Originally, this blog was going to be all about BIG things, and sometimes I get a little lost in the sarcasm, so here is another BIG blog.

For the past two days, I have been watching PowerPoints made by my ESL students about themselves. This has been totally enjoyable, touching, and at times, hilarious. I have had to do some quick re-translating in my head. For example, one girl was speaking of her best friend, and her slide said this of her buddy who is always there to pick her up when she is down, "She is best fren. When I am hard she helps me out." Oh, so funny, but I had to keep my best serious face on. Other times I am simply astonished, such as the young lady who waxed on sincerely about her love for sitting in Starbucks, savouring the smooth flavours of a mocha, and letting time slip by.

What struck me most though, was the section that they were required to present on their impressions of Canada. I was expecting criticisms, and stories of loneliness and being ostracized by their peers for the language barrier. Though they worked on them individually, the slides read the same over and over again, in variations: I love Canada. I love Calgary. It is beautiful and clean. The air is fresh and pure. The sky is blue and big. The people are calm and kind. I am free.

How simple. How we take these things for granted. To my Chinese and Korean students, the big, blue, clean sky of breathable air is their #1 overall impression of being here. To my students from Sudan and Ethiopia and so on, they are just happy to be free. Almost every student spoke of the love they have for Canadian people. Such a good reminder of how much we have been given.