Previously, I wrote about the bad kids. It would be completely unfair to forget about the really good students who punctuate my job with fun and smiles.
Wayne, from my younger kindergarten class, is a good example. He's just the right mix of smart and rambunctious. My favorite Wayne moment happened during a lunch hour a few weeks ago. I was chowing down on some noodles when Wayne looked at me, pointed to himself and said, "Linbian." Then, he pointed to me, all wide-eyed.
Linbian is the town he lives in. I knew what he was asking and replied, "I live in Donggang."
Sure enough, Wayne lit up with a smile and exclaimed to the class, "Teacher Timmm ... ... ... TeacherTimliveDONGGANG!"
Immediately after, Arthur said something to Wayne and Wayne responded. Then, Clare asked Wayne a question. Wayne said something to Clare, Clare smiled, and a conversation about something broke out amongst all the students.
My Chinese co-teacher explained the situation to me. Turns out, Arthur asked Wayne, in Taiwanese, about his conversation with teacher. Only Arthur and Wayne speak Taiwanese - Clare asked Wayne for the Mandarin translation.
Yeppo, Wayne asked me a question in English, explained the answer to Arthur in Taiwanese, and explained that answer to everyone in Mandarin. Wayne is four years old, fyi.
About once a week, Wayne and I have a conversation about where we live: he points to me and says, "Donggang." I point to him and say, "Linbian."
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