-^-for posterity-^-

i sit in my business english class having nothing to do for the next twenty minutes except answer random questions about an import/export article their reading. it's a joy to give students something to read in a language you know perfectly. you become the master. you become the sensei. they sit quietly and stare ferociously at a piece of poorly photocopied paper. they want to lean. their pronunciation is terrible but they know words like, 'chaos' and, 'delinquent.' i amble around the room checking to make sure they understand everything. 'what is console?' 'what is haulage?' 'what is a broker?' i write the words on the board and come up with a makeshift definition. after all, how would you define a broker? i'm sure it's fairly simple but, when you have thirty eyes on you and they're all waiting for your blue pen to scrawl something on the white board, it's unnerving.

sometimes i look out the window. there are always students practicing for gym. gym is a graded class here and they have to do such things as the triple jump, the shot-put, marching and volleyball. if they fail a gym class they will not graduate and they take it very seriously.

today they are practicing marching. they stand in rows, three deep and about twenty long. they stand still in their blue uniforms with white stripes down the sides. they wear silly hats and some of the girls have dress shoes on. the gym teacher yells something at them and begins to count. they follow along and then instantly begin to march. their arms swing in unison from side to side. their feet are perfectly in line. they reach the end of the volleyball court and they turn abruptly. they turn and continue marching. they will march all afternoon in the sweltering heat. i sit in a classroom watching students highlight odd words that they'll never need to use again in their lives. they are so diligent it makes me feel inferior. they can memorize things at an incredible rate. well, back to my window to watch the students trot up and down. they look like a circus troop in their blue uniforms. they look like a well trained circus group.