September, Part I
Where do I even begin?? September came and went, and so much happened, but I have no blog posts to show for it!! Let's re-cap...
September, Part I
I went on a first date on the 10 year anniversary of September 11th. I cried all morning watching coverage of the memorial on TV and then pulled myself together to meet a stranger I met on the train at a museum in the Upper East Side. I had some mixed emotions, but JD sent me a text saying that I had to do it for Emericuh and that I couldn't let the terrorists win. So I met 9/11 guy outside Frick where we pretended to know a lot about art and then gave up and made fun of portraits together. Then a walk across central park and brunch. It was very New York. Then I went home, watched more 9/11 stuff on TV and cried some more. It was a weird day.
The next week was my last week at Zoni Language Center, and it was a lot more emotional than I had anticipated. Suddenly things that I had hated about work were things that I was becoming sentimental about. The infamous "Zoni rice" served at the cafeteria, for example. Also, getting barked at to come into an office not knowing what I could have done wrong, questionable student evaluations, breaks that are too short, and the unisex bathroom that always has pee on the seat. The list could go on. But the hardest part about saying goodbye to Zoni was saying goodbye to the people. The teachers that I worked with were a benefit that outweighed any 401k plan (I say this never having had a 401k...). They were awesome and so eclectic and different and real. They liked me, too, and thus became more like friends than co-workers. Since I have very few of those in the city, it was especially hard to say goodbye. The students were diverse and hilarious too and saying goodbye to them, specifically the students who had been on the same 6 month journey with me as their teacher, was so bittersweet. I told them to look me up on FB and sincerely hope that they do.
On my last day of regular teaching, I went out with past students Eden and Yosuke from South Korea and Japan, respectively. I had agreed to drink beer with them before they returned to their countries, and the stars finally aligned on my last day at Zoni. Yosuke's self-published book is sold at a part-bookstore part-gallery in Soho, so the three of us went there first for a gallery opening. The photography was beautiful and there were hay bales throughout the gallery. I told them it smelled like South Dakota. Then we walked to Japan-town and ordered a pitcher of beer, sake, and food I can't recall/pronounce/describe. It was delicious and in between bites of unidentifiable Japanese cuisine my two students-turned-friends told me about their very first English-spoken dates with Spanish girls (also Zoni students). They were so proud of themselves, and I was proud of them. They they started telling me about my teaching habits which was hilarious and a little embarrassing. Apparently when I ask students for a definition of a word and they give me the wrong definition, I slowly and optimistically say, "kiiiiiiind oooof...." They laughed and laughed, and I did too. Usually they are kind of right. Then on the way back to the train, I had to stop in a store and buy some new headphones. As we were browsing in the isles of KMart, I realized how peculiar the three of us looked together. Just then Yosuke said, "I can't believe we're shopping with you, teacher!" I laughed and reminded them that I'm not their teacher anymore and that they could call me Amanda. We parted ways on the train, and I told them that maybe we'll meet up again in Japan or Korea or South Dakota some day in the distant future and drink beer again. Maybe we will.
September, Part I
I went on a first date on the 10 year anniversary of September 11th. I cried all morning watching coverage of the memorial on TV and then pulled myself together to meet a stranger I met on the train at a museum in the Upper East Side. I had some mixed emotions, but JD sent me a text saying that I had to do it for Emericuh and that I couldn't let the terrorists win. So I met 9/11 guy outside Frick where we pretended to know a lot about art and then gave up and made fun of portraits together. Then a walk across central park and brunch. It was very New York. Then I went home, watched more 9/11 stuff on TV and cried some more. It was a weird day.
The next week was my last week at Zoni Language Center, and it was a lot more emotional than I had anticipated. Suddenly things that I had hated about work were things that I was becoming sentimental about. The infamous "Zoni rice" served at the cafeteria, for example. Also, getting barked at to come into an office not knowing what I could have done wrong, questionable student evaluations, breaks that are too short, and the unisex bathroom that always has pee on the seat. The list could go on. But the hardest part about saying goodbye to Zoni was saying goodbye to the people. The teachers that I worked with were a benefit that outweighed any 401k plan (I say this never having had a 401k...). They were awesome and so eclectic and different and real. They liked me, too, and thus became more like friends than co-workers. Since I have very few of those in the city, it was especially hard to say goodbye. The students were diverse and hilarious too and saying goodbye to them, specifically the students who had been on the same 6 month journey with me as their teacher, was so bittersweet. I told them to look me up on FB and sincerely hope that they do.
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