Most of my memories of Houma are with my 16 students, our jokes, stories, classes, library time, village adventures, bush-road runs, guava-picking etc.
But I'll never forget day one, when I was wide-eyed, shell-shocked, and completely overwhelmed with the thought that I would have to figure out a way to TEACH. And not only teach, but SPEAK with these students. Plan lessons for them. Have conversations.
But I think the kicker of it all--the comic, relief, even, was my principal's introduction on that first day of school. She wasn't very confident in English, but they had routine morning introdutions, in which she would greet the class good morning, ask the days of the week and the months of the year, etc.
So she said hello as I awkwardly stood by the door with 60+ eyes on me.
"Goot mor-ning, closs."
and with complete robot efficiency--the same monotone with all 32 students-- they replied,
"GOOD MOR-NING-TEA-CHER"
"how ah you dis morning?"
"WE-AH-FINE-THANK-YOU-HOW-ARE-YOU"
I couldn't hold it in, I began in this bubbly nonsense of giggles, even through the Lord's prayer, through my own introduction... I couldn't stand it! These cute-- no, adorable, broken-English-speaking kids said, with perfect pronunciation, basic greetings, etc. And it was SO formulaic!
So in the next 6 months I taught, we worked on phrases like "I am great! I am sad. I am awesome! I am excellent! I am mad. I am terrible! I am good. I am fine. I am wonderful!"
Of course, most of the sentences came out "I awesome!" or "I is....fine!" Or perhaps, "YOU ARE TERRIBLE!" (that was my smart and oldest student, who loved poking fun at me.)
Anyway, the visit awaits my little pig-tailed robots, and I can't wait to see them!
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