some kids

The east city kids have grown on me. They are noisy little bastards but I've decided that they are alright, other than a few little punks.

Since I have an English Corner for practicing conversation at the end of each day, whichever kids I'm teaching are the last ones out of the school. That means I have to walk them to their parents or the bus.

(By the way, a conversation class for first graders is a really, really bad idea).

Since they like making noise, I have them march and count in cadence, like the older kids do. Except, my kids count the cadence in English, which amuses the hell out of the security guards. For some reason Chinese kids love pretending to be little soldiers, so it amuses the kids too.

At the end of every day I lead a little army of cuteness out the gates of the school.

Some of the soldiers:
Thomas When Thomas smiles, you can see all his teeth. It makes him look kind of wolfish. He likes to crawl up to the front rather then walking. He is a troublemaker of the charming variety. I made him cry once, because I giggled at the picture of him in full stage make-up. I still feel bad about that.

Isiah and Sasha They sit next to each other. Isiah is the smallest kid in first grade. Sasha has one of those Chinese elf girl haircuts. They aren't my best students but they are my cutest. They usually discuss what I'm trying to convey in Chinese before yelling out the English answer in unison.

Audrey When I arrive to class ten I get dog piled by seven year olds. I look like a fullback being tackled by a defensive line. Audrey is always the last one to be pried off by the TA. Audrey is probably the smartest girl in first grade, but she might be the clingiest. She is the only kid that actually tries to converse in the conversation class.

Frankie Frankie is the ugliest seven-year-old I have ever met. But he's whip smart, funny and energetic. He was the first kid to successfully pronounce Australia and he does his damnedest to work it into any sentence.

Ralph There are smarter kids in my second grade but none more enthusiastic. Ralph wants to be the first to play every game. He's one of the few kids who gets out of his seat too much in a helpful way.

Cloe Bent on teaching me Chinese, but mostly concentrates on "wo da ni, hao bu hao" (I hit you, would that be good?) Apparently it's funny when I say "bu hao."

Ally Ally gives me chocolate. What can I say?

Ian Ian looks like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. He's a really nice kid, but has a really awkward teenagerhood on the way.

Kevin Kevin is only ten but almost as big as me. Kevin keeps claiming he knows Gong Fu and tries to use it on me. I disable him with something like a vulcan neck pinch, while he yelps, "ahhhhh mei guo gong fu."