Today was interesting. I was asked to speak at the local Learning Center about exercise. The catch was that they wanted me to speak to the ESL students! I arrive to find a class of Hispanic women between the ages of 20-40. When I got there they were finishing up their spelling test. They had to spell the words orally to the teacher. She proudly told me that at the end of the semester they will have learned 400 new words and will be at the 4th grade level! I have to admit that these are the kind of immigrants that I like...they are legal and are learning English!
I tell the teacher that I don't know ANY Spanish. She reassured me and then assigned one of the more advanced students to be my interpreter. If you've never given a speech thru an interpreter...it's an interesting experience! I would say a few things and then wait for her to interpret it to the class. A lot of them were catching most of what I was saying in English...but not totally understanding it. What I found the most intriguing was when I would say something and then she would talk FOREVER interpreting the short sentence I just said! They would say something back to her and she'd reply to them...all while I just stood there. I kept thinking, "I wonder what all they're saying! I sure didn't say that much! "
After talking about exercise, I began to show them exercises they could do at home. I had a resistance ball, band, and dumbbells with me. Their eyes got really wide and I heard several remarks as I showed them push-ups. The interpreter told me they said, "We can't do that! How is she doing that pregnant?!?!?" LOL. I showed them many different exercises and kept hearing them gasp when they thought I was doing something that a pg woman shouldn't.
It was a really fun experience. They were much more interactive than any English speaking crowd that I've presented to. They asked lots of questions about exercise and even told their instructor that she should have been recording my presentation so they could listen to it again later. I have to say that after this experience I will be excited to present for them in the future!
1 comment:
That is funny - Yes - Hispanic women are very conservative about what they will and wont do when they are pregnant. How fun to have a translator - I am sure it was an experience. Oh - thanks for the words of encouragement this morning!
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