Loudest hands

Trophies, guns, ballerinas, free days and pom poms characterize my week. It's good to glean faves:

1. The blessing of being oblivious. I knew there was danger but had no idea how grave the situation was. A group of juvenile thugs attempted to attack our students. Seven billboards were reduced to smithereens when the attackers found they couldn't penetrate the gates. Although I understood something was terribly wrong when our students tried to scale the walls to retaliate, my limited Thai prevented me from knowing that the aggressors were actually carrying guns thus sparing me the trauma.

2. A student who did well. He belongs to the Changs, known as the problem bunch. Two terms ago he approached me with a long, fresh stitch on his belly asking permission to sit the exams. I cut him some slack not because he nearly died in that riot where he got stabbed but because despite his tough hide I notice he has potential. There was no need for extra lecture. I went non-verbal and looked him in the eye, "prove yourself worthy of a passing grade or I take it back." Then at the Wednesday awards my eyebrows clashed above my gaping mouth when I saw him go up on stage and receive a trophy for winning a tech competition. My hands were probably the loudest in the applause.

3. Ballrooom dancing. Ever so gracefully a pair of students interpreted Whitney Houston's I Wanna Run to You. It was beautiful.

STech Games 2009

4. The cheerleading squad. They got the three Bs. I'm at my best teaching them.

5. Today there are no classes, woot! While writing this, I'm deliberately semi-starving myself :) In a few minutes I'll be at my favorite Japanese restaurant eating all I want. Then I'm gonna watch Christmas Carol, buy tickets to Dionne Warwick's concert and proceed to ex-hubster's house to fetch CJ.

~ Visit Susanne @ Living to Tell the Story for more faves ~