of course i’m going to miss some of my students. i’m not gonna lie. i do have some favorites. i notice that i’m drawn to the smart ones because they keep the class alive and spontaneous with conversation topics outside of the lessons. but there are also those who may not be that smart but they’re diligent. i like those kinds of students, nevermind the 5-second lag time waiting for them to compose their thoughts in english.

of all my favorite students, boduk is my most favorite of all because not only is she smart, she’s bubbly too. no, not barbie bubbly but she asks questions, she participates, the works! a really interesting girl whose classes i look forward to.

last week, she surprised me with this:

and it melted my heart how something as simple as this could last far longer than our 20-minute class and brighten up the rest of my day, ‘coz i sure as hell was smiling through even the most irritating of students.

oh, and did i mention that she’s witty? because she really is. it’s funny how she cuts me off in the middle of my spiel so she can continue the rest of the line that i ask her every single day. i have long since asked her to stop answering my “how are you’s” with “i’m so-so.” she now uses alternative words like okay, fine, good, and happy. the interesting thing is that she tries to remember the word she used the day before so she’s careful not to repeat the same word again. she amuses me. she really does.

just as she thinks it’s amusing for me to be happy always every time she asks me how i am too.

and the day after being absent because i was sick, she greeted me with this:

so yeah, i really am going to miss her.