I've lived in Manhattan for almost four years. I love to think of four year periods with some underlying theme as culminating with graduations and commencements. Unfortunately, there are always final exams. I still have another week to go before reaching the true milestone of being a hardened citizen of New York, New York, so I'll reflect more on the four at the end of the month. That said, it's felt like finals. Construction has been beeping, sawing and jack-hammering outside my window every day at 7:30 am since the weekend before Thanksgiving, and that includes weekends. They even went until 3 am on a Thursday once. Roommates haven't been that bad lately, but their behavior can be truly mind-boggling. The trains are frustrating, but that's to be expected. The news reminds you that you're lucky just to arrive at work at all.
Despite all of that, I give thanks every day. It might come after lots of grumbling, but I'm always reminded that I'm lucky to be here and even luckier to lead the life I live.
When I went to work in the morning Thursday, I began the day with seven beautiful (inside and out) women who wanted to learn business English. Eventually they were joined by 3 men who must enjoy sleeping later. So I taught them vocabulary and grammar, but also about finance, 2008's situation, globalization's effect on the auto industry, and the history of international trade, starting with the Silk Road and Indian Ocean Trade. And they cared! And they asked questions! And they gave their opinions and kept the discussion going! They thanked me at the end, and gave me purpose in the process.
Afterward I taught the afternoon group of listening and speaking students. I started this class 2 years ago. Even though the people change, it feels like the same class has been going the whole time, kind of like the way your body switches out cells and atoms. Every couple weeks somebody moves on to something else. On Thursday, it was 3 students who finished with us. One of them, a very generous professional from China, asked me tough questions ("how do you deal with criticism?", "how do you have energy after teaching 8 hours a day, and how do you prepare for class?" and "if you love music and sports and writing so much, why do you teach business in the morning?").
Then she embarrassed me by singing my praises in front of the class. She'd been in the business class weeks before, and that class had squeezed it out of me that I'd published a book on Amazon four years ago. I guess she read it, and I couldn't stop her from telling the other students about it (at least not before I could update the bank account information so that I actually get a buck whenever someone actually buys one!).
Another student, from Colombia, is much younger, 16 years old, but he's been checking in with us every other year since he was 12. I doubt I'll still be there when he's 18, which is good because he'll probably be taller than I am by then.
Four years ago I made him read the ingredients on the sides of vending machine candy to see if he could pronounce the multi-syllabic scientific words. Thursday I read the instructions on the side of a pain reliever he'd purchased to make sure he wasn't taking any conflicting medication. The Brazilian surgeon seemed to think he'd be fine.
The third student, an Argentinian woman who had a French accent due to her recent studies in Paris, told me that I'd taught them more than just English, which echoed the words of my best student in San Francisco four years ago. She said that other teachers in France had just taught her French, but I'd added so much to help her understand this new country where she was residing. I'll always remember that she actually said that coming into my classroom was like entering Narnia.
After all of that, packing took a while, so I didn't get on the road until 10:30 pm. I had a pleasant drive, and when I arrived at my parents' farm at 1:30 am, there was a thin layer of snow on the ground. When I awoke at 11 am this morning, there was no beep from any Caterpillars on Broadway. There weren't any sounds at all. When I looked out the window at the farm fields, there were snow flakes floating through the air.
Happy holidays, indeed
