Today, I hosted my first English Corner of the semester. English Corners are when your students come to practice their English with you in a smaller, casual setting, and usually involves snacks and some sort of conversation-inducing activity.
I scheduled our Corner for 6:30 and ordered three large pizzas that put me out a heft fraction of my humble monthly salary. I enlisted my wonderful friend and educator extraordinaire, Frieda, to take on one of the small groups, since Chinese students get so excited at the prospect of talking with a "Native Speaker" who isn't already their teacher. I rearranged my furniture. Jason generously helped me to clean my place up, go grocery shopping, and carry all the heavy stuff on our way back.
6:50 rolls around. Frieda and I are sitting on my couch waiting. Pizza is getting cold. I'm getting hungry and therefore cranky. No one shows.
I could have gotten upset. I could have complained about how my students-- all in their mid-to-late twenties-- are incompetent and incapable of doing anything without their overbearing mothers. I could have... easily. I almost did.
Instead, I had a lovely evening with my wonderfully wise friend. I now have a week's worth of food which I can feed other hungry mouths with. I have a clean house and no dishes to do. I went grocery shopping, which I would have put off until I realized I was out of toilet paper (and we all hate that). I got to experience a glimpse of lifelong partnership with a generous man who will become my husband.
Not all flukes are failures.
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