My Hero

Sarah is 36 years old, and she lives in Canada. She has two young daughters. She works two days a week as a teacher. Her husband’s name is Nathan, and he’s a sales manager. Nathan’s job is very busy, so he often comes home late. At weekends, they often go driving or walking in the countryside.

Nathan was born in Canada, but Sarah wasn’t. She was born in Argentina, and she moved to Canada when she was 26. When she was growing up, she was really interested in English. At first, she thought it was difficult, but when she finished school she could already speak quite fluently, and understand almost everything she heard or read. She spent a lot of time listening to songs and watching TV shows and films in English.

After she graduated from university, she decided to train as an English teacher. The certificate she needed was quite expensive, and competition for places was intense, but she was determined to do it—she simply couldn’t imagine doing anything else. She finished the course with a distinction, which was the highest grade possible. Soon, she found work as a teaching assistant in a local primary school. She enjoyed the work, although it was often challenging—the children were not always well-disciplined, and she didn’t think that the classroom teacher had enough understanding of teaching methods.

When she first went to Canada, she never would have imagined that she would end up staying there. It was supposed to be a short-term placement in a high school. She thought that she would be able to see a different part of the world and gain some useful experience, which could help her to find a better teaching position when she came back to Argentina. At first, she found living overseas much more difficult than she had expected. She felt homesick, and she had problems getting used to everything which was different in Canada—the interpersonal culture, the climate, the food… For the first three months she was there, she spent most of her free time in her room, dreaming of going back to Argentina and seeing her family again.

Over time, she adjusted to life in Canada, and even started to enjoy herself a bit more. One day, she met Nathan at a party. She liked his sense of humour, and how kind he was, but she was reluctant to get involved, knowing that she was planning to leave in the near future. When her placement finished, he convinced her to apply for a permanent job in another school. She told herself that she would give it one more year and see how things went.

Now, Sarah is settled, although she still misses Argentina. She tries to make it back at least yearly, and she is bringing up her daughters to be bilingual, so that they can talk to their Argentinian relatives in Spanish. When she thinks back to her first few months in Canada, she can scarcely recognise herself. In some ways, she wishes she weren’t so far away from her family, but at the same time, she feels that she’s learned many things which she never would have experienced had she stayed in Argentina. She wants to give her daughters the chance to travel and experience life in other countries as soon as she can, although of course she hopes they don’t move too far away!

During her first few months in Canada, Sarah......................

• Didn't socialize much

• Had to work very hard

• Made lots of new friend

• Met Nathan

A long time ago, in a small village near the beach in West Sumatra lived a woman and her son, Malin Kundang. Malin Kundang and his mother had to live hard because his father had passed away when he was a baby. Malin Kundang was a healthy, dilligent, and strong boy. He usually went to sea to catch fish. After getting fish he would bring it to his mother, or sell the caught fish in the town. One day, when Malin Kundang was sailing, he saw a merchant’s ship being raided by a band of pirates. With his bravery, Malin Kundang helped the merchant defeat the pirates. To thank him, the merchant allowed Malin Kundang to sail with him. Malin Kundang agreed in the hope to get a better life. He left his mother alone.

Many years later, Malin Kundang became wealthy. He had a huge ship and a lot of crews who worked loading trading goods. He was also married to a beautiful woman. When he was sailing on his trading journey, his ship landed on a coast near a small village. The local people recognized that it was Malin Kundang, a boy from the area. The news ran fast in the town; “Malin Kundang has become rich and now he is here”.

An old woman, who was Malin Kundang’s mother, ran to the beach to meet the new rich merchant. She wanted to hug him to release her sadness of being lonely after a long time. When his mother came near him, Malin Kundang who was with his beautiful wife and his ship crews denied that she was his mother. She had pleaded Malin Kundang to look at her and admit that she was her mother. But he kept refusing to do it and yelling at her. At last Malin Kundang said to her “Enough, old woman! I have never had a mother like you, a dirty and ugly woman!” After that he ordered his crews to set sail to leave the old woman who was then full of sadness and anger. Finally, feeling enraged, she cursed Malin Kundang that he would turn into a stone if he didn’t apologize to her. Malin Kundang just laughed and set sail. Suddenly a thunderstorm came in the quiet sea, wrecking his huge ship. He was thrown out to a small island. It was really too late for him to avoid his curse; he had turned into a stone.

No. 2

Who is Malin Kundang?

• an old man

• an old son

• a naughty son

• a father