Volunteer Explorer

Today, Yadhap and I made paper airplanes and tossed them around during class. Well, I mostly paid attention and helped the other students while Yadhap threw paper airplanes at me, though occasionally I couldn't help but throw one back at him. I have never been good at making paper airplanes. Mine usually take an immediate nose-dive into the ground, smacking down with remarkable force and crumpling into an unrecognizable clump. But for some reason, today's effort was successful. Maybe it was because I didn't give it much thought. Yadhap was already laboring over his when I arrived, forcing way too many folds into a damp, limp ball of smashed paper. I suggested we each start with fresh paper. As I folded my sheet length-wise, Yadhap immediately began criticizing my work. "You're doing it wrong." I folded one corner into the fold. "That's not going to work." I brought the opposite corner into the fold, mirroring the first and creating...

ESOL class was cancelled today, and I bet you'll never guess why. Give up? Well, here's why: When I arrived, just a minute or two late, which is very unusual for me, the narrow stairwell to the basement of the building where the classroom is located was fairly jammed with dark-haired people in brightly-colored clothes milling about and conversing in rhythmic tones I could not understand. Many of them said hello to me, or at least hello waved to me, as I made my way down some of the stairs; I remembered some of their names: Tanka, Lakshme, Bishnu. One Caucasian lady stood in their midst. She and I made eye contact and she told me what had happened. "Painters were here over the weekend. The door is locked from the inside, and there is no key." She spoke in a measured tone with zero judgement in her voice, but a slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Her light green eyes sparkled ever so slightly beneath her messy graying pony tail. I liked her immediately....