Esl Dialogue Newsletter San Diego Continuing Education

For the fourth straight year, 80-year-old Joani Nelson will prepare a special Thanksgiving Day meal along with her son at her La Jolla home. This year, three of the guests will be from Kazakhstan, one from Japan and one from Brazil.

In previous years, the traditional meal has also included visitors from China and Saudi Arabia.

Nelson is a conversation leader at UCSD Extension English Language Institute's Fluency Development Program and the Thanksgiving guests are international students from across the globe, whom she assists in their classes by implementing lesson plans and facilitating discussions.

She doesn't like to leave the students in the classroom, however. Nelson takes them to her favorite spots in San Diego, from Chicano Park to Hotel del Coronado — places she thinks they wouldn't be exposed to without an insider perspective.

And while she's traveled to over 94 countries at age 80, she didn't step out of the United States herself until she was in her mid-40s.

It was following a divorce that Nelson decided to take a trip to London for a four-day theater excursion. Her first thought when stepping off the plane: "This has been here all my life?"

Soon after, she moved to Los Angeles from Wisconsin with her mother in 1989, working as a concierge at a hotel. She wanted to make sure that her guests had the best experience that would not have been possible without her help.

Nelson quickly realized she didn't want to spend the rest of her life in Los Angeles, and moved to San Diego five years later. She's been here ever since, and worked as an event planner for the San Diego Symphony before she retired.

But she didn't enjoy retirement. At 72, she missed intellectual stimulation, she said. So she started attending lectures at UC San Diego.

"I like to keep the dust off my brain," Nelson said.

One day, she received an email from UCSD Extension about the opportunity to work with its English Language Institute's Fluency Development Program.

When she was younger, the one thing she never wanted to do was teach. And at age 77, that's exactly what she started doing, becoming a mentor to her international students and helping them dispel stereotypes about Americans.

"A lot of them come with preconceived notions," Nelson said. "But they always comment how friendly Americans are. And they come with the idea that America is unsafe."

She said many of her students aren't exposed to American culture when they arrive here, because they spend their time and live with other international students. Many of the young women she mentors come from male-oriented environments and struggle with independence.

She encourages them to be confident and assertive — it's something she had to learn herself in her 40s, and she doesn't want others to struggle through that journey alone.

"I can pass on a lot of the painful growing that I had to do on my own," Nelson said.

Gaukar Doszhanova is one of Nelson's conversation partners from Khazakstan, and said Nelson passes on endless wisdom to her.

"She has lots of experience about life and she gives advice about different spheres of life," she said. "When she gives time — especially in America, where time is money — this is a very expensive gift for me."

Another student from Khazakstan, Assem Almukhanbetkyzy, said Nelson always knows when her tests are and sends encouragement beforehand.

"She'll text me, 'I believe in you,'" Almukhanbetkyzy said. "She always motivates me."

She believes it's important to teach her students about the U.S. not only to dispel stereotypes and promote assertiveness, but also for the students to understand the surroundings in which they're living.

Joani Nelson (second from right), interacting with her students on the UCSD Extension campus in La Jolla. From left to right are: Gulmira Mukhambetova, Assem Almukhanbetkyzy, Paulo Bezerra (Brazil), Joani Nelson, Gaukhar Doszhanova. The three female students are all from Kazakhstan. © 2019 Nancee E. Lewis / Nancee Lewis Photography.

(Nancee E. Lewis)

One of the ways she tries to bring American culture into her students' lives is her annual Thanksgiving dinner.

In a classic American feast of turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, her son and students will gather together as a family to celebrate the occasion.

They'll speak about what they're thankful for before dining.

The tradition started three years ago when she hosted four Chinese students. She realized it was a great way to showcase her country and has continued it ever since.

Her students aren't quite sure what to expect for Thanksgiving dinner. They've heard about it from pop culture, but have never experienced it.

"(Thanksgiving) is something we see in movies," said Paulo Bezerra of Brazil. "Now, it's our chance to live that."

Thanksgiving is Nelson's favorite holiday — that's one of the reasons she celebrates it with her international students. However, she also believes it's representative of what it means to be American.

"It isn't commercial," she said. "It's purely a family acknowledgment of all that one has."

And while her students come from different parts of the world, she's also come to realize how common people are.

"We all pretty much want the same thing," Nelson said. "An interesting job. Fulfillment. People want peace."

One of the things Nelson is most thankful for is her students. While she's the one teaching and mentoring, she said being able to do so is one of the biggest joys in her life.

"I have received as much as I hope I've given," she said.

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Source: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2019-11-28/sd-me-esl-thanksgiving

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