Samantha is a young 17 year old girl. Bedri is her father. They are both in our Flemish class. Bedri is sort of like us and struggles with Flemish while Samantha, like most young people, is learning very quickly. She also has the advantage (or disadvantage) of going to school every day where the lessons are taught in Flemish. I suppose she's had no choice but to catch on.
They are originally from Kosovo and speak Albanian as their native language. Kosovo, along with several other countries in the same area are not in the European Union. Population is mostly Albanian. After much war over, what else - religion and/or ethnicity, the UN recognizes their independence, but not all other countries do.
It is my understanding, Bedri is unable to work - disabled. It isn't evident to me what the problem may be and I'm not sure of their reason for being in Belgium. Many countries in the European Union become home to asylum seekers from countries in turmoil. I'm guessing America has nothing on the EU when it comes to immigration issues. Which, by the way, didn't that have something to do with the whole purpose of the U.S.? You know, the Pilgrims and all that.
Samantha is very friendly and tells us they have lived in Germany, Switzerland, and the French-speaking part of Belgium known as Wallonia. In addition to Albanian, she speaks German, English, French and now Flemish. Although she says there are 5 children in the family, I have heard no mention of a mother. And I haven't asked.
Samantha dreams of being a secretary one day and is very proud to be working toward that goal. She and her father attend class almost every time and she helps him constantly so he will understand. They always leave 15 minutes before the class ends so they can catch the 9 p.m. bus or train back to wherever it is they live.
I am very curious about their life, but this is all I may ever know.
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