Triumph of the Human Spirit

For the past five years, BSML has had the good fortune of welcoming Bill Nathan as a student in our school. Bill lives in Haiti where he serves as director at St. Joseph's, a home for orphaned children. A former child slave and a survivor of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, Bill has endured and triumphed over incredible hardship throughout his life. You can read a little bit of his life story below, which he has graciously offered to share with us. We trust you'll be as inspired by Bill as we are.

My name is Bill Nathan, and I live in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. When I was six-years-old my mother died, leaving behind me and my older sister, Sheila. We were left all alone and with no place to go. A nun named Sister Caroline from the local order of the Little Sister of Jesus organized meetings with different families to see if any would take us in, and, as luck would have it, they did. Unfortunately, my sister and I were separated and sent to live in different homes. I didn't see her for many years after.

Before leaving me with my new family, Sister Caroline warned them not to treat me as a slave, which is a common occurrence in Haiti. The family assured her that I would be treated as if I was their own child, but this was not true. Soon, I was taken out of school and forbidden to play with other children. I was not allowed to eat at the same table as the rest of the family or even sleep in the same building. I had become a restavec, which means "one who stays with" in French.  The family regularly beat me and forced me to work all day. The only time I had for myself was when I would collect water for the family at a nearby pump. I spent many hours waiting for the water to come because it would only run at random times throughout the day, and you never knew exactly when it would begin to flow. As I sat waiting, I would entertain myself by playing the overturned water bucket as a drum. At that time, the five-gallon bucket was my only friend...  

Read more:   Bill's story    

Bill Nathan's 2011 Drums Performance   

NEW THIS SUMMER: English & Baseball 

Agustin Rivero - coaching at the 2010 Atlanta Braves  European Baseball Academy.

This summer BSML will be offering a new elective class, "Baseball & English" in the the month of July, headed by a former New York Yankees minor league player, Agustin Rivero.  The class will be a combination of practice, games, and drills in order to offer the best approach to baseball and provide an understanding of what it means to the American Culture. Classes will be given both at the school and at a nearby baseball field. We hope that students will take advantage of this unique opportunity to participate in America's favorite pastime with a real life professional ball player.

Memorial Day - The Unofficial Start of the Summer  

Students enjoying Memorial Day at Revere Beach

Memorial Day is a Federal Holiday in the US observed on the last Monday of May. It was originally founded to commemorate and honor U.S. veterans who died during the Civil War. It also marks the unofficial start of summer and is celebrated with family get-togethers, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events such as the Indianapolis 500 auto race.

The City of Boston itself  commemorate its Massachusetts service members with a Garden of Flags planted in front of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Boston Common.   

Your BSML Team - Adam Shenker - Teacher 

Adam has been teaching at BSML for three years. He moved to Boston to attend graduate school at Emerson College and received an MFA in their Writing, Literature and Publishing program. Prior to moving to Massachusetts, Adam lived in Portland, Oregon where he earned his bachelor's degree at Portland State University with a focus on Linguistics and International Studies. Adam loves to travel and has lived in six different states and several countries, including a significant amount of time spent in Honduras and Guatemala. He studied Spanish in a language school in Huehuetenango, a small town located in the highlands of western Guatemala. To him, teaching English is incredibly gratifying as it combines his affections for both language and culture, and he feels fortunate to meet and work with so many wonderful people from around the world everyday. Adam has taught English to a wide variety of students, from college undergraduates in business school to inmates in a prison. When he's not teaching, he's either reading a book, backpacking, canoeing, or rowing along the beautiful Charles River in Boston.

English Tips from Our Teacher

Bob's Grammar Tips

Use "already" in affirmative statements to show that something happened before this time.

 Example:  

John has already eaten.  I've already read that book.

Use "just" to show that something happened before now, but recently.

Examples:  

John has just eaten. (a few minutes ago)

           I've just read a very interesting book. (not too long ago)

Sandra's International Vocabulary Words

"Corps" (French) , pronounced "kor", a group of people who work together.

Examples:  

The Army Corps of Engineers is trying to control the flooding along the Mississippi.

 Barbara taught English as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire.

"Esprit de corps" (French), pronounced "es-pree'-da-kor", spirit of the group.

Example:   

There is a great esprit de corps among the employees at Google.

"Corps de ballet" (French), pronounced "kor-da-balay", the majority of dancers in a ballet company.

Example:  

She was promoted from the corps de ballet to soloist.

Ines's Idioms

"Every so often" means occasionally or once in a while.

Examples:

I usually go to Dunkin Donuts for coffee, but every so often I go to Starbucks.

Mike moved to California last year, but we talk every so often.

"To be/have a  fifty-fifty chance" means that there is an equal probability that something will or will not happened.

Examples:

There's a fifty-fifty chance that it will rain on Sunday.

There are only two qualified candidates for the job you have applied for. You have a fifty-fifty chance of getting it.