Friday, February 22, 2013

A Never-ending Nostalgia


  This is not a typical story of love and romance, the greatest classical ballad, wondrous sci-fi, the greatest tragedy of all times or the finest fictional works that have ever been written. This story is true, pure, and genuine; the story of my life, as a person, as a friend, and most of all, as a teacher.

  Like any other stories, my saga happened in a worth-remembering setting, IWC. It also has characters: my students, my co- teachers and of course, yours truly. The plot and the other aspects will be impliedly mentioned as you go on with my story.

  My days started with a piercing ring of the bell.—ice cream bell in that case. The earsplitting sound was passed from one ear to another signaling that the class had already started. As I looked at the eyes of the creatures, I noticed how they stared at me with frowning picture of hate and disgust. That was the most terrifying role I have ever experienced being a bellman.  I could hear the murmurs that were sailing ubiquitously.  The sounds were made by young and old voices having meaningful life-to-life interactions. I wondered what the first 5 minutes of their time was mainly about. But one thing is for sure, it was the greatest time to know each others’ life and story. It was the purest time to unite each others’ heart and unravel the chain of differences.

  As I walked around, I saw the sparkling eyes coming from the students truly engrossed to their teachers who were sharing some tons of knowledge. Their willingness to learn was so admirable. I could also observe how they trusted their teachers in making them better individuals, knowing to interact using the universal language. As I glanced, I also saw teachers passionately and patiently teaching the students. They are like candles that are able to consume themselves just to light others’ paths. I knew they had their personal problems yet they taught with greatest effort and willingness. I salute them for that.

  Crrrrrrriinggg!!! Crrriiinnnng!!! The last ring of the bell was heard. That ring was a different thing. I never saw terrifying eyes looking at me. Instead, glowing eyes with deepest gratitude was felt. I noticed smiles and cheerful acts being done in front of me. Hence, I preferred to hear the last ring of the bell.  ;)   Well, it was the right time to eat, to play, and to have fun. The peaceful scene was changed into a very noisy chatting from students and teachers.  How can I forget the “synchronized laugh” from  MicMic, Janine and Shane? , the serious talk of  Mau, Jane, Tayana , Mitch, Elaine,April, and Des at the hotel lobby, heart-to-heart talk of Kimo and Berry ( I wondered if they have mutual feelings :) ) Shin, taking some pictures to be uploaded on facebook, Angel talking to Amy, Linda, and Yuna. I also observed guffaws from Eurick , Alden, Argie, Jay, and Dave sharing pionte things to Anthony.joke! I miss teacher Jac telling me to change the books of her students, :) hehe.. Lyan, drawing some pictures of the students, Dee, staying with ladies at the hotel lobby, Mabel ,  talking to her son, Andy, Editha, giving Choco Mucho to Ian, Karen, laughing to students’ craziness. I will never forget Ryan (Kim Do Hyun) with his extraordinary penguin walk , Jake and Danny playing  together, Clint, talking to all the teachers ,Kate , Yang Sem, and Sujin having petty talk, Kevin, staring at Jenny ( Min Ju), Christina, sharing her new dance craze , Alex, annoying other teachers— it was so cute after all, Rachel taking pictures as usual , Rachel liit, ( I never heard her talk), Scott, complaining about his dirty classmates, Franklin uttering out-of-this-world ideas, Harry, his struggle to be talkative but he couldn’t because of his level, Nick , his killer smile, Lucy, her irritating facial expression , Ian, asking for Choco Mucho, Ara, ( I wish she WERE more talkative), Kate and Sue, our ates ,Toby,  his naughty deeds!, Kenny , his shutay tomi deeds, Sam , his native deeds, Jane, her “enemy”( you know what that means) peace!!, and Tom, his crazy deeds ! M2M ... Of course! How can I forget Edna, Thessa, Irish, Ryan D. and MJ?  They are the closest people to me J  I couldn’t imagine WINTER CAMP 2013 without them. They helped me a lot!  Because of them, I believe, the camp is very successful! I really miss teasing Edna every single day. I miss how I conceitedly remarked on the food Irish was eating (I used to say eewwww pang mahirap!)  I miss how I greeted Thessa Good Morning teacher Thessa! . I miss our emcee, MJ giving him the microphone so we could start the program. I miss Ryan D. sharing his own experience about ____________??? and the one he admired so much.(clue?) .. ohh ! I also miss the swimming “fool”, are you “penis?” “quiet !!!” hahahha  . I MISS EVERYTHING ..:_(

  I have never imagined this amazing encounter. Although I’ve been doing this for four times already, it is something that cannot be mastered nor compared. The feeling of excitement is always new. The wonderful time is always different. I miss it. I really do.

Saying goodbye is not as easy as saying hello simply because of the memories that have been shared together.  The "thoughts" that they had already left are heart- shattering. We shed tears because of them. We laughed because of them. We cried so hard because of them. This is a concrete sign that we love and we care for them. I truly know how grateful they really are because of our undying love for them. They cried even in Korea because they miss us. They miss you teacher/ teacha! Thank you for touching their lives and we also thank them for giving us a chance to love and for giving us inspiration to do simple things with great passion and affection. Let’s all hope that our paths will soon meet again. When that day comes, we can see them again and continue the joyful days and memorable experiences we have together. :_)