Our Stories:
Almina Malloosmanova
Teacher is my Protector
At the very beginning of attending our ACCESS school I found myself in a difficult position: I was afraid to speak English. I didn’t know English well and I thought that if I made a mistake while speaking everybody would laugh at me. My teacher noticed this and tried not to bother me for a couple of lessons. Three days later he asked me to stay in the classroom after the classes.
- Why do you feel so uncertain and nervous at the lesson?
- I don’t know. I suppose because I don’t know the students well.
- But why are you afraid to read and speak English? I know you are doing well at your school. Your teacher praised you.
- I think that other students will laugh at me if I make a mistake.
- My dear girl, you mustn’t be afraid of the students, they are good children and I give you my word they are ready to help you if you make mistakes or do anything wrong. You mustn’t be so shy. I think we’ll start right know. Take your textbook and let’s read together.
We began reading, retelling and speaking together. I tried hard to prepare for the next lesson and was waiting for the moment when I could show him that I wasn’t a fool. At first I was stumbling but then I got quiet and read quite well. He praised me and I realized that he understood my position, my shyness and awkwardness and did his best to encourage me. I think it is a tolerant relation. Tolerance can be defined as a mutual understanding. Now I attend school with much joy.
Dzhavatova Erkinaz
My Family
We have a very friendly family: my father, mother and we –three sisters. We all are very different. Our father is very kindhearted man. Not long ago my younger sister Mary was ill. She was capricious, didn’t want to eat and to take medicine. Late at night she suddenly remembered the hedgehog which sometimes came to our garden. She was crying asking for a hedgehog. She began crying:”Father, dear, my dear father’ …
- Why are you crying dear, what is troubling you?
- Father, I feel very bad, but I would like to see a hedgehog. Could you find him for me now?
- Oh, dear, of course we’ll try to find him. Let’s go and do it together.
- Thank you, father. You are the best father in the world!
We shall save the hedgehog.
- Of course, darling. We’ll try to do our best.
Father took her in his arms, wrapped her in a blanket and they went to the garden to look for a hedgehog. They called him in quiet voices and, it is difficult to believe but they managed to find him with the help of our dog Sharik, who had found him under one of the bushes and began barking. They took him home and wanted to give him milk, but he was scared and didn’t touch anything. Mary got asleep in father’s arms. The hedgehog hid himself under the table and when everybody went to bed drank the milk and went to the garden through the cat’s hole in the front door.
We have a deep respect to each other. I am the eldest among the girls and try to be patient, attentive and kind to my parents and younger sisters. I teach them to be tolerant to each other too. I teach them if you do good to other people it will return to you.
Shavkhalova Elina
My Favourate Lines of the Verse
There are such lines in the verses that once read you will always remember them. I am going to tell you what impression the poem by famous Russian poet Brodsky produced on me. It sounds like this: Life is also only a moment; it is only a dilution of us in other people as if it is our present to them. It is difficult to translate these lines as a verse but the sense is like this. How fine these lines show the right way of living. To present yourself to other people and in exchange see their shining eyes, hear their words of gratitude, experience their devotion.
One day I was walking in the park when I saw a boy who was going in my direction holding a familiar book of my favorite poet. I greeted him and asked:” Why are you interested in his poetry?
He wasn’t surprised at my question and told me how he began to be interested in Brodsky’s poetry.
- Last year I was spending my holidays in a youth camp and we had seminars in literature there. Our teacher said so many interesting things about his fate, recited his poems. I liked the poet very much and since then he is my favorite one.
- What things attract you in his work in particular?
- Understanding of a human being with all his strong and weak qualities, the capability of preserving him. .
I have got collection of the poems by Brodsky and now I’ve got a friend with whom we’ve got mutual interests and understanding.
Mazhidova Saltanat
Friends Forever
I live in a small street in Khasavyurt – which is in the North of Dagestan. We know everybody in our street and are always ready to help each other in a difficult moment. Two years ago a new family moved into a neighboring house. They were Russian and came here from Rostov. There were three of them: father, a mother and eleven year old daughter whose name was Natasha. She didn’t go out often so she didn’t know any children in our street. I decided to get acquainted with her. She was a good girl and we started to meet regularly and speak about things we were interested in.
Once she asked me if the boys in my class protected us from other boys who wanted to offend us. I answered that they always protected us and were ready to help us in any moment. I asked her why she asked me about this but she didn’t answer.
One day she ask me to come and meet her at school as we went to different schools. When I came to her classroom the teacher said that all the students were in the schoolyard then. I went to there and saw that two boys were teasing Natasha but her classmates pretending not to see this. I started shouting at those boys trying to make them stop offending Natasha. At that moment some of the boys came to help and the offenders ran away.
When we came home I asked Natasha why she hadn’t told me about it before. She said that those boys tried to offend her because she was Russian. She was afraid to complain because she was the only Russian girl in class. She thought that we wouldn’t be friends if I knew about that. I said that I would never betray her because I was her friend and the friends were not left alone in trouble.
We are still good friends with Natasha and always protect each other.
Abdullayeva Aigul
My Mother is the MosT Tolerant Woman on the Planet.
As soon as I began to understand the sense of the words properly and intelligently my mother began teaching me how I must live when I grow up. She tried to explain many things to me but I didn’t listen to her words attentively, because I thought I was doing quite well. Once there were problems with the children in our neighbor’s house and mother said that they couldn’t live properly.
On hearing my mother’s words I asked
- Mother, what do you mean? How must I live properly?
And my mother said: - Live in such a way that nobody will feel bad because of you, do not offend people, share with them the last piece of bread if necessary and the main thing is – you mustn’t be a source of grief.
- I’ll try to follow your advise, mother,- I said,- though it’s very difficult to follow it as there are not so many good people nowadays. But I’ll try to do my best.
- Listen to, my dear, - my mother went on, - once my mother told me the same thing and believe me, her advice helped me to live properly.
I shall never forget her words. I learnt first to think and than speak and do. As a result I have many very nice devoted friends. My mother is an example to me in everything. When I am right she doesn’t cry at me, but simply asks me to think over my behavior. I am in the Ninth Grade now and I know many people who don’t understand my way of living, thinking that I’m too right in my behavior, opinions and treating other people. But my mother’s advice helped me to find the proper way of living and treating people. I wish everybody to live making good to others.
Last year a new family moved into a neighboring house. They were a family of three – father, mother and a son, a boy of my age. They were Russians and moved here because the father was an oil industry worker. The boy didn’t know anybody here, of course. One day he came up to me and said that he wanted to be my friend. My boy friend started fighting with him when he met him in my yard. I took my mother’s kerchief and threw it on the ground between the fighting boys. They stopped fighting and looked at me. In Dagestan there is a tradition that if a woman throws her kerchief between the fighting men, they must stop fighting and part. So I told them to be reasonable and instead of being enemies become friends. The boys followed my advice and now we are a good company of three.
Mazhidova Sabikhat
Don't Pass by the Person When He is in Need.
One day late in autumn my friend and I were walking at the local vegetable market as my mother had asked me to go there and bye some vegetables for dinner. Suddenly we saw a girl who was sitting on the cold dirty pavement dressed in a very light shabby dress though it was rather cold. She was begging for money. There are a lot Kurds in our Southern city nowadays who migrated here after the military actions in the North of Iraq. I was very sorry for the girl and decided to help her. I asked my friend to wait a little but she didn’t want to listen saying that there were lots of beggars at the market and I wouldn’t be able to help everybody. Still I asked her to stop for a minute and to talk to the girl.
- Hi, why are you sitting here?
- My mother is ill and we have nothing to eat.
- Where are you from?
- I’m from Iraq. When the Turkish army attacked our village my father was killed, but my mother and my three sisters managed to leave the village and get first to Azerbaijan and then to Dagestan.
- How do you live here?
- We haven’t got money to live on so I have to beg.
I went to the nearest shop, bought two loaves of bread and gave them to the girl. She was very grateful. I know that two loaves of bread are not enough to make their living but if all of us are merciful and do good deeds the life will be better for everybody. The goodness opens people’s hearts.
Zhavgarat Gadzhieva
People's Eyes Speak All Languages
A year ago I happened to rest in an international camp in Bulgaria. When I was going there I feared that I wouldn’t be able to understand my new friends because I thought I didn’t speak English well.
In the morning I met boys and girls from different countries. There were children from Mongolia, China, Japan, United Kingdom, and from both North and South America. And the main language at first was a smile. All the people like kind words so we started making our own language of the camp to communicate with each other. My friend from China was very difficult to deal with. He knew English very well but preferred to keep silence and be in solitude. Once I asked him to tell me about China and his family.
He smiled, kept a short silence and finally said: “Our family lives in Beijing. There are 8 of us in a family. My father is a salesman. My little brother wants to work as a shop assistant too. He dreams of becoming a good salesman whom customers will love and always buy different thing from him. He wants to have the best shop in China. When he spoke there appeared a smile on his face.
I understand how important it is to be able to listen to a person. Later we became very good friends and now he sends me e-mails or rings me up very often.
Now I’m sure to be a tolerant person one should have an open heart and a welcome smile. It is a signal and call for friendship.
Elderova Dzhamilia
The Illness is not Dangerous When Good Friendes are Always Near.
I was nine years old when I had a sore throat. My mother called the doctor, he came and examined me. He took my temperature which was very high and examined my throat. He told my mother to take me to hospital at once. I was left alone in the ward and felt quite lonely and depressed.
A nurse woke me up in the morning and made me take some medicine. I was lying thinking how lonely I was. Suddenly I heard a knock at the window. At first I thought it just seemed to me. But then I heard it again. I went up to the window, looked out of it and saw my friends standing under the window.
They came to see me before going to school.
- Hi, girls.
- Hi, Dzhamilia, nice to see you. How are you today? We decided to visit you before classes. We are sorry you are not with us.
- I’m much better now. The temperature is not very high today. I think they will let me leave the hospital soon. It is bored to death here. I have nothing to do. It is so nice of you to come and see me. How are you all getting on?
- Everything is OK with us. We miss you and need you at school. The teacher gives her regards to you and wishes you to be well soon. We are waiting for you.
I thanked them for coming and they went to school. I don’t know dew to which reason my temperature went down either from taking medicine or because of seeing my friends. I suppose because I saw my friends.
Ismailova Naida
My Younger Sister
We have got a very nice friendly family – my father, mother, my younger sister and me. Since my childhood my mother has always taught us to take care of each other and be always ready to help each other if we are in a difficult position. I have always followed my mother’s advice, but as a matter of fact my sister and I are not always together.
So one day my sister came home in tears. I immediately asked her what had happened.
-Hi, Nina, what’s the matter with you? Why are you crying?
- Nothing is the matter with me. Something has got into my eye. Everything is OK.
- I see that something is troubling you.
- Simply I have been offended today.
I would like you to tell me about it.
And she told me the following story: during the break the boys were discussing some questions. They were laughing very loudly and when my sister asked them to be quite they were rather rude to her, saying it was silly of her to ask them to behave properly, when they wanted to show everybody that they were cool. I have heard my sister very attentively. I wanted to help her so much, because I am happy to have a small sister who trusts me. I was sorry for her and tried to explain to her that in such a way they wanted to attract her attention to them.
What conclusion can we come to reading this story? I can only say that being classmates we must be tolerant and respect each other. If we behave badly nobody will respect us but if we do good to others they will appreciate it and return it to you.
Magomedova Zaira
My Dagestan
I live in a small but very beautiful republic – Dagestan. It is a multinational republic. The people of 43 nationalities, speaking 38 national languages live here. Imagine if the Russian language weren’t the language of human intercourse here, how we could communicate with each other. The nations are different, the languages are different, but there is one thing that unites all our nationalities – it is their hospitality and love to our Republic. No matter what nationality you are you are always welcome to any mountainous village or family. The mountaineers used to say – may the hearth of the house where the guest was offended parish. The best food, the best accommodation, the best bedding – everything is for the guest. The other thing is a great respect to the elderly people. Young people take good care of them. People respect their relatives and neighbors and are always ready to help them.
One day late in the evening my father saw a man who was standing in the city square with his rucksack. It was a late hour and my father came up to him and asked what the trouble was.
- I’m a tourist from St. Petersburg,- the man said,- and I became detached from my group as I lost my way in the local market and when I came to the place where our bus was there was nobody there. They went to Makhachkala without me thinking that I went there independently. I have just been to the local hotel but there are no vacant rooms there.
My father said: “ I see you are a good man. Let’s go to my house, spend a night there and in the morning you’ll go home. My wife will give you a good supper.”
He came to our house. At first my mother told father that it was not right to bring unknown man to the house, but father said that if a man was in need we had to help him.
In the morning he left us saying that the people in Dagestan were very hospitable. He gave us his address and asked to visit him in St. Petersburg.
I am very glad that I was born and live in Dagestan.
Daghirova Emina
It's never Late to Do Good.
Two years ago a group of children from Khasavyurt went to a holiday centre “Kaspy” which is on the shore of the Caspian Sea. I was among them. For the first time we all tried to keep together as we didn’t know anyone else there. In the evening I liked to walk in the park which was nearby. Walking there I saw several times a girl who was sitting alone on the bench. I asked some girls about her and they told me that the girl was blind.
So the next even evening I came up to the girl and took my seat on the bench close to her. – Hi, what’s your name?
- Hi, my name is Kate. And what’s your name?
- My name is Emina. I’m from Khasavyurt. And where are you from?
- I’m from Astrakhan. How do you like it here?
- Great. I like the sea very much. Do you often come here?
- Yes, I come here every summer. My mother still thinks that it is good for my eyes. You know, I’m blind. But my mother still thinks that I’ll be able to see some day. I have been operated on twice and the doctors say there must be performed one more operation.
I was very sorry for that nice girl and decided to make friends with her. We met in the park every evening and walked along the paths or simply sat on the benches speaking about different things. Kate taught me to read the books for the blind and I told her about many things she didn’t know before. Kate had a very pleasant voice and we often sang together.
I liked her very much. Now she lives in Astrakhan and is still waiting for the next operation.
We often speak to l each other on the telephone. I am glad I was her eyes that summer.
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