I'm not playing favorites here but as I'm planning my last classes, a few students stand out for me. Students who I'll miss and who I think have great potential. Students who I'd love to see in a year and see where they are in English or if they accomplish their goals. I know I'm only going to list less than half of my students but I tend to give thorough descriptions so I had to be picky here. I also decided to help keep them separated and not to confuse, I will give them titles (plus it's fun).

Jonas- The Fully-Committed Navy Guy
Jonas is around 30 years old, tall, and although he seems serious at first, he actually has a great sense if humor. I love Jonas because he always arrives 10 minutes early, comes with material and questions that aren't even in the book. He's always one step ahead of me. He genuinely wants to learn English, dedicates himself and also respects me more than most students. He never talks when I'm talking, he participates, studies and makes me feel like I'm not wasting my time.

Leonardo- The Life-of-Exotic-Luxury Guy
If I could only live Leonardo's life. Every year he spends his vacation time bouncing from country to country. He's been all over Europe- both East and West, United States, Mexico, the World Cup in South Africa, Barbados, the list is endless. He makes pretty good money as an Admin Engineer and definitely doesn't rough it when he travels. But he's so humble, easygoing and always smiling. Since his English is so advanced, we've had the opportunity to have great conversations about global issues and favorite travel memories. I wish he kept a travel blog so I could hear about his future travels.

Yuri- The Young Goofball
I can't think of Yuri and not laugh. This kid (he's like 24 but is a teenager in my eyes) is so slap-happy and not ashamed to laugh at his mistakes or laziness. He enters class with complete honesty, whether he didn't do his homework 'cause he was partying or he arrives late 'cause he was fighting with a neighbor... Yuri is taking private English lessons to practice job interview skills. Yet we spend most of the time laughing because besides getting tongue-twisted on most words, he also has the worst responses. How can I help him when he tells me that he's only studying Engineering to make good money? Or that he has no real experience besides studying at university? OR that he really has no interest in technology nor fixing it? I should get paid extra. But really, joking aside, he was one of my favorite students because we were always laughing and we could both totally be ourselves.

Kids- Typical Preteens
I have to say, for a kids class I got pretty lucky. These 4 are all about the age of 10. The age of training bras, where cartoons aren't as cool as they were but boys still have cooties. In any case, I was lucky because besides the occasional burst of energy, they are very well behaved, participate and do homework (better than some adult students!) The only issue is that English isn't a main priority for them, they have no need for English right now and theyre not paying for it. Sometimes I feel like it's not sinking in and they're not learning much. But I just hope in a few years when they're teenagers and suddenly are interested, it will click and all come together.

Alice- Typical Double-Checking Mother
This 50-something woman is so cute, always pausing to look up at the ceiling for the words she can't remember. She has a good base of English but struggles to put it all together. And she hates speaking incorrectly so sometimes she sits quiet for a long time trying to say it in her head first. What's funny about Alice is that she has told me how she has to be serious at work and is always busy, and at home she has a teenager who takes a lot of her energy, but I can tell she has a fun and crazy side. She told me about a conference she went to where she met a lot of foreigners. She was so cute telling me how she could finally relax, be silly and be herself.

Andre- The Humble "Good Neighbor" Guy
I never left Andre's classes without a smile. This student gave me total freedom to be creative and make lesson plans (like role-play) or be lazy and just bring some convo topics. He has a good amount of knowledge of English (and French because he lived in France for a while) and is not afraid to speak. With or without a lesson plan, we could talk for the 2 hour class without taking a breath. It's funny because he just wanted to take some private classes before he went to Orlando for a conference (and Disneyworld of course), and so it was only about 2 weeks that I taught him but we met every chance we had including lunch breaks and Saturday morning. And in just those 2 weeks, we got to know a lot about each other (our travels, how he met his wife, his living abroad experience, what the best beaches in Brazil are) and I was kinda sad to say good bye. Andre is such a humble and warm-hearted guy. We agreed to stay in touch and offered to meet up if possible in California or Brazil (he invited me and Ricardo to his family's place at a beach more North but I don't have time). I'm so excited for his trip because it's his first time in the USA and I really think his confidence will soar when he realizes how good he does getting around, speaking English.

So there it is. After all my ups and downs, misunderstandings, frustrations and homesickness... I'm happy that I had such great students who brightened some of those difficult days. I had such an array of ages and personalities, yet I enjoyed teaching and getting to know them the same. Maybe I even have a few more friends besides Kim and Fanny.