a party!

my university students had a lovely party for me on the last day of class. it included a magic show, a traditional chinese sport [diablo?] performance, and lots of good food. they appreciated my awkwardness as i tried to eat goopy messes of things. and i appreciated their kindness in scooping stuff up for me.

i really admire all of these students. they are so earnest in learning english. they have the fire that i need to have in my language studies. and they are so kind to me, even when i am the same age as them and have no clue what i am doing as i teach them. it was a growing experience. just like everything else here. and i loved it.

this is my grandmother. running a red light.
i love her.
and san mateo intersection cameras.

the video is even better.

note to self: shred my license when i turn 60.

art time

couldn't resist pulling the camera out. look at those rows of colored chairs and concentrating children. 6 months ago, that wouldn't have made me as blissfully happy as it makes me now. i will never again take a well-behaved classroom for granted. or a well-prepped art project.

bill

he is crazy & ADD. and a 10 year old boy. but i just might miss his short attention span and insanity. and mostly his adoration of teacher jeff and his 10 year old perception of romance.

reflections

when the inevitable goodbye comes, make it short. lengthiness just makes it harder.

when the fights come, let them come. they make you stronger.

when you forget about yourself, take a step back. you loose yourself. and then the self that they fell in [like] with is gone too.

when you just want to stay home and talk, do it. even if you are in another country.

the last of it

highlights of friday
-eating swallow nests [made from their spit]
-seeing a baby elephant in a busy bangkok intersection
-eating a ridiculously tasty soup at a ghetto flooded restaurant
-seeing a terrifying snake show

p.s. reasons behind the lame posts=my computer has failed me and i am using jeff's PC. now i know how much of a mac person i am. PCs are too...personal.

afternoon.

elephant rides and depressing monkey shows made our afternoon. then to a traditional thai massage where they moved and cracked our bodies in ways i didn't know possible. it was wonderful. then strip shows made the night...except we didn't go. i was too excited over the elephant rides and too relaxed from the massage to care that we had nothing to do. and i finally got to finish the book i'd been reading. [a long way gone, memoirs of a boy soldier]