Her name is Mic

for the past couple of weeks, on top of all the stuff i have to write, i’ve been spending a couple of hours a day “teaching” English to this 12 year old Thai girl. My only other experience in teaching English as a second language is when i spent five hours helping out a Japanese engineer in editing his doctorate thesis back in college. I first started teaching her as a favor for Joshua– who was always away in a camp somewhere– but then later took the job when Joshua kept on going to camps.

Her name is Mic, and when i first met her, she wouldn’t say a word to me. she’d just shake her head or moan whenever i ask her to do something. it’s kinda frustrating at first, because for one thing, i didn’t know what or how to teach her, and second, she even refuses to tell me her whole name. But for some reason, the stef who normally has a limited amount of patience for 12 year olds and older, is nudged out by a more patient, hyper, goofy and playful version of stef every time she sits down with Mic. This stef smiles at stubborness, talks at the face of sullenness (and maybe incomprehension), makes jokes and has even grown to be fond of this poor Thai girl exiled in a foreign land to learn English. i don’t know where i get this stef. i’m sort of liking her myself, even if she does leave me exhausted afterwards.

It happened gradually, but after dragging her to a tour in the Aguinaldo Shrine, fruitshakes at Island Cove, kite-flying in Angelus, a shopping trip in Robinson’s Imus, dinner at Castel’s, a movie in Mall of Asia, Mic and I have become friends. she started talking to me about her life in Bangkok, showed me pictures of her family and friends, told me about the places she’ll take me to when i visit her in Bangkok later this year (or early next year… maybe after my sister’s wedding), and even drew a map of her old school to tell me stories about it. she already knows her English, we’re just working on her conversational english. i’m more happy than i thought i would be that we’ve made progress on that.

For her part, she has kept me from being too much of a hermit– always taking me out of myself and literally making me think of interesting ways to spend our time together–and i’m always glad for that.

she’s going back home in june 24– the day before i leave for my sabbatical. But before that, i’m making more big plans for her “education” haha.

Next week, i’m taking her to Tagaytay, and if she’ll agree to go– to the beach with us next next week.