BY KATHERINE SMITH

Newsroom Intern

Barbara Metzler and Betty Trujillo sit knee-to-knee in a balmy yellow corner of the Moore County Literary Council (MCLC) in downtown Southern Pines.

In preparation for the U.S. Citizenship Test, Trujillo is intently reciting answers to stout questions of our system of government while Metzler, her tutor, listens with patient nods.

This citizenship test will mark the fifth year that the two have spent as tutor and student.

Trujillo is from Colombia, South America. Her daughter, Luzanda, married David Penton, a soldier stationed at Fort Bragg. They have a son, Logan.

"My first grandson," Trujillo says with a broad smile. "That is my reason for coming."

Shortly after she arrived in 2007, Trujillo requested a private tutor from the MCLC to help integrate her into the tongue of a new culture.

"When I move here, I tell Mrs. Barbara - I can't hear, I can't speak - I have no voice," she says.

Metzler registered as a tutor with the MCLC after a brimming teaching career. She taught middle school social studies and English, ending her teaching career with three years at Highfalls Elementary.

After retirement, she hoped for "a nice way to participate in the community," and was paired with Trujillo based on their similar schedules.

Over the canyon of dissimilar languages, the two began to meet weekly and bonded together like sisters.

The Moore County Literary Council is a nonprofit organization that provides free tutelage to English and non-English speaking adults with low reading or writing skills.

"Our students are wonderful," Metzler says. "We have students who grew up in Moore County and were functionally illiterate, but they come here and they are so eager to learn."

All volunteer tutors are well- trained and supervised, though many are without formal teaching experience.

Along with grants from United Way, the North Carolina Community College System and several community foundations, the MCLC receives a high percentage of its funding from the annual Spelling Bee for Literacy, which will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, at Owens Auditorium on the campus of Sandhills Community College.

Tickets can be purchased at The Old Buggy Inn, Given Book Shop, Sandhills Winery, The Country Bookshop, and Sarvis Management.

Between jocular skits, competitors at the Bee relay in dizzying costumes for proper spelling. The night's proceeds benefit many Moore County literacy programs.

Trujillo says that her sessions at MCLC have gone "far beyond general reading."

Trujillo and Metzler begin every session with a half hour discussion of the past week.

"We talk about current events, our families, our pets - I have a Daisy the dog and she has a Daisy the cat," Metzler says.

The two note what they've read and listened to on America News in order to share opinions on their allotted Wednesday afternoons.

They then practice whatever specific task that Trujillo has set as her current "three-month goal," this month's being to pass the 100 questions on the U.S. Citizenship Test. In preparation, they review and discuss legislation, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and U.S. presidents.

One of Trujillo's first goals to communicate seamlessly with her grandson was met by a book of colors and animals that Metzler gave her to read to him.

"That experience for her represents how learning the language is so much more than what it sounds," Metzler says. "It gives you incredible freedom."

Trujillo utilized Sandhills Community College's literary council to have group discussions with several students. She goes to the senior center at a hospital once a week to improve her listening skills and attends a discussion group at the MCLC that lectures on local topics like law enforcement, doctor visits, how to obtain a library card, and how to most efficiently grocery shop.

By reinforcing the material with a Rosetta Stone computer program at home and her individual times with Metzler, she can grow with what she is being taught.

"Now I can go to the restaurant and order off the menu, use the telephone, and mail letters at the post office," she says. "I'm very proud to be here."

The two became further intertwined after evenings of baking together. Metzler led the two through cookie recipes, and Trujillo shared her coconut flan Amish friendship bread.

Once a year, the MCLC hosts a potluck for its teachers and students. All bring native dishes, and over dinner, the students are publicly acknowledged with certificates for their accomplishments.

"Sharing dishes and cultures reminds us to be thankful for how rich we are together," Metzler says. "There are tutors from several states and students from Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico and China. It's amazing how an hour of study a week can bring this many people together."

"Oh, you may say she gives just one hour, but I see the lesson plans and know she is busy at home preparing," Trujillo says. "She's a very good teacher and friend. How kind she is to give to people like me who want to read, listen and talk in English."

The duo plans to continue their sessions until either is unable, which may be soon, if Trujillo's family decides to move to Mississippi for work.

"We will miss together," Trujillo says, though in either case, she aspires to continuously grow and just maybe sign up as a volunteer tutor herself.

For more information about the Moore County Literary Council or the upcoming Spelling Bee, visit mcliteracy.com.

Katherine Smith is a newsroom intern at The Pilot.