Encouragement

Two of my former students came to see me today- Maprang and Khwan. Khwan is at Chulalongkorn University (the number 1 school in Thailand) in Bangkok and Maprang is heading to Boston University on a government scholarship. During their junior and senior years at PRC, I met with these girls almost every day for hours at a time preparing for the TOEFL, SATs, SAT II, college application essays, visa documents, etc etc etc.
We used to meet at Bud's Ice Cream (a cute little American-style shop across the street from the school- pictured here! Maprang on the left, Khwan on the right, taking an SAT practice test) at 5 every day because it was nearby and air-conditioned. Plus the girls got to balance out the stress of deciphering SAT analogies with the joy of savoring scrumptiously large ice cream sundaes.

Seeing them was so great because it was a reminder of some of the work I'd done that I'd almost forgotten about. We had so much fun mulling over the idiosyncrasies of the English language. Oh and to prep for the lit section of the exam, I basically just retaught Dr. Slayton's senior English class- starting with escapist fiction using "The Most Dangerous Game" as an example, and then moving on to more serious stuff (Thanks, Dr. Slayton!).

It was also crazy to see them because it was a living reminder of the passage of time: I started teaching these girls when they were juniors in high school and now they are SOPHOMORES in COLLEGE! It made me feel really old and really like I have been here too long. Honestly- I set out with the intention of living here for a year... two years MAXIMUM... and now it has been almost three. And I'm going to be 25 in 15 days. Scary.

Time flies, man. Such is life, I suppose.

On the bright side, Mom and Dad sent me a care package with birthday presents that arrived today! It was a total surprise. I think I'll save them and open them on the actual day though. Still haven't decided exactly what I want to do to celebrate though... Suggestions?