Eric's Introduction: Who Am I?

So many students (and Hakim too!) have shared with us on the blog.  You have shared

• your goals with English
• your stories
• your photos
• your challenges and difficult experiences
• your singing and dancing
• your cultures and history
• and your encouragement and support to other students.

This is very brave.  I post a lot here, and I make a lot of comments.  But you probably don't know much about me.  I think it is time I shared a little.

In this post, I am going to share

• a slide show project
• the text for the narration

In my next post, I will share information about how I made this video. 

My Narrated Slide Show.

The Text for the Narration
I am writer and a reader.  I observe details and small moments, and write poems and short stories.  My greatest fear is that I will never complete a book of my writing.  Here I am sitting on my roof at sunrise.  My view of downtown Brooklyn is inspiring.  


I am a patient teacher, a hard working student, and a curious academic.  Here I am in class at Riis.  I am most proud of my work as a teacher.

I am a boyfriend and a partner.  Helen is the most important person in my life.

I am a son, a brother, and a grandson.  My family is very proud of me for moving to New York and attending graduate school.  My family lives in Pennsylvania. I don't see them often, but we talk on the phone.  And my mom sends me cards for special days.

I am a traveler and an explorer.  I was most happy when I studied abroad in Tokyo and got to know Helen.  In the center, is my student visa.  I lived in Japan for four months.  I met my girlfriend Helen, and my best friend Kyle.

I am an artist, and a lover of experimental art and beautiful art.  I make collage from old text books and children's stories.  This collage covers a wall in my bathroom.  I worked on it for more than a month, and I am very proud of it.  I don't know if my landlord will like the changes I made to the bathroom.

I am a New Yorker.  If I could live anywhere in the world, I would live in each neighborhood of New York City (except Staten Island).  I am walking with Helen and my friend Ron.  We are going to a birthday party for my best friend Kyle. 

I am a music lover, and a musician.  I am a guitar player, and a drummer, and I hear music in everything around me.  I love many styles of music, including jazz, classical, and heavy rock & roll.  I like to play music loud, but it is difficult in an apartment.

I am an American, and an advocate for the rights of immigrants.  I am an advocate for the rights of all people, regardless of sex, gender, sexual preference, race, or religion, to pursue their dreams, and the life that brings them happiness.  I am an advocate for community development and free speech.  

I am a naturalist and an environmentalist.  I love my plants and I try to recycle everything I can.  Every plant here tells a story.  The tall spike plant I rescued from the garbage in Philadelphia.  There is a small plant given to me from my friend Kyle.  There is a pot from Kyle's grandparents.  He took this pot when they became ill, and needed to move to an old-person's home.  There are green vines given to me from my mother, and my friend Steve, who I also met in Japan.  The purple vine was taken from the classroom where I taught for the first time, in a mental health clinic in Philadelphia.  It was here I discovered I could be a teacher.  The lucky bamboo plants on the right were my grandmother's.  She also loved plants.  They were her plants, and I received them when she died eight years ago.  I still miss her.  My plants keep so many memories.

Some Notes About the Slide Show
There are many things I would like to change about this video.  I would make it shorter.  I did not realize how long it was until I wrote the text here!  And I would change some of the writing.  But I thought this was finished when I shared it with my class in 2011, and there is no time to remake old work.  

"Riis" is the Jacob A. Riis Settlement House, the organization that provides ESOL classes for free for adults.

Pennsylvania is a state of the United States, south of New York state.  This is where my family lives.

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania.  This is where I lived before I moved to New York City.  I went to undergraduate school here, and I taught ESOL here after I graduated, at the Center for Literacy.  This organization also provides free class for adults.