Moving to a new country often means learning a new language. But Americans in particular seem to take for granted how difficult it is to just “speak English.”

When I arrived in Maine, I only knew some basic English grammar I’d learned in school. All of a sudden, I was expected to speak it as my primary language. I did my best to be successful, and signed up for English lessons at Lewiston Adult Education, but classes were only two hours a week. So, I also studied on my own, listening to popular songs while simultaneously reading the lyrics. And befriending people who only spoke English or wanted to improve their English so I could practice with them. Some of my friends and I even created a challenge where we’d have to pay a fine if we spoke in a language other than English when we were together. Still, even with the help of apps like Google Translate, it was a challenge that took time to overcome.

That’s why I find it so impressive when someone tackles the language barrier head-on. And not only that, but thrives in the face of this struggle. My new friend Prudent Ndihokubwayo arrived in America 12 years ago speaking almost no English. Today, he’s building a career as a writer.

Prudent was 22 when he fled violence in his native Burundi in 2011. He headed for Portland, where his aunt and uncle had friends. Though trilingual in his native Kirundi, French and Swahili, Prudent could only say a few things in English, such as “goodnight,” “good morning” and “how are you?”

Within three weeks, he’d moved out of his friends’ house and into his own apartment. “I was so lost and felt alone,” he says of those early weeks and months. At that time, he had a single social outlet: Twice a month, Prudent met with a social worker, whom he spoke to through a French translator. “I would share when I was missing my family or stressed or depressed, and she would let me just talk,” Prudent says.

Things improved once he began meeting other African immigrants through church and around his new neighborhood. Those who had already started learning English helped Prudent translate. At the grocery store, he could shop by sight without needing to read any lables. But to places like the gym and library, he’s travel with one or two friends, relying on each other for help communicating.

Two months after arriving in Maine, Prudent’s social worker helped him sign up for ESL classes at the Maine Adult Education Center. At first, learning a fourth language seemed daunting. But he also knew doing so was the only way he’d ever be able to feel at home in America. And once he made the decision, he commited wholeheartedly.

To expedite his English learning, Prudent made frequent trips to the library to watch free English lessons online. A friend lent him a 100-page self-improvement book, and Prudent began to read through it, writing down any words he didn’t recognize and looking them up on Google translate. It took him a month to complete that first book, “because I was going slow and learning every word,” he tells me. But he kept reading after that, alternating between nonfiction and novels. And soon, he began to fantasize about writing his own story.

“There was always something about words that I was drawn to,” Prudent says now. “And when I got here and started reading books, I became fascinated. How do people go from a blank page to all these pages? I just realized that’s what I want to do and leave behind as my legacy.”

When Prudent’s work permit was approved, it was a game changer for his language fluency. A temp agency placed him in janitorial services at the University of Southern Maine, where he was able to practice English with his coworkers and students. After three years as the overnight janitor, he was hired by USM full time. And he was amazed to learn the new job had an important benefit: two free classes each semester. After another year of English classes, he enrolled as a USM student in 2016, and eventually declared English as his major. In just a few years, he’d gone from not being able to speak the language to studying it.

“My friends and family couldn’t believe I was getting a degree in English because no one from Burundi does that,” he tells me. “To them, it’s unbelievable.”

There were times that Prudent thought about quiting his major. “I was the only immigrant in the whole English department,” he says. “I often felt out of place.” He even considered switching majors to international business, where classes were full of newcomers. “It looked like the right place for me,” he admits. But he says he stuck with English “to inspire other people.” And because he wasn’t ready to give up on his dream of becoming a writer.

In 2022, six years after he started school, Prudent received his bachelor’s degree. He continues to support himself with his job at USM, currently as the janitorial supervisor. But he spends much of his free time reading — Beloved by Toni Morrison is his favorite book — and working on his memoir.

“I’m telling my story and everything I overcame as an immigrant, so Americans can have a better understanding of what immigrants like me go through,” Prudent says. “And because I want people to see anything is possible. I came from one of the poorest countries, and if I can do it, they can do it.”

Héritier Nosso is a health promotion coordinator and community organizer in Lewiston.

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