Bittersweet Fun

Last night, I was trying to figure out how I wanted to spend my day Friday at school.  Should I stick to my schedule, which has me in two year 10 math classes, a philosophy class, and then with the year 7’s for a double lesson (and the year 2’s at the end of the day)?  Or should I do something a bit more enjoyable?  Naturally, I chose the latter.  I did go to the first year 10 math class, but then went straight to the primary school section.  I saw one of the year 2’s walking towards his class and took that as a sign that I should follow him there.  Definitely a good choice.  A few of the boys were asking why I was there earlier than usual, and then they just grinned when I told them I wanted to come and spend more time in their class.  They tend to do more work in the morning and then have fun in the afternoon, but I’m happy with both.  I helped the boys out with their writing and maths, which was actually kind of fun – they all know me really well by now and are great to work with. 

After recess, I headed to the year 4 class to give them a presentation about America.  I always enjoy talking to the kids about America, and the year 4’s are a really fun class.  They were intrigued when I told them about marshmallow Fluff and the Dollar Menu, and of course I got a wide range of questions: anything from “What do you do if you see a bear in the woods?” to “How big are your burgers?”  When I finished, they all clapped and cheered, and before I knew it there was a group of boys surrounding me, all asking questions – I felt like I had a posse!  I hung around the class for another hour, and I was talking with the boys almost non-stop!

I went back to LE for a Games Club lunch, where the boys were lamenting the fact that I leave next week, and then went back to my year 2’s (which was actually a part of my schedule).  They were having a free afternoon, so they got to draw, play, or do whatever they liked.  I was with this boy Thomas for the first half hour or so, and he wanted to play chess – I don’t know much more about chess than what I’ve seen on Harry Potter, so there wasn’t much hope there.  Especially because the 8 year-olds knew how to play it better than me.  I decided to leave that to the experts and went to play with Lego’s instead (much more up my alley).  Tommy and a few other boys were at that table, so I had some fun chatting with them as we played with the Lego’s.  After that, we had a few good rounds of Uno before it was time to clean up.  As they were getting ready to head home, Tommy wanted to create a secret handshake with me, so he was all excited to practice it a bit before the day ended. 

One of the most common questions I got today was, “When are you going back to America?”  When I told them that it was after next week, their faces fell and many of them kept saying how they want me to stay longer.  As flattering as it was, I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad every time that happened.  When I walk out of the primary school next Friday, I’ll probably be a wreck; it will certainly be bittersweet.  As sad as I am to go, though, I am excited for one more weekend Down Under and another week at Blackfriars before I get to head home!