an unexpected visitor

Today in Ulpan (intensive Hebrew class at Hebrew University), we were sitting in the botanical garden while one of our classmates gave a short talk. Twice a week, one of the students in the class has to give a five to ten minute presentation (in Hebrew) about anything they want. When the student got up to talk, I expected her to give a short talk about knitting, which is what she had been thinking about yesterday, or something about the botanical garden, because we were there. Instead, she told us her grandparents were Holocaust survivors and she wanted to talk about the Holocaust.

As she starting talking about her visit to Poland last year, and some of the conditions here grandparents had to live through, I was filled with an immense sadness. At first I thought it was because I haven't really thought about the holocaust for a long time, and was not expecting to be hearing about how little they ate or how disgusting the building was that served as their bathroom, but then I realized I was connecting to something deeper.

I began to pay attention and realized that her grandparents had shown up. I think I was connecting with their feelings. As the presenter finished her talk she told us that she had decided to continue with university here in Israel and was not planning on returning to the states. Her grandparents could not have been more proud.

After class ended, I told her that her grandparents had shown up and they were proud of her. She kind of looked at me in a confused way, said thank you, and went on her way. I don't know if it meant anything to her, but I know it's what they wanted me to say, so I needed to do it.