The new fifth graders at my travel school are a joy. They laugh at my jokes, laud my style, and are interested in my life. “How old are you? Do you have a boyfriend? What’s your MBTI?” “I’m solo,” I said strutting, to their delighted cheers. I’ve not had the pleasure of a class like that in a long time. Sixth grade, however, did not go well. Yana and I trekked to Anthony’s class as the travel school has clamped down on restrictions and have subject teachers visit homeroom classes directly. It’s not too hard for me since this is what I already do at my main school, but the…

I was leaving school for the day when a boy in a white taekwondo uniform skipped with swinging arms past the stream of exiting teachers and stopped directly in front of me. Making hard but curious eye contact, he dropped his arms and asked, “Why are you so tall?” This is not at all what I could have guessed and laughed, finally using a line like a parent: “When I was young I ate a lot of vegetables. And milk.” He pondered that for a moment and then ditched further thought by trying to jump to reach my height. I held up a hand so that he could try to…

Wendy mentioned a few weeks ago that she would take to the roof for jump roping. This seemed absurd to me, but oh how the tables turn because yesterday, I found myself with her and MJ on top of the school with a borrowed jump rope in my hand. I thought it would be a more casual meeting where we jump rope and then gossip, but it was all business. Jack rode on the elevator with us, maxim coffee in hand, but declined Wendy’s invitation instead to sit on a bench opposite from our exercise club and scroll on his phone while probably itching for a cigarette. MJ had a…

I ran into one of my former 6-1 students at the GS 25. “How’s middle school?“ I asked. “Good.“ He said, and then disappeared between the shelves of ramen exactly like the Homer Simpson meme. This was a convenience store with one aisle. How he managed to vanish is a mystery, but it appears middle school curriculum is teaching plenty of valuable life skills.

Fridays are good. I don’t have to draw a single frowny face in my daily planner. I entered 6-4 and with exaggerated surprise and noted the boy in the middle of the class with at least four little pigtails sprouting from his short hair. It looked like the girl students had gleefully groomed him. “Good morning! And wow, look at this fashion boy. So beautiful.” The kids laughed. We got started without a hitch and later during the production section of class, I approached fashion boy, with his several pigtails, to play. “Choose two cards. Now tell me, what grade are you in?” “I’m in the… third grade,” he said,…

Alexa, play “Part of Your World”. The new school year has started and I feel a nebulous but sparkling mist of accomplishment. There were a series of small events– getting recognized by my nail lady at the PT gym, chatting up unfamiliar foreign women at the other gym, kicking off class smoothly, getting mistaken as Korean by one of the new teachers to which MJ the sub said upon retelling “makes sense”. It took me a a day to realize that I feel like a part of the community. I feel settled. As much as one on a yearly visa can be. Jack showed me his secret hide out, and…

I parked in an impossible spot in the school basement lot, preferring not to think about how I’d back out in the afternoon. Wendy intercepted me on the path in and an older woman in modern hanbok greeted the students. “I love you, I love you,” she said to the kids. She also said “hi” to me, which threw me off. Must be the new principal. Helen told me the vice principal is extremely ambitious, he was even working during the holiday yesterday, and I wondered how these two personalities might clash. How entertaining. I wasn’t distracted for long— the new semester officially kicked off and I climbed the three…