Category: Internationals

So We All Belong

4/25/2022

As an elementary school principal, Ms. Harrison wants all the families in her school to feel like they belong: like the school belongs to them, they belong to the community, and everyone has a part in educating the children. But at the beginning of the school year, ten percent of the families at West Hills Elementary had an extra hurdle to cross before they could feel like they belonged. Why? Because their first language is something other than English.

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The Small Things are Big

3/24/2022

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Dan thought KIN’s Embrace Initiative would be a good outreach project and a way for his men’s group to experience community mission work and grow closer. One of the young men in the group thought, “This is going to be fun, just hanging out and building relationships.”

So KIN representatives met the 7 men on a Saturday morning, walked them through a not-so-short orientation, and introduced “their” international family.

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Watching From Afar

2/2/2022

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With over 1 million people of Ukrainian descent (reference) and an estimated 344,000 current Ukrainian immigrants (reference) in the United States, it’s not surprising that we have Ukrainian friends and neighbors here in metro Knoxville.

KIN reached out to two Ukrainian-American women to see how things were going for them. Both have been in the United States for close to a decade, and both are married to men of Ukrainian descent as well. We withheld their identity for privacy and security reasons. Their answers have been edited for length and clarity.

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Hospitality Means More Than Food

5/11/2021

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2021 n04
In Clair’s first tutoring relationship through KIN, she helped a middle school boy learn to use his new hearing aids, which helped him excel in school. As much as Clair liked the family—and they liked her—eventually, they didn’t need a tutor anymore. Clair stays in touch, but since then, she has worked with two other new-to-Knoxville families.

In the first, an elementary-age girl needed help with math. Clair has coached her up so that she rarely needs tutoring now. Instead, Clair visits them as friends, including an iftar meal this past month to break their Ramadan fast. (Yum!)

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The Nations at the Lunch Table

3/25/2021

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2021 n03
You wouldn't notice if you passed them in the courtyard, but their outdoor lunch table is a study in cross-cultural acceptance. These Iraqis and Americans see nothing strange about sharing a meal every weekday. (The one time in the school day, by the way, when they take off their masks.) Some of them have been friends for years and some have joined the table in the last few months.

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The Nations Next Door - Literally

2/9/2021

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2021 n02
When Bobbie Jo pulls into her driveway, her two-year-old doesn’t look toward his own house but toward the one next door. If the neighbors’ garage door is open, he’ll say, “Heather* home. See Heather.” That’s the special relationship Silas has with his nine-year-old neighbor, Heather.

In a time when many people don’t know their neighbors, Heather’s parents, Gustavo and Maria, made a point of welcoming Chris and Bobbie Jo to their neighborhood several years ago.

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Smart Girls and Smoke Detectors

1/22/2021

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2021 n01
Celia heard the beep as soon as she entered the apartment. Using Google translate, she asked Sada, “What is that noise?” But Sada didn’t know, so Celia followed the sound to the smoke detector in the hallway. She showed Sada and tried to explain that they needed to change the battery.

Sada and her husband, Abe, fled their home after Abe’s life was threatened because of his work with the US military.

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ELL: Much More Than a School Subject

11/30/2020

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2020 n17
What keeps you going to work every day?

For Emma,* an ELL (English Language Learner) teacher, it’s the other teachers at her school and the kids in her classroom. Emma has been teaching at a local middle school for seven years now.

In ELL, Emma has the same students across several years, often until they test out of ELL services. That means she gets to know them and their families personally.

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An Eagle Scout and an Elder Stateman

11/9/2020

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2020 n16
It sounds like the beginning of a joke: An Eagle Scout and an elder stateman walk into a used bookstore…

But it’s not a joke. It’s the kind of thing that happens often in KIN’s LaMP program.

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From Bully to Friend: A Middle School Story

10/5/2020

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2020 n15
When our culture instructor surveyed her class about possible topics to discuss, two mothers—one from Iraq and one from Thailand—asked about bullying. The Iraqi mother said that before they fled Iraq, they had many enemies, but they thought things would be different here in America. Now her middle-schooler dreaded going to school because some kids bullied him constantly because of his race. Both mothers were discouraged and hurting for their children.

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The Books Are Free!

9/7/2020

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2020 n14
Where is the one place you can—for free—find books:

to help your children with math,
to learn how to cook something new,
to improve your English skills,
and to entertain your children for a few minutes?

“It’s the library, of course,” you say. But what if you had never seen a library?

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Green Cards and Blue Passports

6/30/2020

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2020 n12
With their lives threatened back at home, Quincy, Katie,* and their two boys arrived in Knoxville six years ago carrying passports from Iraq. Quincy’s English was fairly good, but Katie didn’t speak any English until she began attending English classes near her home. They didn’t travel much with just US Green Cards.

In 2019, after the required five years of residency, Quincy took and passed the US citizenship test at his first opportunity.

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A Man With No Country

6/16/2020

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2020 n11
Tim* and his family walked away from their home when he was eleven. The Sunni and Shia sects of Islam were killing each other, and Christian families like Tim’s were caught in the middle. His father sold the factory he owned, they packed their most precious belongings in a few suitcases, they locked up their house, and they moved to the northern part of Iraq. Tim’s mother knew they would never go back.

They settled in a Kurdish city in northern Iraq—a place very different from their home city. Tim was the only Christian in his high school classes of forty students or more. Other kids would ask him and his sister, “Why don’t you convert to Islam?” After seven years, the pressure became too much.

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Let's Buy a Home!

6/2/2020

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2020 n10
For two years, O and H dreamed of owning a home. They talked about it while they were engaged and began saving as soon as they married. Even a move to the US and the expenses of a new baby didn’t thwart their plan. So, when their apartment lease was nearly up in 2019, they began searching for suitable property.

Like anyone else looking for a home, the search took awhile.

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When Unprecedented is Good

5/19/2020

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2020 n09
Twice a week, Mrs. W logs into an online meeting platform and connects with a family across town. The three siblings are lined up, ready to work with her for about 20 minutes each. Their father is there, too. He follows along, encouraging the children, but he usually learns a few new things himself, too.

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The Encourager Professor

4/21/2020

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2020 n07
With over 300 active volunteers, KIN representatives serve the international population of metro Knoxville in many ways. Only a few of those have changed since we began facing COVID-19. For example, while it may look a little different, one-on-one conversation and pronunciation practice continues. For example, Diane* began volunteering with KIN last fall.

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One Chinese Story

3/24/2020

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2020 n06
Mei* walked onto American soil two and a half years ago, the bride of a life-long Knoxville resident. She came from China. Here’s an interview with her, edited for length.

1. Briefly explain why you immigrated.
I met my now-husband on the internet. After a few months, we fell in love. He quit his job and moved to China to be with me. Occasionally, we had a hard time understanding each other due to the language barrier, but our relationship grew fast as we shared everyday life together.

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The Van Was Loaded Down

2/25/2020

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2020 n04
The back of FBC Concord’s 18-passenger van was loaded down with framed prints, floor rugs, linens, kitchen utensils, pottery, even a small statue. On a rainy November afternoon, all the talking fogged up the windows, too, providing a great “whiteboard” for an Arabic lesson.

That’s what happens when six Arab women (and two children) join four American women for a trip to the Great Smokies Flea Market!

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Emily Takes Some Pictures

1/28/2020

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2020 n02
Here’s a little “behind the scenes” story about something you may not know we do at KIN.

I (Judith) should have a bumper sticker that says, “You had me at falafel.” That’s why, when Jani, our volunteer outreach coordinator, asked me to accompany Emily* to Yassin’s Falafel House, I didn’t hesitate to agree.

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Does Mentoring Make a Difference?

1/14/2020

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2020 n01
Her tear-filled eyes wide, Abe’s mother pulled her teacher aside after adult English class one day in late August. Her teenage son, a high school senior, was failing chemistry at school and hiding in his room at home. Could the English instructor find a tutor for him? The instructor jumped into action, reaching out to several potential tutors before she found a very bright university student with a keen grasp of chemistry. They began meeting regularly, and Abe’s grades soon rose.

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<<Previous

So We All Belong

The Small Things are Big

Watching From Afar

Hospitality Means More Than Food

The Nations at the Lunch Table

The Nations Next Door - Literally

Smart Girls and Smoke Detectors

ELL: Much More Than a School Subject

An Eagle Scout and an Elder Stateman

From Bully to Friend: A Middle School Story

The Books Are Free!

Green Cards and Blue Passports

A Man With No Country

Let's Buy a Home!

When Unprecedented is Good

The Encourager Professor

One Chinese Story

The Van Was Loaded Down

Emily Takes Some Pictures

Does Mentoring Make a Difference?

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