this morning i was a little forgotten... or stood up... or ignored... or overlooked... any of those. but despite all those gloomy words the fact that i was a little forgotten turned my morning right around.
lately ive been avoiding starbucks... or not so much avoiding it as much as replacing it with trying to drink the ton of coffee we have stored up in our house instead. we have a lot. i spent a lot of time not drinking coffee while my mom spent a lot of time still sending it to me *(thanks mom!)* (dont get me wrong - i am completely in agreement with a houseful of coffee. there are worse places to be)
so starbucks trips have been limited to meetings or friend outings. and most recently... classes. i was caught off guard when my most recent student wanted to have classes on skype, and starbucks. two unconventional ways to have an esl class. but hes a pretty unconventional kind of guy. so it fits.
so this morning i made my way through the neighborhoods to the mall where starbucks is... said hello to the one barrista whom no matter how long its been since my last visit, always remembers my name and how to spell it. i get really embarrassed every time i see him because i can't remember his name. from two years ago when we first met and he told me. maybe most people don't take the time to remember the names of the people that made their coffee in a cafe... but when its the only person in an establishment that remembers who you are... it tends to be a little significant. i wonder if its an inner frustration for them to have people ignore their names when they remember theirs... it probably would be for me if i worked there. ...i have got to figure out the name.
well, after nestling into a table and getting myself organized i waited... and waited some more... quite patiently since when you teach private english classes to business men you tend to get used to it. after sufficient waiting time had passed i decided to give him a call. thinking, that like last time, he wouldnt actually answer it but see my number and remember the class and come on over.
but to my surprise my student did answer! and also to my surprise... he was still traveling and still very far away from my corner in starbucks to even think about having class. he had forgotten to let me know he missed his bus. oops. but hes so nice he made sure to remind me to count it as a class anyway since it was his mistake.
so. there i was still with a hot coffee and comfortably settled at my table. i looked around... apparently saturday mornings are for 60+ men reading newspapers or gathered together gossiping. and not about the weather.
i looked down at what i had... no paper to journal with... a starbucks receipt i could make a list on... (im a list maker, very much a list maker)... and my esl books. i could plan some more lessons. bwahahahh. no. as i was about to call it a day, i reached for my bag and found a book i had been reading lately. and so i spent my morning. just reading, in a crowd of older men who were also reading, with my coffee. it was good to change settings for my coffee time, and to zone out for a while imagining i was in the shoes of those in my book. i read obsessively when i was younger. but im just now getting back into books after all my psychology reading in college.
the book ive been reading. By the Seat of My Pants which is a book i found in the missions library. its got lots of fun stories from travelers about their experiences abroad. makes me itch to travel some more.. for the first time in a while since ive been content with my adventures here. julton and i are trying to plan something... we have to take advantage of being so close to so many other countries. and other parts of peru for that matter. im thinking the end of the world. or the middle. hmmm
0 comments:
Post a Comment