time to brag

I just want to brag for a minute.

But first, I want to brag on someone else. Go to Sarah's blog and see her great pics. I made that star durring PDM because Rachel wasn't a team player and Sarah didn't take the activity seriously. ;)

I want to brag on my students. I pretty much have good kids, but I will unabashedly say that my ocmi-a class is my favorite. These kids are in their first year of intensive English. They have 20 hours of English classes a week. I have them for eight of those hours. These kids crack me up. They are a rowdy bunch, but in a very friendly, fun way. They get out of control, and they play me! They have discovered that we can abandon the book if they redirect the class in another direction. What can I say? I'm a sucker for kids who are eager to learn and display their English language skills (or numchuck skills, computer hacking skills...). Friday, one of my boys came to me to ask if I had class that period. I didn't, and neither did they. So he asked me to go to the gym with them so they could play soccer, since they couldn't be up there unattended. As I was up there watching them, I realized what good kids they are. They have a free period in the middle of the day and they choose to play soccer. They could have been out smoking or causing some kind of general trouble.

Here's another fun story about my ocmi ah-ers. Today was the "english olympics" at my school. I went early, had coffee with the other English teachers and got my dictation for the 12 grade (which consisted of 8 girls - a low turnout in my opinion). I was walking down the hallway with the other English teacher who handles these little crazies with me. She goes into their room and wishes them luck. I peek in the door and before I get a chance to say anything they cheer. They were excited that I was there. It made my morning. These kids are great. They drive me nuts at least once a day. They don't always listen, and they don't have enough "respect," but they are good and smart and motivated. They are the reason Peace Corps is in Bulgaria. Maybe my presence here will stave off their disenchantment a little. Maybe some of these kids will see something differently because "that American girl," a title which I usually abhor, saw something different in them. I don't know but I'm proud to be working with them!!