My Swimmy
‘Then, hidden in the dark shade of rocks and weeds, he saw a school of little fish, just like his own.
“Let’s go and swim and play and SEE things!” he said happily.
“We can’t,” said the little red fish. “The big fish will eat us all.”
“But you can’t just lie there,” said Swimmy. “We must THINK of something.” ’
——by Leo Lionni, Swimmy
These little red fish triggered the memories of my first two years in Austin. I spent most of the time at home. I only went to the UT apartments ESL classes or visited other housewives living at UT apartments by walking or shuttles. My world was so little, but I hesitated to leave my comfort zone.
Then I met a girl, JiaLing. She brought me to various ESL classes and hung out with me in a lot of places I had never been to. She showed me where to take the bus and how to make connection. We always met up on the bus and talked during our rides. She really expended my comfort zone in a friendly way. I appreciated it when I looked back.
I shared my story in the book club while we were discussing the picture book Swimmy. The leader of the book club, Kathy, spoke to me with a flicker of a smile, “So JiaLing is your swimmy!”
“Yes, she is.” I said heartily.
“And she swims.” there is a flicker in Kathy’s eyes.
“I love swimming. I even swim in my dreams.” I recalled JiaLing’s own words.
“A happy school of little fish lived in a corner of the sea somewhere. They were all red. Only one of them was as black as a mussel shell. He swam faster than his brothers and sisters. His name was swimmy.”
——by Leo Lionni, Swimmy
Viola, April 24th, 2018 evening in Austin