair. She was wearing expensive clothes and she was clearly timid and less vivacious, but she was smiling and she nodded while her friend was speaking.
She said simply, “My name is Louise, I love studying Italian and I hope I will be able to remain in your class, because my dad…” Her voice trailed off and she cast her eyes down. Miriam perceived a hint of sadness in her voice.
Meg turned to her friend and said immediately, “Oh, but don’t worry, Louise, I will talk to your dad, if it is necessary, and convince him that he must respect your choices. He can’t force you to study what he wants. Miss Busati…” Meg turned to the teacher who was silently listening to the conversation, “Louise’s dad would like her to study Economics but she doesn’t like that subject and she prefers languages and literature.”
Miriam was watching Louise’s troubled expression while her friend was talking and she said, “Louise, I don’t know your parents and surely your dad means well when he tries to convince you to choose a subject, but maybe you can ask him to talk to me. Try to tell him sincerely that you love what you have chosen to study and he will certainly understand.”
Louise didn’t look at all convinced but she smiled and said, “Oh, but this time he can’t oblige me to do what he wants. He is not in his company where he can give orders and everyone obeys without discussing.” Miriam didn’t like the belligerent tone of the girl but she also noticed that neither Louise nor Meg had mentioned Louise’s mother.
She said tentatively, “Maybe your mum could talk to your dad. What does she think?”
She understood immediately that mentioning Louise’s mum had not helped because Louise looked even more uncomfortable and said, “Yes, I will talk to them both. Thanks, Miss Busati, now we have to go home. See you!” Meg said goodbye to their teacher and the two girls left. There was something in Louise’s words that disturbed Miriam. She decided to wait and talk to the two girls again, maybe to Meg alone, so that she could better understand Louise's family situation.
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Trinity, the Coopers' home, 7:00 pm
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Meg always had dinner with her mum, Grace, and her dad, Andy, when her dad came home from work. He worked at Kilton Motor Company. She cherished her time with her parents in the evening because they spoke about what they had done during the day, and, if there was a problem or they had a decision to take, this was the moment to discuss and talk. Grace and Andy were proud of their young daughter who was their only child and they saw her grow up an intelligent, generous and sensitive young woman.
Meg adored her parents who were for her an example and a guide, especially her dad, who sometimes helped her with her Maths assignments. She had chosen to study Mathematics because her dad was an accountant and an auditor in a company, and she considered whatever her dad did the best.
Tonight Meg was particularly excited after her Italian lesson and the meeting with her new Italian teacher.
“Mum, Dad, I hope you will meet Miss Busati soon. She is really awesome, and she speaks perfect English. Oh, how I wish I could speak Italian like that!” There was admiration in her voice.
Grace and Andy were always interested in what their daughter told them, always ready to listen and support their girl.
“Oh, we would have liked to go to Italy on our honeymoon,” Grace said dreamily, “but it was too expensive at that time. Where is your teacher from?”
“She is from Padua in the north. We saw on the map that it is near Venice and there is an important university where Miss Busati studied. She showed us pictures of a wonderful church painted by Giotto — I don’t remember the name — but it’s marvelous!”
“There must be something beautiful and historic in every part of Italy, I think,” said Andy. “Who knows, Grace, maybe we will be able to visit Italy one day!”
After dinner, Meg showed them the handout of the CILS exam and she explained to them the various exercises. After dinner, Meg and her dad helped Grace to wash up and tidy the kitchen and then they sat in the living room to watch TV.
Every evening, Grace asked her husband if everything was OK at work, even if she knew immediately when something was wrong because Grace and Andy were a couple that didn’t need to talk, there was such a deep understanding between them that they perceived immediately if the other had worries and they couldn’t hide anything from each other.
Tonight Andy said, referring to the colleague who shared the office with him, “Steve is nervous these days. I hoped that that girl he introduced to us would give him a little stability and serenity, but today, he was on the phone and they were not pleasant calls. He was angry and then he was distracted and agitated all day. I don’t know what to do because I would like to help him, but when I ask him what is wrong, he just says that he has problems with some people and that I don’t need to worry!”
Grace said, “That night we spent together with… I think Jill was the name of the girl, was pleasant but after the phone call he received, he was not the same and they left immediately. I noticed Jill was upset, maybe she knows something… I think, Andy, that you must leave him to deal with his problems and respect his wish to be left alone, but we must be ready to support him whenever he asks for our help!”
“You are right, Grace! There is no way I can help him if he keeps me at a distance!” Andy looked worried, but after a few minutes, he relaxed with his family and the cosy atmosphere of his home prevailed.
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Trinity, the Kiltons’ home, 7:30 pm
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Louise lived in a beautiful villa that immediately revealed the social status of her family. Her dad, Brian, was the manager of the Kilton Motor Company and he was what you would define a successful man, because he had made a fortune out of a business he had inherited from his father and he had been able to make it much more prosperous. He was not a nice man, he was an unscrupulous business man. He lived with his wife and daughter but he was often away on business and they had a housekeeper, Katie, who lived with them and took care of the house, the cooking and looked after Louise when her parents were not at home. Brian’s wife, Susan, did not work but her days were almost entirely spent shopping, going to different clubs -- she belonged to a bridge club, to a golf club, to a tennis club — posting stories on Instagram and Facebook, making video calls, going to the hairdresser, the beautician, the manicurist, the physiotherapist, the personal trainer…
Tonight the family gathered at dinner. Katie had prepared delicious food as usual and they were all sitting around the table: Louise’s dad and mum on opposite sides and Louise between them. Her mother had her mobile phone on the table next to her and kept on looking at it, her dad was reading the newspaper and Louise was eating silently.
She was so excited about her new Italian lesson that she said, hoping to arouse her parents’ interest, “Today I started my Italian lessons.” No reaction from her parents. Her dad raised his eyes from the newspaper and laid it on the table, her mum was texting someone on the phone. Louise went on, “We have a new Italian teacher. She comes from Italy and she is very nice!” Her dad’s comment would have discouraged anyone, but not Louise who was used to similar remarks.
“It is high time that the school hired an Italian teacher to teach Italian! That old teacher, Mrs Driscoll, surely couldn’t speak properly and didn’t know anything about Italy!” Louise’s mum laughed at that remark and nodded.
“You are right, Brian, and that teacher was too old to teach anyway!”
Louise loved Mrs Driscoll but she thought that maybe having an Italian teacher would be an incentive for her dad to let her study Italian, so she went on,
“She comes from Padua, not far from Venice. I would like you to meet her!”
Her father looked at her as if she had asked him for something impossible. “Meet her! Do you think I have time to come to see your teachers? I have a company to manage. And I have already told you, this year, whether you like it or not, you must study Economics. Susan,” his wife reluctantly raised her eyes from her mobile, “you have to talk to Father Mark about Louise’s choice of subjects. I need her to study Economics because I want her to work in my company in the future.”
“But Dad, I want to become a teacher! I don’t want to work in a company and I feel I wouldn’t be able to be a good manager! Mum, say something to Dad, please!”
But her mother’s phone rang and she went to talk in another room, without caring about her daughter’s pleading words. Louise was really sad and disillusioned so she stood up and went to her room without finishing her dinner, knowing that no one would look for her or would come to see if she was all right. Looking out of the window after a while, she saw her mum all dressed up leaving… She threw herself on the bed and started crying. In the end she had studied Italian for two years now because her parents didn’t have time to discuss it with her, but she felt lonely, almost as if she didn’t have a family at all. When she was so sad and discomforted, she called her Uncle Joseph, her dad’s brother and his wife, Isabel. They were so different, they didn’t have children and they often spent time with Louise.
Now she picked up her phone and dialled her uncle’s number:
“Hi, Louise!” when she called him at this time it meant that she was sad. Joseph had already tried to talk to his brother but he had simply replied that he brought up his daughter as he thought right. He was so different from his brother that, when their father had died leaving them the company, he had sold his share to Brian and he had opened his own accountant’s office. He knew that his brother was greedy and he had a vain wife who only cared for luxury and expensive entertainment. He also knew that not all Brian’s dealings were legal and so he had decided to stay far from it. He seldom visited Brian or his family but he frequently spent time with Louise whom he loved like a daughter.
Louise tried to sound cheerful while she told Joseph about her new teacher and her new lessons. Joseph knew that his brother didn’t approve of his daughter’s choice of subjects but he also knew that he was too busy to contrast her openly. Now he encouraged her and tried to cheer her up, letting her talk to his wife and showing interest in what his niece was telling them.
When she ended the call, Louise felt much better. Her uncle had promised her to meet her Italian teacher and she felt relieved. This phone call had been able to give her the warmth of a family. Sometimes she wished her dad and mum were her uncle and aunt. She sighed, texted her friend, Meg, for a few minutes and went to sleep serene.
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Trinity, Miriam‘s home, 10 pm
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Miriam was preparing to go to bed and she was tired but she had started the habit of writing an email to Father Lucio every week and she didn’t want to miss her ‘appointment’ with one of the dearest friends she had.
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‘Dear Lucio,
This email will be short because today I started my school year and I am really tired. My first impression is very good. Today, I had my first class with intermediate and late intermediate learners and they are both interesting groups of students, motivated and enthusiastic. I spoke to two girls from the upper intermediate class, Meg and Louise, they were nice and they stopped me after the lesson to say they like Italian culture. Louise must have some problems at home. I will eventually talk to her friend, Meg, or to Father Mark to see how I can help her, because I had the impression that her dad would prefer her to choose other subjects. She is very kind, and she seems motivated. It would be a pity if she had to abandon the Italian class!
Last Sunday I spent some time with a few of my new colleagues. We went to visit a natural park, not far from here. They are all nice and it’s wonderful to walk on the path along the shore of the lake. Here it is still warm and we have had sunny days. I enclose some photos of my walk and my excursion with my workmates yesterday.
I hope you are all right, thanks for your messages and your constant prayers.
Love,
Miriam’
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and then Add to home screen.