The Blizzard of '26 - Priya's Story

On the morning of the blizzard I woke up in the chill. I didn't expect a power outage, it completely shocked me. Because I have been living in Rhode Island for the last 10 years I haven't seen a blizzard or a power outage before. So I didn’t plan ahead. It surprised me that I had three challenges:

Food
Heat
Boredom!

I had a guest at home who came from North Carolina. I served fruits and nuts for breakfast and I had thermals at home that helped keep my body warm.

Entertaining the kids was a big chellange for me. They played a word game that means if they draw the picture we would find the word by seeing the picture. We played the game until 1:30 pm. By that time the wind was heavy. My windows were covered with snow. I couldn't see anything from inside and we heard a heavy wind blowing. The sound was a little scary.

That day the kids learned the value of food. They literally wanted hot food. My husband tried to go outside. It was impossible to walk so we skipped the idea of going out. We waited for the wind to die down. The kids played in the snow and cleared the snow from the car. It was a big task to dig out the snow. The daytime was better because we had natural light.

Another big challenge was it was tough when it got darker. I had so many experiences without power in my country, but for the kids it was their first time. Fortunately, I had candles and lighters. We survived and got our power back. That was a big relief.

Finally, my day started with frustration and ended with relaxation. It was an experience for me to prepare for future storms.

~~~

Priya - India

Before It's Too Late

If I could give a speech in front of the world, I would talk about the importance of caring for your loved ones. People need care, warmth, and love to continue their lives with confidence. These emotions give us strength, help us set goals, and allow us to focus on achieving them. When we feel loved and supported, we are more likely to believe in ourselves and our future.

The world is like a compass—it is full of surprises and constantly changing direction. We never know what will happen in the next minute or even in the next second. Life is unpredictable, and we cannot always control where it takes us. Yet one thing is certain: we are all passengers in this world, and one day, we will leave it behind. When that time comes, what will remain are the good deeds we have done for others. The love, kindness, and care we show today will live on in the hearts of those we touched.

That is why we should not wait to express our love and appreciation. Sometimes, a simple word, a smile, or a hug can change someone’s entire day—or even their life. We often get busy with our routines and forget to check in on the people we care about. But life is short and unpredictable, and we might not get a second chance. So let us choose kindness, show gratitude, and be there for one another while we still can.

I would like to end with a poem by Berdinazar Hudaynazarow which deeply reflects the spirit of what I want to share:

It Will Become Late

A person’s deepest need is a kind word.
Speak kindly — it’s like a crown upon their head.
Say it while they live, while they breathe,
Who knows — a year from now may be too late.

Say good things while there’s still breath,
A warm word at the right time holds great power.
Don’t wait until they’re gone from this world,
Who knows — even a month from now may be too late.

Let kind words rise and flow from the heart;
If they don’t come from the heart, they mean nothing.
A simple, simple word, even if it’s just one,
Who knows — a week from now may be too late.

Open your hearts, offer praise, dear people,
A blessing shared will flourish and grow.
What you see today may vanish tomorrow —
Who knows — tomorrow might be too late.

A life without kindness is an empty shell,
A loveless life ends hollow and bare.
Respect each other while you have time,
Who knows… even an hour from now might be too late.

~

Zyyada - Turkmenistan

Dear Americans

My name is Regina and I am the youngest of four sisters. I am from Brazil. I was born in Goiania, a small city in the middle of the country near the capital, Brasilia. I lived there until I graduated university in civil engineering. As a person who was born in Goiania, I like to eat pamonha, a traditional food made with corn, cheese and sausage. When I was 25 years old I moved to São Paulo to study for a master's degree in Geotechnic. Because I was used to living in a small city, I had a hard time getting used to the way of life in São Paulo. Although São Paulo is a fascinating city and never sleeps, I had some trouble driving in a city with so much traffic and lots of motorcycles. São Paulo is the kind of city that you love or you hate, but I love it.

As soon as I finished my master’s degree I started working as a civil engineer. So I had the opportunity to work on different kinds of projects around Brazil and other countries like Venezuela, Spain, Peru and Panamá.

Five months ago, I moved to the US with my husband who has been transferred to work at the Hexagon company in North Kingston. As soon as I arrived, I noticed some interesting aspects about people from Rhode Island. They are helpful and friendly. I mean they usually give you support even when you don’t ask, like helping with groceries or simply engaging in a friendly conversation. Besides that, they hibernate during the wintertime. It seems that they prefer to stay home rather than go out during the winter. In addition to that, they always have a wreath at the front door no matter what festivities they are celebrating.

Today, I am getting used to living in the US and developing other habits like having dinner around 6PM, which was pretty unusual for me. Another thing is eating seafood such as lobsters and oysters. It has been an exciting culinary adventure for me because I was not used to eating it before. Also, going to a pub to dance in a different way like line dance, which is not a kind of dance we have in Brazil. Although sometimes I get homesick, I am very happy to live here and learn about American culture, customs and traditions.



Regina Costa - Brazil.

The True Strength

In the past, when I was nineteen, I was teaching in a kindergarten. The children were between five and eight years old. Meanwhile, something happened that affected me deeply. I witnessed a fight between two children over who would get to play on the slide first.

After five minutes of shouting, screaming and crying one of the two children stopped crying, wiped his tears, hugged the other child and said, “M mmm, ok don’t cry. I am older than you and I should act like a big man…now you are the next player and always you will be the first.”

What surprised me the most at that moment was how this little boy controlled his anger and contained his friend. Honestly, I didn't expect to learn such an important life lesson from a little kid: that true strength lies in controlling your emotions.

It was an important lesson I will never forget.

~~

Shaza Alhabash - Syria

Learning from Children

It is an interesting thing to learn from a child.

I remember when my daughter was about 4 or 5 years old, and we went to a playground and there was a large colourful inflatable slide. She wanted to climb it but it seemed difficult. I could hear her inner voice wondering could I do it? Let’s try.

She tried to climb, but the first few times were full of disappointment, but she kept trying, adjusted her position and tried again. And eventually after many times she reached the top. She was extremely happy.

While I was watching my daughter, I learned a very important thing, which was the great value of persistence and to keep trying over and over. Children often have this ability to not give up and face the challenges to learn and grow up. In adulthood, this kind of flexibility to face challenges may fade in time because of fear of failure or judgement. But watching my daughter reminded me that persistence is key, and success does not come from avoiding failure but from keeping trying and never giving up.

It might be surprising, because we usually think of children as needing guidance or advice, but my daughter could teach me an important lesson that I had forgotten which is the value of persistence, and it was really such an excellent experience.

~~

Nagat Shaaban - Egypt

Marling's Speech

This essay was written and delivered as a speech by Marling to around a hundred-plus people for the RIFLI End of the Year Celebration at the Providence Public Library on June 1, 2024. Congratulations to Marling for a great writing job as well as a great job of public speaking in her second language.

~~~

As an immigrant, moving to another country is always a challenge, because of the weather, traditions, laws, behavior and especially the language. Everything is new for us, and that’s why we are all here. Through the adult learning RIFLI program we have the opportunity to learn and make our adaptation and living in this country easier and independent.

During the time I have been in this program I have been feeling more confident in myself to talk, understanding(listening), reading, writing, pronunciation and fluency. Of course mistakes always will happen even to native speakers, so don’t worry about that and keep going and learning from it.

In my class, we learned a little bit of everything: phrasal verbs, new vocabulary, about my classmates’ opinions on any topic, for example “if they believe in aliens.” We also talked about our different cultures and traditions, even about koalas and raccoons. All this mix of topics made our class dynamic, diverse and funny and if someone forgot any word, we all together tried to find it to complete the idea.

I am so glad to have found this family, and I say family because that’s the way I feel about them. With classmates and teacher Jon we help, support and even enjoy each other as a family. And also with Sabine, Cruz and all the staff. I remember when I got enrolled, they received me very kindly and warmly.

And to be honest I wasn’t expecting too much, because usually we have the perception that when something is cheap or free, it is bad quality, but this is not the case. They really care about our learning and progress and are always available to help even with stuff not related with the class, like advice for a resume or a job interview. Also, we had the opportunity with Siyamala to get more knowledge and be certified for NorthStar on computer skills and best of all it is for free. I just can say thank you to all of you for this.

Finally, I just want all of you to keep going, never give up, take advantage of this huge opportunity and also invite and motivate any friend, coworker or relative to be part of this family. Maybe some of them need to know about this program and are missing this big deal because they don’t know about it. Good things need to be shared and learning always opens doors.

Thank you!

~

Marling - Dominican Republic

My Evolution in English

In January 2023, my husband and I decided that we had to leave Cape Verde and try to find better support for our son in the USA. Due to his development delay, the doctors said he may have autism. At that moment, I started studying English by myself, every night after work. I already knew the alphabet, numbers, colors, some names of animals and utensils, but I didn´t know how to form sentences because I didn't have much contact with English during my life. I studied French in high school, and I did my graduation in Brazil, where the language is Portuguese. In a few months studying by myself, my English was better.

On August 14th, 2023, we arrived in the USA. On the same day, I asked my sister-in-law about an English course and she helped me. Nine days later, on August 23rd, I received the email from Miss Sabine, with the list of registration dates in September for new students. I did it and the assessment determined my level. I was intermediate. I was very happy and proud of myself, because I went from beginner to intermediate level, by myself, during my studies in Cape Verde.

I started classes on September 18th and three months later, in December, when I went to do the test again, my level score and the teacher Doug, in discussion with Miss Sabine, decided I should move up to the advanced level.

Today, I was able to talk with my children's teachers and the doctors (A DREAM THAT CAME TRUE), with some difficulty, but I was able to express and understand what they were saying to me. I still ask for a translator at the hospital because I'm not completely confident yet, but I can understand almost everything they say.

As you can see, one year and two months ago, I knew almost nothing in English.

To learn, we have to want and to work hard.

Believe in yourself, always!

~

Irana - Cape Verde