Zoo Basket

Somedays are so crazy they're a bit of a blur--these last tuesdays have been those kind of days. We've gone to a local public elementary school in the morning and taught 2 or 3 of their classes. We did a short presentation on American culture and then mixed with the kids, giving out high fives, meeting open stares and answering curious questions.

After our diplomatic efforts at presenting our culture, we temporarily destroyed the peace by playing "fruit basket"--except we used animals and called it "zoo basket". It really was a bit of a zoo, but the humor in it all surpassed the noise level. The kids were sliding all over the floor, screaming--and a couple boys, obviously clowns of their class, would duel it out nearly every round for the last chair! The shorter of the two got smart and planted a kiss on the cheek of his shocked opponent--giving him a split second to steal the chair.

We had to hold back laughter during the question/answer session. One little boy took the cake. With an air of seriousness beyond his eight years he said, "I already understand that you wear your shoes inside your houses in America; but do you take them off when you go to bed?"

At the end, each of the classes presented us with a song as a "thank you" for coming. They weren't meistroes, but the effect was stunning--we felt rewarded for our hard work. And then we left them, screaming and excited, for their teachers to deal with. I'd almost feel bad, but Jeff and I had our own classes waiting for us back at the church.

Sometimes the busiest days are the most rewarding. And if they're not, you can enjoy a hard night's sleep afterwards.