It's the little things

Gerald's spring accounting I class

Recently I was talking to one of Gerald's former students who is also his Arabic tutor. Here is the gist of what he said - "I can tell Mr. Reimer respects you because when I asked him to come to Fez for a visit, he said he would ask you! Imagine that! A Moroccan man would NEVER ask his wife for her opinion! I was so amazed!" And on and on he went about this and how Mr. Reimer is so wonderful, how he stands out from others and how he doesn't study enough for his Arabic class!

Out of all the things Gerald has talked to him about - out of all the big, important subjects they have discussed - it was one simple sentence that stuck out more than anything else. How wonderful - and how scary! It makes me wonder how many things we say that totally clash with the culture - and we never even know.

Over and over again, Gerald's students comment on how much they appreciate him - saying that he really cares about them and wants to help. It takes him longer and longer to get from one side of campus to the other now because of all the people he knows. And greetings are no small, quick thing here!

A kind word, a question, a little help with homework, an off-handed comment - students notice.