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The last few days have been a welcome break - the eye of the storm, perhaps. Yesterday the highlight of my day was following some first year girls down four flights of stairs, them releasing their puppy-shaped pencil cases to slide down the banister to their friends on the landing.
Today, I had an unexpectedly busy morning of editing a sudden onslaught of projects and essays from various students. As we enter the last 8 weeks of the school year, I guess everyone is pretty busy. Still, it was quiet desk work, which is a nice distraction from my own stresses. When I was finished, I went to the student affairs office to discuss the projects with the teachers in charge, and when I passed back through the common room I ran into a third year student from the art club (the boy who proposed to me last fall). I like this kid, from conversations about Freddy Mercury to cheeky critiques of his own offbeat 3D art, he's a lot of fun. All the 3rd year classes are canceled from January to the end of the school year so the students can study for their entrance exams, so I hadn't seen him in a while and I was pleased to see a familiar face.
What ensued was absolutely adorable. I greeted him warmly because the art club had made such an impression on me in my first few months here, him and another girl in particular, and since he always tries English even though he doesn't have a particular affinity for it, it earns him bonus points.
He looked at me shyly but attentively, and I struck up the usual conversation, asking about what he was doing, how much studying he had to do, and where he wanted to go to school ("heh...anywhere" was his answer, lol). I could see a million things floating behind his eyes, but he mostly just walked the room a little and listened to me talk. He was so shy that I began to wonder if I hadn't mistook him for someone else! He used to always have a slight air of silliness and eccentricity about him, but today he was youthful and earnest in a different way. He started asking me a question in English, but flushed and quietly said, "Oh, nevermind..." in Japanese.
And then, reflecting on the major change in his demeanor, I realized that last fall he wasn't pulling his flirtations entirely from a place of silliness.
Before today my presence alone had never reduced anyone to mush. It was very sweet.
Today, I had an unexpectedly busy morning of editing a sudden onslaught of projects and essays from various students. As we enter the last 8 weeks of the school year, I guess everyone is pretty busy. Still, it was quiet desk work, which is a nice distraction from my own stresses. When I was finished, I went to the student affairs office to discuss the projects with the teachers in charge, and when I passed back through the common room I ran into a third year student from the art club (the boy who proposed to me last fall). I like this kid, from conversations about Freddy Mercury to cheeky critiques of his own offbeat 3D art, he's a lot of fun. All the 3rd year classes are canceled from January to the end of the school year so the students can study for their entrance exams, so I hadn't seen him in a while and I was pleased to see a familiar face.
What ensued was absolutely adorable. I greeted him warmly because the art club had made such an impression on me in my first few months here, him and another girl in particular, and since he always tries English even though he doesn't have a particular affinity for it, it earns him bonus points.
He looked at me shyly but attentively, and I struck up the usual conversation, asking about what he was doing, how much studying he had to do, and where he wanted to go to school ("heh...anywhere" was his answer, lol). I could see a million things floating behind his eyes, but he mostly just walked the room a little and listened to me talk. He was so shy that I began to wonder if I hadn't mistook him for someone else! He used to always have a slight air of silliness and eccentricity about him, but today he was youthful and earnest in a different way. He started asking me a question in English, but flushed and quietly said, "Oh, nevermind..." in Japanese.
And then, reflecting on the major change in his demeanor, I realized that last fall he wasn't pulling his flirtations entirely from a place of silliness.
Before today my presence alone had never reduced anyone to mush. It was very sweet.
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