I just sit back and enjoy

I quickly learned that the eight AM class needs SOMETHING right away unless I just want to stare into sleepy faces for the first half an hour of class . . . and this morning, the "ice-breaker" role-play worked nicely. The girl with the big spiky hair was easily my favorite, as I think she might continue to be. Her eyes crinkle closed when she smiles or laughs and she was doing a lot of both when her partner - a male classmate with a much smaller measure of both English and confidence - wasn't quite understanding the details of the situation. At "Sarah's birthday party" she asked, "Is she your cousin, too?" and laughed with abandon when he gave a confused nod. But not without kindness. Between the bursts of mirth, she coaxed him, "You should say, 'No, she's not my cousin. She's my co-worker.'" I watched from the edge of the deskrow, scattering supportive smiles and nods with my own barely-reserved laughter. And again, when the same girl, acting in front of the whole class, leaned up against the wall with a fake cigarette. The class was delighted with her audacity (smoking is much more a man's thing in China) and, I think, the sense of "cool" that emanated from her nonchalance. They laughed harder when she offered a cigarette to the other girl in the roleplay, though I doubt they were laughing, like me, at how she'd asked if she needed "some fire." I forgot how fun this can be.