One week into classes...

And I’m feeling better each day about teaching at Logos. I came out of my first week feeling tired, yes, but mainly relieved. Nearly all my students this week were respectful, eager to please, good participators, and able to do what I asked of them. On the whole, they seem quite mature, both emotionally and spiritually. I think I had more culture shock this week from the Christian school aspect of Logos than from the international school aspect…mainly the fact that my students eagerly and sincerely bring a Christian perspective into our discussions, even though I don’t ask them to make our talks explicitly Christian. I was also amazed yesterday at lunch when the seventh graders next to me formed an impromptu prayer huddle for one student’s grandpa. It’s incredible to me that this boy felt safe crying in front of his peers about his grandpa and how much he longs for his grandpa to know Jesus.

That lunchtime prayer circle testifies to another dramatic aspect of Logos: the community. Several situations I’ve been in would have been utterly ludicrous at State High. Picture this. On the first two days of class, I meet my five classes, totalling about 90 students. But I recognize about twelve familiar faces. Stephen, for instance. I got an e-mail from his mom (head of the Parents’ Association) back in May, when I first committed to Logos. It had the link to her blog, which I read curiously. Over the summer, I talked to his aunt Megan, a fellow teacher, about what to expect at Logos. Stephen’s family picked up my roommate from the airport, took her furniture shopping, and invited us for lunch on my second day. His dad, who teaches several classes, helped me with a seating chart and rescued my friend Danielle when she got lost after dark.

Another example? I already spent the night at the home of several students – and returned later for part of their Lord of the Rings marathon. Three of my students live in the House of Faith, Asian Hope’s home for girls. I recognized several from their photos and brief autobiographies, which I had seen online back in March, before even being offered a job. I hung out there one evening with several other teachers to watch Samedi, in sixth grade, while their two guardians (Beth and Anna) were out. When I got home, I found my landlord had locked the gate outside and was not answering his phone. (I’ve since gotten a key.) So I ended up returning to their house for the night and sleeping in Beth’s room. The next weekend, I was back to plan lessons with Anna, who’s co-teaching a writing class with me. But they sucked us into the last hour of “Fellowship of the Rings,” which they had nearly memorized. They also gave me my first taste of jackfruit – so sweet and satisfying, I practically devoured the whole bowl!

By the way, spending the night at the House of Faith involved THE COOLEST thing I’ve seen here yet. When Anna drove my roommate Sarah and me back to the house, she pulled up her car in front of the house but left the engine running, and we weren’t sure whether to get out yet. But she told us it would be easier now than when she pulled in. Pulled in where? We didn’t see a garage. Just then, Beth came from inside and pulled open the entire gate that forms the front wall of their downstairs, kind of a big rec room. We saw that she had dragged all the couches to the back wall. Anna rolled the car straight ahead over the tiled floor, and I realized that this was their rec room/garage! It was astounding, and I am bitter that I didn’t take a picture of it. These big square tiles are ubiquitous – there’s even a Tile Alley downtown that sells nothing else – and I can see why. They’re beautiful and indestructible, whether you’re driving on them, draining your washing machine onto them (that was me – oops!), killing cockroaches on them, or just walking with your ever-dirty feet on them.