Punk Classes

Some of my classes and I have had a pretty awesome relationship.  Some of my classes... well, there are reasons that the adjective "punk" usually gets used when I'm explaining them.  There are good students in every class, and I love my students... but sometimes the class itself is just not very enjoyable.  

It's interesting to see how the goodbyes progress.  The classes that I was closer with have been less emotional goodbyes than the punk classes.  Why this is, I don't know.

Today I had the last class with the Tourism majors.  It's a large class (45-ish), and they are always pretty rowdy and pretty impossible to get to focus and have given me more than their share of both headaches and laughter.

For the last ten minutes of class, we went outside to take pictures.  They began pretty normally -- the whole class together -- and then branched off into smaller groups, which is also normal...

..and then the guys decided to pick me up.

...and then they decided to throw me in the air.

...and then David decided to spin with me.

I'm curious to see those pictures, but Phoenix has all of them, so I'm not sure how they came out yet.

David (who loves me; I don't really know why) and Lloary (class monitor) came over to hug me and say goodbye, which was astonishing, because Chinese guys as a rule do not give out hugs.  

The girlsall took their pictures and headed off for their next class and I looked up, David and Grant were still waiting for me.  David handed me my bag and the three of us stood there a bit awkwardly, probably with David's hand on my shoulder.  

"My English is so poor," he said, looking like he was going to cry, and then switched to Chinese... which I didn't follow all of, but was basically My English isn't very good, but you understand me anyway, thanks.

"Happy every day," Grant told me, not looking particularly happy himself.  "Even in this moment, which is a little sad."

"It's okay to be sad, I think," I said.  I love them too and I'm not sure why.  Maybe it all started last semester when I scolded them after their final exam.

"Please don't cry," Grant said, quite seriously.  "If you cry, we will also cry, and we are men, and men should not cry."

We stood around talking for a few more minutes.

"If you need anything, call us," Grant instructed me.  "And I will work everywhere in China, so I think in the future we will meet again.  We must."

They walked me back toward my apartment and headed to class.

My students confuse me... really all the time...