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From: David Shapiro
Date: 22 Oct 2004
Time: 02:15:16 -0500
Remote Name: 62.245.97.105
Hi Sean, Boy have you asked a good question! From Africa, huh? Where did you used to live? Many years ago, I spent 10 weeks on the west, south, and east coasts of Africa. What a remarkably beautiful continent. I hope you will find in time that the USA is a wonderful place to live too. What a great time we live in today when we can come to feel at home in many different places. I understand that you are dealing with some big challenges right now. My reaction here is more from the perspective of a person and as a person who stutters than as a professor (which I am too). I too have done quite a bit of travel and have had to adjust to new ways of living; in fact, right now I am in the Czech Republic, which is far from my home in North Carolina. Adjusting to cultural and communication differences can be challenging, but ultimately what we experience and how we react to these experiences broadens who are as people. What to do in school? I would suggest to give yourself and others a break. I bet others want to get to know you just as you want to come to know others. All of us feel shyness. Try to talk with others; I bet you will discover some really good friends who appreciate you for the person you are and who will want to learn about your unique characteristics and experiences, just like you will want to learn about theirs and the cultural differences in the states. And there should be a speech-language pathologist in the school, or within the school district, who could be of real help to you. You will find that you don't need to experience this transition alone. We all need one good friend to help us through the rough spots. You will discover that your classmates, teachers, and particularly the SLP may become good friends. I wish you the best. Your classmates are fortunate to have you in their class. Where else can they learn about the beauty of Africa - the people, the wild animals, the food, the clothing, and more. Tell your classmates about the hundreds of zebra running at one time; or the giraffs eating from trees so tall that their heads looked like they were in the clouds. I bet they will think you are making up a story; they probably can't even imagine such beautiful scenery. They can learn this only from you. I wish I could meet you myself. Good luck to you. David