The Gauntlet

Needless to say, at 6'7", I am more an attention draw here than back home. Every day, I wonder if the good I do here offsets the total and absolute disruptive chaos I seem to create every time I walk down the halls at school. This is never so obvious than everyday at 12:30 when my co-teacher and I march to the school cafeteria, where they serve us some seriously delicious food for next to nothing.

The ridiculous part is that, on our way to the cafeteria, we have to walk across a 200 foot glas bridge that connects the north and south schools and leads directly into the cafeteria. As things are laid out, the kids line up along the length of the "bridge", on either side, waiting to be served at the cafeteria. As teachers, we are allowed to jump the line, by-passing the kids... but of course, as we walk by, the kids see me and go absolutely crazy! They see me, the freakishly tall "waygook", and one by one, the 1200 kids start screaming "Hi" and "hello!", waving their hands, desperately trying to get my attention, grabbing at my hands, pointing and yes, even some of this little girls screem with glee. 1200 kids... ages 6 to 12... imagine.

Never thought I would live to see this.