7. Children

I’m so excited that I can hardly stand it…  I feel my excitement growing as I enter the classroom.  “Good morning, Miss Lisa,” a group of young voices say to me.  “Good morning,” I reply.  I see beautiful, dark-eyed children looking at me with big, infectious smiles.  Their warm greeting lets me know they are just as excited for my visit to their school as I am.  My travel planner, Rosemary, managed to arrange this special visit for me.  Through my interpreter, we ask one another questions.  “Where are you from?” an outgoing little boy in the front row asks.  “America,” I say smiling back at him.  He continues, “Do you know the president?  President Obama?”  I shake my head, and he seems very disappointed.  I hear him mumble, “Oh.”  I talk a little bit about my life in America and how I like to travel and take photographs.  They listen intently.  On a map on the wall, I show them where I live in Michigan and how I flew to China, then to Bali to meet them.  One girl proudly says she flew to another island in Indonesia to visit relatives.  It’s nice to see a girl sitting next to her take interest in her trip.  As I describe some of the other schools I’ve visited, I see one little girl look at my arms and then inspect hers.  I assume she’s looking at the color difference since her eyes get big as though she’s had an “ah-ha” moment.  I show the students my camera.  “Would any of you like your photo taken?” I ask.  Everyone’s arms enthusiastically swing up, and their hands wave in the air.  “Wow.  I guess that means you all do.”  I look to their teacher and ask, “Is this alright?”  “Yes.  Will you take a group photo too, please?  With the staff?”  “Of course.”  I take the photos one by one, showing each student their image on my camera.  The students’ reactions range from shy smiles to happy cheers.  The excitement in the room grows as I move from row to row.  When a group of young boys starts teasing one another about their images, the room erupts with laughter.  I’m asked to go across the courtyard to the another classroom and do the same with the children there.  I oblige, and I’m greeted with the same enthusiasm.  One young girl speaks very good English and is very proud as she demonstrates her accomplishment of learning the language.  I ask her what she wants to be when she grows up and finishes school.  “A teacher,” she says.  “I want to teach children in Bali how to speak good English.”  “Well, one day, when I come back to Bali to visit, I would like to visit your classroom.  Would that be alright?”  She flashes me a big smile and says, “It would be nice.”  “Yes, it certainly would.”  And I hope to do that one day…