and just like that

it's over. again.

the kids are gone. half of my friends are gone. i'm gone.

but i'll be back. in a week. and that's what is weird about the whole thing.

right now, i'm a mix of nauseating emotions. actually, i think what is nauseating is the big mac i ate for brunch a few minutes ago here at the airport. i hate mcdonalds and everything it stands for, but the only other options were a burrito full of corn or pizza. (not a burrito full of pizza, just a plain pizza) and let me tell you, three summers in italy and italian switzerland has made me VERY wary of "italian food" even in german switzerland. yes, i am a food snob. but i ate mcdonald's. and the food gods will punish me for that. ANYWAY.

session 2 was loverly. this kid came back, so i knew we were in for a good time:

and because i adore him so, when i found him with snaps (you know, tiny bundles of rocks that snap when you throw them), i didn't have the heart to confiscate them. what can i say? i'm a sucker for a zit-faced, brace-faced russian with the voice of angel, which actually isn't that angelic anymore because his voice is changing.

liliya (russia) loved her teacher (me) so much she wrote a song for her. it kind of rhymes, mostly doesn't, and is very confusing. it talks mostly about my "nise boyfrend roos." and it's the sweetest thing ever so i carry it around with me wherever i go.

final night was not very tearful. but there were lots of hugs to go around. even all the boys in my class came to give me an awkward hug. much different from last session when at final night i pretended that enes, adar, and roman were invisible. oriol (spain) who spent the session kissing my arm and sucking up to me (why? i wasn't even his teacher) got his comeuppance when i planted a big wet one one on his cheek. he nearly outran me, but simon and will held him down for me. staff sticks together, yo.

katie and i had all our dreams come true when we were assigned the clean up duty of "bunker," which is the bomb shelter where our program stores all our supplies. walking in there makes my skin crawl because it is a disaster area: several of the boxes are marked "random" and those that are marked clearly, do not contain what they say they do: a box marked "letters" had train pieces, a tape dispenser, and a goldfish net. and although there are several very nice shelves on which to place clearly marked boxes, most boxes are stacked in a precarious pile that looks like a giant jenga game in progress. katie and i may or may not be, but definitely are, organizational nazis. so we relished the job of "bunker" which we interpreted as "throw out as much crap as you can when the boss isn't looking." we got a lot more done when he wasn't in there. also, brett was very distracting when he found a map with all the flags in the world and started quizzing me on them. he must know that i'm a sucker for geography...and for bets i know i'll win. brett now owes me 300 chf.

and on that ridiculous tangent, i will end.

to be continued...