Kindergartners...

I just started a new part-time job today. I am teaching kindergartners and preschoolers for about six hours a week. I don't actually need to work more or need the money, but it is awesome pay and I get to sit on the floor and color for two hours. It couldn't be easier. All the students are four and five years olds and boy, are they cute! One little girl, who became my favorite after about five minutes, is named Chloe. (That isn't her real name, it is just her English name.) She saw me around the corner and started giggling and waving. "Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello." That is the only word she could say. Chloe suddenly disappeared, but a minute later I heard her coming back "Yogi Yogi" and she pointed around the corner at me. "Yogi" means "here" in Korean and she had brought other students in order to show off her discovery.

Probably the cutest part of all is how small the students are. It's like being surrounded by Lilliputians. They are the tiniest, littlest people I have ever seen. When I walked down the stairs to one of the classrooms, a line of four year olds was coming upstairs. Each stair reached almost to their knee and they had to take giant steps to mount each one. And despite their long journey up one flight of stairs, when I walked by they stopped just to stare. I gave one of them a high-five and the boy's face exploded in a grin and he about dislocated his arm trying to give me a big high-five. And yet, despite their mini-size they have observant eyes the size of silver dollars. They are constantly looking and absorbing everything.

It occurred to me that the term "child like wonderment" or "awe" is an interesting concept. It isn't that children are more curious or inquisitive, but instead that they are surrounded by more new things. Their youth increases the number of new experiences they will encounter in a day, thereby increasing their propensity for astonishment and fascination. If adults were surrounded by an equal number of new experiences, I think they would be more likely to be confronted with daily curiosity and wonderment. Just imagine the first time you heard the alphabet song...

The alphabet song! What a brilliant idea! What a lovely tune! In fact, I'll sing it right now and a hundred more times after that! What a fantastic, delightful coincidence that we both can sing the alphabet song together.... Oh, how lucky we are!

That is the kind of excitement that comes from children. It is the excitement of something new. I know it's true. After all, I speak from experience.

Experience: Reading Korean letters
Jacki's Response: This is the greatest day of my life.

Experience: Ordering food at a Korean restaurant for the first time.
Jacki's Response: This is the greatest day of my life.

Experience: Taking a Korean taxi cab for the first time (without getting lost)
Jacki's Response: This is the greatest day of my life.

Maybe you are starting to notice a pattern.

There is no doubt that curiosity and wonderment are the defining characteristics of childhood. But, I think life is far more fun when curiosity and wonderment can transcend youth and become the defining characteristics of a lifestyle.

But, speaking of youth and curiosity... Let me tell you about another one of my students names Mose. (Once again, English name not his Korean name.) Not only do I love the name, but the kid reminds me of my favorite person. Mose is so bright. He picks up on colors, patterns and numbers very quickly and likes to answer questions. He is cute as a button and so tiny that he is about the size of a button! But, what caught my attention was his lazy eye. It isn't too prevalent, but it is definitely there. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term "lazy eye" it means that one eye will sometimes drift off to the side. Most people when they look at something, subconsciously direct both eyes toward the object. However, a person with a lazy eye will have one eye drift off to one side or the other, and probably won't even realize it. It will look their eyes are looking in two different directions. Mose's right eye has a tendency to drift in toward his nose. I noticed it immediately and that is about how long it took for me to come to adore him!

In other news... I found a bug in my apartment. God damn it.

The only reason I would be in support of global domination by a communist superpower is that I wouldn't have to deal with mountains of immigration paperwork... Enough already! Just let me live in Korea and leave me alone!

Finally, shout out to Cynthia who turned 175 today (in dog years). She is old and going to get married and have babies. Luckily she still looks 25, has a rockin' body and helps make the rest of us poor, miserable slobs into better, kinder people. Nonetheless, I still say ditch the guy and come to Korea. Soju is way better than career success, relationship bliss and financial stability. Come on... throw it all away and come color with preschoolers! (You're the best. Happy, happy birthday!)