Welp, I know I'm worthless when the background to my blog is Autumn leaves. From last year.
High five! Put me in, coach!
As I write this I'm amazed at the dizzying speed we live our lives now. Every excruciating detail of our entire lives is being recorded and shared. Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, texting, blogs.
And mom wonders why I don't write in my journal.
I don't even have kids! Moms are SuperHeroes.
This February, I took a Job as a flight instructor in Atwater, California. I'm one of those dumb people that hears "California" and thinks palm trees and sunny beaches. Not in Atwater. It's located about two hours east of San Francisco in the central valley, and I can tell you, there is NOTHING here but farmland.
My job has been such an adventure. The flight school deals only in international students, and I have three students; two chinese and one Korean. The differences in cultures and languages make every day an absolute blast. These kids are the most respectful people you will ever meet. If we're walking to a door, they'll run ahead and open it for me and refuse to walk in before me. Even when we're not flying, I'm referred to as "Sir" and I often get little surprise snacks they bring in the airplane. Yesterday was a hard boiled egg and Dr. Pepper.
Doing something you know is easy. Teaching something you know is harder. And teaching someone who can't speak english is a real task. I have found myself explaining something five different ways just to get them to understand. In the airplane, when I'm explaining something, they will always respond with, "Oh, Thank you sorry sir" which I have a good laugh about. It's like their fail-proof response to everything. If I'm screaming because they did something wrong, then the "Sorry" works. If I'm commending them for doing something right, then the "Thank you" steps in. So i've gotten clever and I'm now (over-the-top) animating my face with the tone I say it in. So saying, "You just landed WAY too hard and the wing is now dragging behind the plane" is now said with an extreme scowl. "Thank you for not killing me today!" Is said with thumbs up and a goofy grin. "Oh, Thank you sorry, sir!"
All in all, it's been an absolute treat to be here doing what I love while meeting amazing new people. I'm excited to see what the next adventure will be.
