Their English proficiency varies from absolutely no knowledge to advanced conversational. Most fall closer to the former, but many can hold simple conversations and discuss daily habits. One of my favorite conversations to date went something like this:
Me: "Hey buddy, are you going home for the weekend?"
Student: "Yo....50 Cent."
Me: [Laughter]
Student: [Blank stare]
Me: "Ok, well have a good weekend."
Student: [ Continued blank stare followed by slow pivot and full sprint away.]
I haven't seen him since, but I like to think that we now share an unbreakable bond.
One of my favorite students so far is a boy that I'll call "Shimosh". At this point, I can only guess at the phonetic spelling of his name because of the violent voice crack that occurred as he introduced himself. Shimosh is from the Greek Isle of Sifnos and his father runs a farm. He is a big fan of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Shimosh is the smallest student on campus, but he rocks an amazing "flavor-saver" mustache. Most of the students go home on the weekends, but a group of about 35 stayed this weekend for various reasons: they live too far away, their parents don't love them, etc. Shimosh was one of the students who stayed on campus. [Sidenote: I have the distinguished honor of guarding the laundry room key; somehow I was granted the privilege of accompanying every guy down to the laundry room to ensure that he doesn't break the machines. It is on the same level as my beloved equipment room duty whilst coaching at Emory.] Anyway, Shimosh somehow generated four loads of laundry this week. The smallest student in the entire school (I am convinced that he is yet to develop sweat glands) somehow soiled more clothes in one week than any other human being in the world. I spent several hours with Shimosh during the laundry cycles, and I got to know him pretty well between the squeaky English he was able to croak and the rudimentary Greek skills that I have acquired. Stay tuned for more on my adventures with Shimosh...the next laundry session is only six days away.
In all honesty, the students are great. They are so different yet so similar to American kids. I am loving my experiences at the school and look forward to having some free time to venture off-campus and explore Grecia.
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