some people don't read

every week, the big stairwell in the house gets cleaned. and everyone who lives there takes a turn - this week it's my turn. and i've been paired with somebody who isn't usually (at least not in my memory) scheduled to clean them. in the process of making sure that this wasn't a scheduling glitch, i found out that the person cleaning with me is probably unaware that she is scheduled to clean this week - even though there's a schedule hanging up in the hall and she received a letter in her mailbox about it. see, she doesn't read.

when i heard that she doesn't read, i didn't understand. i know some people don't read books and perhaps some people can't be bothered to read their mail (especially when half of it is in a foreign language). but that wasn't the case here. she can't read. growing up she never learned how. and even after living in the Netherlands for a significant time now, she still hasn't learned. and i was flabbergasted. my world is so completely surrounded by words and writing and reading that i have a very difficult time imagining functioning without being able to read.

and others have walked through our doors at Oudezijds 100 who can't read. learning to sign their name is the closest they come to writing. when i put it in the context of the other challenges going on in their lives, it doesn't appear quite so strange - even as i believe it must be very difficult. and in the life of this woman who is to clean the stairwell with me, who i've known for more than a year and who has had quite a lot of challenges to overcome, i remain surprised about how she cannot read. i see that her life has reached a certain level of stability and that she seems to be functioning okay - and i cannot completely get my mind around how she can manage to live well without being able to read since so much of life is dependent on reading and writing. and as much as it puzzles me, i think it also makes me a bit sad.

and i recognize that i have so much to learn about people and life and seeing the world around me.

postscript: The Parool, a dutch newspaper, published an article today about a special dutch integration course for people who are illiterate.