Victor, who is in the 10th grade, and Cristi, in the 11th grade, are both the kind of students any teacher would dream of having. They are extremely kind, inquisitive, respectful and attentive. "Mr. Tim, Mr. Tim, be attentive, there is a car coming," they often comment, or are quick to try and support me if I slip while running on the ice. (Which only serves to make me feel that they think I am ancient :o) )They assist me with my Romanian with gentle corrections and ask for corrections with their English. We discuss topics as deep as Moldovan political structure, the possibility of Moldova integrating with the E.U., and core values to becoming a good human being. Then again, we'll also talk about their favorite topics: girls, movies, martial arts and having fun. They are very curious about the weather in the U.S. as well as topics such as gun control, Presidental politics and what life is like in the major cities in the U.S. In short, between trying to catch my breath while running, we are never at a lack for conversation. Plus, they're just a lot of fun to be around. Like normal teens in the U.S. they wrestle with each other, try out new martial arts moves, and generally laugh a lot.
So, the other day, we were running down a long steep road that was completely covered with ice and packed snow. I was trying to think about how to retain my dignity and not break something sliding down this hill, when we stumbled upon some trashbags. Well, that stopped everything. We now had sleds. After several runs down this hill, we headed to the nut orchard hill and met up with some other students from my school who happened to pull their impromptu sleds out of their back pockets, and everyone joined in the fun. After several runs, a serious snowball war erupted, and I was very glad of the aforementioned respect. No one tried to bean Mr. Tim!
A hearty thank you to both Cristi and Victor for being such great students, but also for renewing my faith in the upcoming generation. Some of these kids are going to change the world in ways we never dreamed, and I think for the better.
