中文課在孤兒院

嗯... 我今天教我的第一堂中文課。好像學生很喜歡。我教兩個
學生。五分鐘後，再三個來請我也教他們。

Changing Perspectives

Viviana sporting a blue tongue

photo by Rick

Today, Rick and I did "story time" after school for the second and third grade.  Rick read a book about a crocodile that thought he was a duck.  Martin was *not* pleased.  He had on his angry face and he wouldn't walk by himself and kept mumbling, "Why we no play legos?"  And then, after about two pages, he was hooked.

While I was sitting, pretending it was the most fascinating story I'd ever heard in order to get the kids invested, Yajaira and Viviana, the twins climbed up on my lap, one on each leg.  Now, these girls aren't tubs are anything , but they. are. solid. All muscle those two.  It was like I had two baby giants on my knees, and I felt so small and petite by comparison, even while I'm no lightweight myself.

My thoughts wandered back to a different time in Taiwan a few years back when I signed up for an aerobics class with a bunch of young Taiwanese women.  I was trying to lose weight at the time, and was succeeding.  Every morning, I would take a shower and then look at my belly in the mirror and think, "Today. Today!  Today I will not feel HUMONGOUS compared to those beautiful wisps of women."  And then I would walk into the class with three walls of mirrors, surrounded by teeny, tiny, petitist-of-petite ladies, and look at my big German-English frame fumbling around to the salsa moves and think, "I'm an AMAZON!"

It was funny to feel the perspective shift.

Dramatic Compliments

So, out of the blue in third grade theatre class today, came this dialogue...

Alondra:  Miss Rebekah, you look so pretty today!
Anita:  Yes.  Your socks are so pretty.
Alondra: And her hair. I like her hair!
Caila: And her skirt is so pretty!
Alondra: And her earrings!
Estefania: And her shirt is so pretty!
Anita:  And those socks with those shoes....!
Wilson: Why you have bruises on you leg?
Rebekah: I don't know.  I bruise easily.

I did wonder if they were buttering me up for something (except Wilson, who was just being Wilson), but I honestly didn't care.  These kids can be so moody and tough sometimes, I felt so happy just to hear them practice using kind words.

*Sigh* I'll never change my clothes again.

CONGA! at Casa de Fe

Stayed for Zumba after school today. This was the cool down. Wild times!  

By this point, I had danced for an hour straight with kids taking turns on my back.  I was drenched!  And at one point, there was this one tiny, little dude up dancing on a table.  Ha!  I didn't even know that dude could walk.  They learn early at the foundation.  Otherwise, they just get left in the dust!