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Anne: Ok, w::e, once again, I’m just gonna read this (.) one little thing where it says, about
Sarah and she’s talking about life, and how it’s like steps, uneven steps, an:d she says,
((reads)) she suddenly saw life as a series of hu, huge uneven steps, and she saw herself on the steps, standing motionless in a prison shirt and she had just taken an enormous step out of the shadows and was standing waiting, and there were other steps in front of her, so that she
could go as high as the sky , now, we said, they’re uneven, because who had that great idea about that, who did that (.) I think it was Sasha but anyway (.) Roman (.) why are her steps uneven?
Roman: Because um, different parts of life last longer?
Anne: Last longer? Maybe, OK, different part of your life last longer-, ((points to Deena))
Deena: Different times, like, sometimes like different times you’re like, steps go up at certain times, steps go down at certain times, like, like, we had an example last year, like last week, like, (.) in fifth grade, we behave really bad, like in sixth grade, we behave really good.
Anne: OK,
Deena: so like take a step down, take a step up.
Anne: So life is harder at sometimes than others, right, OK, but now it says, she just took a step up, yeah, ((points to Paulina)) Paulina?
Paulina: Her days are not the same.
Anne: Her days are not the same, that’s for sure, are they?
Paulina: Yeah
Anne: Now it says she just took an enormous step out of the shadows, what did she just do?
(2)
Kevin: Save Charlie? (.)
Anne: She just saved Charlie, that’s for sure, Yeah? ((points to Paulina))
Paulina: She realized that like- she’s- she’s thinks she’s being bad and ugly. And she realizes she’s been judging people wrong (1)
Anne: OK, (.) so she’s changed her idea of her own self
Paulina: Yeah
Anne: She’s not so down on herself anymore, OK? ((points to Roman))

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Roman: She just came, she’ve just um, like got out of some um, hard thing and now is beginning something else.
Anne: Yup, she’s start’en, she knows it’s new, doesn’t she? (.) Yeah, OK, Kev?
Kevin: maybe she’s loosing her childhood! maybe she’s growing up!
Anne: Maybe, she is, can you believe it? Does it, is it possible to grow up? [1]
Kevin: No, not really ((laughs))
Anne: ((laughs)) O::K::, alright, now it says, ((reads)) “she was standing
waiting and there were other steps in front of her so she could go as high as the sky” what does that part mean about her, (.) Jonathan, can you (.) tune into that one?
Jonathan: Yeah, ok, um, if she can go as high as the sky, she- she’s going for ever, because you can, can’t touch the sky, so-
Anne: Well, what does that mean for her, I mean, does it mean she can really climb up to the sky?
Jonathan: No, if she would climb up to the sky, she’d live forever.
Anne: So, what does it mean?
Jonathan: That um- um she she thinks she’s gonna live forever?
Anne: Do ya think? Do ya think that? Masinori, what do you think? Do you think it means she’s gonna live for ever? (.) What do you think it means?
Masinori: u::m (4)
Anne: She can go as high as the sky (3)
Masinori: u::m (4)
Anne: Remember we talked the other day, about the expression the sky is the limit, what does it mean, the sky is the limit? (1) Kevin, what does that mean?
Kevin: There’s no limit of how high can go.
Anne: There is no limit of how high you can go, [2] so what does it mean that her steps go as high as the sky? (2)
Masinori: ( )
Anne: Do you feel like your steps go as high as the sky? (.) Can you do anything you want?
(2) Uh?
Masinori: No
Anne: Why not? (3)

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Masinori: Cuz (.) there’s something you can’t do.
Anne: You mean some things you have to do, alright, OK, that’s true (.) sometimes things you can’t do what you want to do, you have to do what you have to do (.) Paulina?
Paulina: I think these steps are her challenge (.) to get to her goal or beyond [beyond
Anne: =tt, so to get to her goal or past her goal, yeah, great, Deena?
Deena: she like achieve a lot of things in life, and she’d like, go high in life and like and something she knows or something
Anne: Alright, yeah?
Roman: That (.) there’s no limit in life? (1)
Anne: Yea, now, as Masinori said, he’s right, sometimes there are limits, that there is nothing you can do about, right? (.) Sometimes your mother says you can’t go out, that means your not going, doesn’t it? (1) And sometimes you hurt yourself and that means you can’t do certain things, or something, but (.) with her, she doesn’t feel that way now, (.) K, now, look at this one, ((reads)) “she saw Charlie on a flight of small difficult steps”, what, what does she see, Charlie, [on small,
Arthur: [What’s flight?
Anne: Ah, Arthur, a flight of steps is a s:s, a set of steps, like from, to go from the first floor to the second floor is one flight? So Arthur, what do you think? (.) Why does she see Charlie on a flight of sm:all difficult steps?
Arthur: I didn’t get it,
Anne: Well (.) you’re gonna get it now (.) why is why is Charlie as having small difficult steps?
Arthur: u:m (4)
Anne: What do ya know about Charlie?
Arthur: He (.) He can’t talk (.)
Anne: He can’t talk? That’s right. What else?
Arthur: u:m (.) dumb or something
Anne: OK, so, why’s he, why is he having small difficult steps? (3)
Arthur: He’s mental (.) retarded. [3]
Anne: Maybe, OK, yeah? Jonathan

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Jonathan: He uh, he can’t do a lot of things, because, um, he doesn’t know anything, like how to open the door or something, so that’s- that, that what makes life difficult for him, so (.) that’s why he stays in those little steps
Anne: OK, what about school? what did they said something about what he learned to do in school? Yeah
Deena: He learned to write the alphabet.
Anne: But how is it for him to do it?
Deena: It’s really hard from him to do it and because he’s like there’s a brain damage, it’s, it’s, life is going to be harder than for like, normal people, and he’ll gonna have a difficulty that’s why I think he have like a small steps.
Anne: Yeah, Do you agree, Kev?
Kevin: N:o, yeah, but a different way.
Anne: OK
Keivn: like people stop treating him like a baby, even though he is being slow
Anne: ah uh,
Kevin: not [old.
Anne: [He’s being treated like somebody much younger than he is
Kevin: um, and he’s like yeah, he needs more attention, more help and it’s like how babies are, still need more’n more attention, and can’t talk or do nothing. [4]
Anne: If, if Charlie were ever to learn to tell time do you think it would be very very hard to teach him?
Ss: [Yeah [No
Anne: = And very hard for him to learn it?
Kevin: Yeah
Paulina: but he can already tell time, cuz lots of people ask him? ((S off screen says no))
Anne: But what do they do when he asks him? ((sts mumble off screen)) What does he do when they ask him tt?
Deena: =he shows them the watch.
Anne: Yeah, he shows them the watch
Deena: their just laughing ( )

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Anne: OK, now this is the most interesting one, I think, ((reads)) “she sees her fa:ther down
at the bottom of some steps, just sitting and not trying to go further” (3) What do you think about that one? the father is at the bottom, just sitting there and not trying to go more (2)
OK, Roman, what do you think about that?
Roman: li:ke, cuz he like doesn’t see them that much, and he’s like having the hardest times, cuz- um, well he has to like work (.) all the time (.) and the only time he doesn’t work is on weekends, cause he has to keep, he has to get money for um Sarah and Charlie to live on.
[5]
Anne: OK, ((points)) Jonathan?
Jonathan: Um, because, since he was 12 years old, he had to um (.) to um (.) to grow a family, because his mom died and stuff and he has um take care of his (.) brothers and sisters
Anne: =S:ss
Jonathan: =so now he has to um, take care of Charlie, Wanda and um Sarah.
Anne: O:K, (.) yeah?
Deena: I mean he doesn’t go far in life, he, like, works, he’s got like an education, he just stays in the same step, and he doesn’t move up (.) forwards or backwards, he just stays at the same level, the same like-
Anne: =And notice that it says, “he’s just sitting and not trying”,
Deena: =He doesn’t even try to like to get maybe a college education, get really good- better work or something.
Anne: =Do, do you remember when she described the picture of her dad a long time ago? when she was little, a picture with her?
Deena: Yeah ( )
Anne: What did it look like, when, when, be- when her mother was still alive? When his wife was still alive, what did that picture of her look like? Would you sit up please? Yeah?
Deena: He was happy and the kids were happy, they were all smiling and having fun.
Anne: And what’s he like now when he comes home Arthur, what’s he like now (.) when he comes home on weekends, what does he do? (.)
Arthur: Watch TV, sits on the couch (.)
Anne: Yeah, Does he talk to the kids?

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Arthur: No, he just like, and the kids are just thinking ‘what you came here for, watching, watch TV’?
Anne: =Yeah, why’d you bother to come home, right? So what does that tell you about him?
Arthur: [yeah like
Anne: [Something has happened to him?
Arthur: [Watch TV in the house, that’s it.
Anne: So what happened to him between the time when he used to be the happy smiling dad and now when he just comes home and doesn’t even talk to anyone? Kevin?
Kevin: Too much stress.
Anne: Too much stress, maybe yeah?
Paulina: Tired
Anne: Tired, what else?
Deena: Exhausted
Anne: Exhausted
Deena: Annoyed with his life
Anne: Know, know what?
Deena: Annoyed with his life
Anne: Annoyed with his life? [6]
Deena: Yeah, he’s, his life’s been, like his life’s been tragicful all the time. First his father and uncle died and then his wife, and now he’s taking care of the kids and all that. I mean he’s always doing like working to make time to make other people happy, but not himself.
Anne: OK, good, yeah
Jonathan: He’s totally mad at his work, when he comes back from his work.
Anne: Could be, he might have a really lousy job that he hates, but he has to do it, cuz he has to make the money. He looks! to me like a person who gave up, (.) he’s tired and he gave up, and he doesn’t care anymore, he’s just pick’n em up and lay’n them down ((said slowly)), he’s just going to do what he has to do (.) and that’s too bad, isn’t it?
Ss: ah uh
Anne: OK.