I saw it coming.

Today was the first day back to school for me. We had a modified schedule, so I saw all of my classes. Needless to say, everybody was FULL of energy from being back from vacation and back in the dorms with friends and roommates. I saw countless hugs and heard many squeals....

It was hot dog day. Boo. I miss Dominican cooking. Last week, I tried reproducing a rice & bean and fried chicken meal, but it was a great big flop.

In class, not much learning happened (why even try?), and when they were able to produce some French, I had to keep my face in a frozen smile even though I was cringing inside from their horrid mistakes. But how can I blame them? I would be just as rusty in their shoes, and just as distracted by the friend reunions.

Everybody had stories to tell. So many people were at beach locations and came back with tans. One male student went to Utah to ski. Even he came back with a terrible ski mask tan. I showed some of the highlights of the DR trip: a picture of me & some Dominican students, the beach, and of course the Giant Spider With Eyeballs. I gave credit to my student who saved my life by rescuing my soap from the shower stall that I refused to re-enter because of another spider clung to its curtain.

It was a lot of fun for me to cross paths with students who participated in the DR trip with me. A few weeks ago, I wouldn't have known their names, but now there's a smile or a nod between us that means more. Of course I bonded mostly with the girls because we slept in the same bunks, shared bathroom space, talked openly about feminine hygiene, and bowel movements, and boys (not in the same conversation, well, OK, sometimes).


Two juniors, Anna (my student) and Annie (Spanish student), were particularly fond of me during the trip. They loved to gossip, tell me about their lives, and ask me about my life! They were very curious about my age... they guessed higher because I'm a Mrs but eventually they got it right. And, as always, they thought that is so old. They talked mostly about relationships, and when I say mostly, I mean 97% of conversations. I can't help but laugh because I was just like them. Maybe worse? They defined for me all the current vocabulary. "Talking to," "Hooking up," "Being together," "Dating (not the same as previous vocab word), and "Feeling up (yes, it's what you think). They called me by my first name the whole week (everybody did, really) and then adopted "Rebeks" and "Bekah". I've never known more giggly girls than these two. They could win a contest! But they are bright girls and good-natured too.

What happened today I saw coming. I had first period free, and so did they, because they burst into my classroom yelling "BEKAAAAHHH!!!" so happy to see me. I just laughed. What am I going to do with these two?