Fantastic Friday

This week has been pretty entertaining at school, so I thought I'd share. This gives you just a little glimpse of what goes on in English class with Teacher Rebecca.
(Italics indicate words spoken in English)

Perhaps the most exciting part of the day was in Grupa Pregatitoare (6-year-olds)...

For the first time since we started keeping behavior charts, everyone managed to achieve our goal of 10 points for the week. That means a week full of being kind, listening, following directions, and one very proud moment when the principal walked in to find everyone seated, paying attention, and ready to give a friendly "hello" to our visitor -- in English, no less! Points all around for making Teacher look good! The reward for reaching 10 points for the first time? Everlasting Gobstoppers, all the way from America, for everyone. 

Today in Grupa Mare (5-year-olds)...

Teacher: When you finish drawing your family, I want each one of you to tell me what the people are doing in your drawings.

Boy 1: Mother is washing dishes and Father is watching TV.

Teacher: Good job! 

Boy 2: Mother is making food and Father is watching TV.

Teacher: Ok, but the one cooking looks like a man to me... Is that mother or father?

Boy 2: Oh, I got them backwards! Well, ok, Father is making food and Mother is watching TV!
Boy 3: Mother is wearing her boots to school, and that's me when I wet my pants.

Grupa Mica (3-year-olds)...

Teacher: Let's talk about quiet and loud. When should we be quiet? When someone is sleeping, right? And when teacher is talking, we should be quiet and listen. But when we go outside to play, it's ok to be LOUD! When do you like to be loud?

Girl 1: I never yell like that! If I yell then everyone in the whole park will hear what I say! No.
Teacher: Now let's talk about happy and sad. What makes you happy?
Girl 2: When I play with my toys.
Boy: When I brush my teeth!
Teacher: Somebody else? When are you happy?
Girl 3: Tomorrow.
Teacher: What makes you sad?
Girl 3: [uninteligible]
Boy: Dinosaurs.

Then I exit my last class and find a coffee vending machine being installed in the hallway. I don't know whose idea this was, but I had to hold myself back from awkwardly and inappropriately hugging one of the three men huddled around the half-installed machine. After six months here, I finally drank my first and last cup of coffee from the teacher's lounge this week. I had to add half a bottle of water to make it potable, and ended up pouring the last third of it down the sink. From now on I'll be enjoying little cups of cappuccino made with freshly ground coffee for only 1 Leu, approximately 30 cents. Yes and amen.

So from there I beebopped into the cafeteria with visions of 30-cent cappucino dancing in my head. I enjoyed the usual school lunch of chicken noodle soup followed by a roasted chicken thigh and boiled potatoes, sans white bread because I'm trying to cut back on my ridiculously European intake of carbohydrates. Just as I was getting ready to leave the kiddy table, a handsome [4-year-old] boy walked up to me and without warning planted a big one right on my cheek.

What can I say? Never a dull moment.

so. excited.