“Love is Mr. Navarro, because he smiles”

I did not make up that quote in the title; one of my students actually said that. The freshmen had oral exams this week and their topic was L-O-V-E. I’ve gotten some really outstanding responses, and a few not worth mentioning, so let’s dive right in and mention the good ones! These are just excerpts from longer speeches from different students.

Love is fire, it is dangerous and not easily quenched
Love is a mosquito bite, the more we scratch it the itchier we feel
Love is a black hole, we don’t know much about it but we want to explore it
Love is a present from China to Peru, because all people do love (reminded me of Sarey...and David, lol)
Love is a cell phone because I always carry it around
Love is coffee, sweet and bitter
Love is a shoulder bag, happy and light at first, but heavy and exhausting after a long time
Love is being stupid together
Love is poison and betrayal because it causes depression and greed (bitter much?)
Love is a puzzle because you have to adapt and you can easily break
Love is sleep, without it you would be lifeless
Let’s talk about love (I had 2 students from different classes with this opener and it floored me each time)


But out of all of these my favorite one was one I can’t even write about and wish I had recorded.

The kid made awesome gestures detailing the effects love has on his olfactory being. From what I can remember he said this: “Love is great. You can not hear it (points to ears). You can’t see it (points to eyes). You can’t taste it (points to lips). You can’t even smell it (points to nose). But I know love is all around, that’s why it’s so great.” I’m really paraphrasing here and my putting actions into parentheses does not do justice to how he walked around the classroom. These exams are always fun for me to do because all I have to do is “sit back and watch my ass grow.” (I think that’s a Homer Simpson quote)

My sophomores got a taste for Halloween with my Halloween lesson, one of the most fun lessons I’ve done thus far. They enjoyed it, I enjoyed it, it was great. I showed them a picture of my friends and I from last year at the South Bay Brixton and had them guess the costumes. Please tell me why my students can quickly guess that I was CLEARLY Peter Pan yet my friends back home gave me answers like Robin Hood and Link from Zelda???? Hmmmm?

BTW, I told them Pati was Lady GaGa, which some of them guessed. Rainbow Brite isn’t so big over here.

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So it has been super cold this week. A little over 30 degrees farenheit has been the average here. It also included me getting sick. Granted, I’ve been here for almost 5 months and for this to be the first time I’ve gotten sick since I’ve arrived isn’t so bad. Even my cold isn’t so bad. Thanks to some rest, vitamin C, and Korean meds (which are a bargain btw) I am feeling much better now. It doesn’t mean that I’m warmer as I dress up like an Afghan housewife all covered up when I leave my apartment and haul ass to work. On the plus side, I’ve gotten to work earlier this week. Well that’s all for now, enjoy this picture of me while we all wait for me upload the Halloween pics from tomorrow’s party!

In this pic I'm IMing with 2 friends. Concerned face much? Notice my layers in clothing, trying to keep warm.

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This is currently my power song. I recommend it for working out. Move over "Survivor." My favorite part is the chorus with Concha Buika, sounds flawless.

p.s. The student who influenced this blog's title did not receive a high grade. Aside from this opener the rest of the speech was pretty much downhill from there. Flattery got him nowhere.