The Year Book

Thank you, kind goat herder, for answering my grammatically bizarre questions about your little herd of baby goats in a way that I could understand. Thank you for letting me stare at them with you for a while yesterday and for treating me like anyone else you had met that day. I think you’re my favorite stranger ever.

Thank you, little noodle shop boy and tea shop girl. You’re both very young, but you seem more mature than the majority of my students. Thank you for always giving me a smile, listening so patiently to my choppy order, and providing food and drink advice for free. You might not know it, but I buy stuff from you as an excuse to hang out with you, no matter how briefly.

Thank you, dear student T, for walking and talking with me, inviting me to different events, coming to my office hours, going out of your way to help me, and for not once making me feel like an exotic beast on display at the zoo.

You, too, little students O and L. You’re very different from the others, but in a good way. Thank you for showing me that this place can have variety and a longing for the outside world. Your quirkiness and your ideas are gorgeous treasures that I hope you never lose.

Finally, thank you teacher N, for understanding so much. I appreciate your open mind and your honest words. You’ve made life here much more bearable and I really can’t imagine being here without you.

I hope this list only grows.