Sweet Bridge

Judy Wyman Kelly

 

Last week I witnessed a "sweet bridge" moment at The American Place (TAP).

 

A few weeks ago I started tutoring a Chinese woman who is temporarily living in Hartford with her adult son while he completes an internship. She is feeling very isolated as she knows no English and her son is gone all day at work. I speak Mandarin Chinese, which is why I was brought on board to meet with her weekly to provide a bit of English tutoring and also some companionship. Hartford does not have a very big Chinese community.

 

I was working at TAP when a Chinese woman walked in looking for some books in Chinese. She lives in Simsbury and although she does speak English well she also feels isolated and has had a hard time getting to know people. It is difficult to be a foreigner! On a whim, I called my student and asked if she wanted to meet someone from China. She came right over to TAP and the two of them hit it off.

 

Coincidentally, another Chinese patron arrived shortly after the two women sat down. Overhearing their animated conversation in Chinese, he went over and introduced himself. He also lives in Hartford, knows no English, and is feeling isolated.

 

When I left work at 2:30 the three of them, strangers to each other 90 minutes prior, were still engaged in animated conversation. As I said goodbye the woman from Simsbury said, "Today you were a sweet bridge. Thank you for introducing us all!"

Acts of Kindness...

Jasmine Cardi


Me trying to catch a snowflake

Sometimes, we perform random acts of kindness without even knowing it. You don't know if the person you are helping has had a horrible day and your smile, patience or help can be either the breaking or salvation point of their day. If I had to come up with a statement that describes my personal ethic (not just my work ethic) it would be: treat others as you'd like to be treated. This is a pretty simple concept. We learn this early on in life. It is so easy to forget this sometimes. Today I was reminded of this very statement. I am going to share my experience with one of our citizenship class students, Maria, who recently became a naturalized citizen. Maria came into the library today even though she is done taking classes with us. She has learned English and recently became a U.S. citizen. I helped her throughout the process, giving her information, setting her up with classes, tutors, asking how she was doing, and checking on the health of her husband who was very ill. Most of all I gave her encouragement. She was very nervous to practice her English and to take her test. She greets me today with a big hug and a thank you card. She tells me, "Thank you Jasmine for all of your help. I am so grateful. You have no idea how much your help meant to me. Last week while at church when the Father asked if we'd like to pray for someone I said I want to pray for Jasmine.  I told them you were not sick and did not need anything. I just wanted to pray for you because of your kindness in helping me and in helping others. I see how you help everyone who comes here and for that I am grateful. Even though I am done with classes I know you are here and if I need anything I know where to find you." Beyond humbled and teary eyed I gave her a hug and said thank you. It is very rare when I am left speechless. I almost did not share this story as I don't want to "toot my own horn." After thinking about this hours later I felt it was a good story to share because far too often we hear either what we are doing wrong or nothing at all. I'd like this story to inspire others to simply treat others as you'd like to be treated. We never know when the roles will be reversed and it is us on the opposite end.

Andy Stefanovich @ HPL

Getting to Zero

Jasmine Cardi

On Friday the Hartford Public Library had its first Staff Development Day. All of the libraries in Hartford were closed and all the staff met at the main branch. Our morning started off very intensely with Andy Stefanovich. Simply put he is a motivational speaker who has worked with many of the top leading companies in the world to inspire them to think creatively. Andy Stefanovich is Chief Curator and Provocateur at Prophet, a strategic brand and marketing consultancy. In 2 hours he shared a great deal of information with us. Two of the things that struck me the most were about passion and relaxing. If we really think about it we spend most of our time at work. If we can think of something we are passionate about and dissect it to find what are the qualities of our passion then we can apply that to our work environment.(Passion in action) For me I love helping people. Each day I get a chance to help many people that walk into the library. The idea of knowing what characteristics make up your passion and being able to find it in other things is great. It makes me think about things in a different perspective. (Which Andy also spoke about in great detail) The second thing that struck me was getting to zero. Getting to zero refers to getting to your relaxing point. I am not referring to getting a massage relaxed. I mean, that is great but is not likely to happen on a daily basis. What I think Andy meant was doing something that helps you release the stress of the day and have a little "you" time to regroup or just clear your mind. Helping people takes a lot of energy. Regardless of the weather, how you are feeling or other stress factors you have a task to perform once those doors open. You are ON and the show must go on. Without getting to zero sharing your passion, or enjoying your passion, might become difficult. For me, getting to zero sometimes includes a trip to First & Last Bakery before I start my day. I sit alone and enjoy a quiet breakfast and a hot cup of coffee. These 30 minutes before I start work are very important to me. It allows me to clear my mind and prepare for the day ahead. What Andy shared with us seemed like basic things that many take for granted. It was nice to be reminded how these small things we can easily take for granted can make or break our day. We do not need to sacrifice our passion or ourselves for our job. The idea is if you find your passion within your job it will not only benefit you but also the people you encounter as well. I encourage you to read Andy's book Look at More. I know I will be reading it. I also will not forget the 2 back-to-basic principles I'd like to explore and expand on: passion in action and getting to zero. This was an experience I'm sure never to forget and am grateful to have been apart of.