-^-for posterity-^-

yesterday was a fascinating day.

we started out the day (after teaching four hours in the morning) by going to a friend’s wedding. this is the friend whose family lives right beside 2 million dollar hill. he is very petite and has a very handsome face.

the wedding was very pleasant and we all sat around circular tables in the middle of the road. it felt wonderfully comfortable and warm. i looked around the party and recognized almost everyone. familiar faces abounded and i couldn’t help but smiling. we ate and chatted and i felt completely at home.

in the evening we had a halloween party. about 150 students showed up to the party and the guest house where we stay was far too small to hold them all. they were all dressed in costumes and all the lights were out. people milled about and i didn’t recognize anyone. people chatted in large groups and laughed and had a wonderful time. on the roof we had a haunted house which i was in charge of. we set up long rows of black cloth and had some of the second and third year students hiding throughout. we would bring groups of students to the top of the steps where i would be waiting for them in the dark. i would tell them the story of a former volunteer teacher who, two years ago this evening, came up to the roof at night to lament being so far away from home. the next day some people found here dead. no one knew why. i explained that the ghost of this teacher still haunts the roof. they would proceed cautiously. the girls would scream and scurry around. the boys would be macho and would walk as if walking down the road on a sunny sunday afternoon. both sexes overdid it.

all in all, it felt wonderfully like home. the students faces are familiar. the teachers faces are familiar. this is one large family and i’m happy to be a part of it.

oh, also, one of my students wrote this in her last test that i'm currently grading: don’t ask what your country can make to help you but let think tht what you can do for yours. that made my day indescribably better.