Dela, fikia. "The woman who works in the room with the turma books", has a lot of time on her hands. Because her entire job consists of ringing the bell (due to energy issues, now is a lead pipe and steel rod), and watching over chalk and aforementioned books. So she becomes everyone's best friend and the center of the gossip circle. She has her own opinion about everything and will let you know if you give her 5 minutes. She'll take care of your baby if you've got to teach (or attend) classes, pass along all sorts of information, tell you exactly where any teacher is at any moment, defend you when you've been wronged, be a gentle and comforting ear - in a word, indispensable. I hesitate to say (but shouldn't) that she might be more useful to the school than some of the teachers. I think she was more useful than I was the first few weeks I was teaching. I was a dumb lump speaking a language few understood. She was the judge in the middle of everything, making sure I understood exactly what was going on.
Luis, one of the neighborhood kids, greets me every time I see him with "Where's the frisbee you were going to give me?" He's tiny but has some of the meanest throws you've seen a kid launch, and then he jumps around chasing imaginary friends and being generally aloof. Incredible.
Isac, another one from the neighborhood, stumbled into one of my outdoor lessons once. He quietly watched what was going on, then, pushing his toy wire-frame semi, he started to ask me how everything was going. He's genuinely interested in other people and greets me with a knowing smile every time we meet.
Samuel, aka Jerry, is on the other end of the age scale, but still seems to have the same interest. Though it's been tainted by alcohol. He was let go by my school this past month because he accumulated too many absences. Dela said he'd show up reeking of alcohol and admit he was in no condition to teach, but did not want to be marked absent. He hasn't been seen around in a while.
Alfred, the new English teacher in place of Jerry, has thankfully not taken up his habit. In fact, Alfred has an education in teaching English...
Peace
John
