Tonight I went to help one of my students feel better in her homestay house. She speaks practically no Spanish and has been feeling pretty unsettled. Her homestay mama, Doña Vicki, is super sweet and means no harm so I figure I better go make them friends. But Armando's wife, Claudia, sent me to the house with companions for walking at night so Raul, Antolin and Dulce Maria came with me. Aged 13, 4 and 2 just about. Antolin runs like the roadrunner, his legs a-blur when in motion. He runs so fast you think he's gonna face-plant hard. And he and Dulce Maria shriek in the night with such exhilaration as we walked, so stoked to be out with their older brother Raul. The 3 of them hold hands as we walk and I follow along while they tell me things I don't understand. I know the little guys are talking to me because they say my name, but what follows is a mystery. Sometimes Raul tells me what they are saying. At one point they asked me if mummies exist. Like the not-good-with-kids kinda person I am, I said Yes they do exist. Then Antolin says, Colleen!!!! And then a bunch of little kid shrieky Spanish but basically, as Raul put it, No they don't cuz my dad said they don't. Oh right, I thought, maybe don't tell 2-year-olds that mummies exist. My bad.

You can read about my semester course, through the writings or "Yaks" of my students here, but better yet there are some pictures posted here. See what a dork I am this time around?