Highlights from my new job

I just started a job here in LA, I am not sold completely on the whole thing yet, but today I really warmed up to the whole thing- to explain I will share a few short stories.

The job is as a "coach" for an after school program of elementary school kids of low income families. Like I mentioned earlier I am not sure I agree with the program- but for the sake of my story I will leave out my commentary on that and move on.

Story #1 Today the group I was over joined with another "coach's" group for an activity. She first set up a large square (half a soccer field) to run around. The boys were being all macho and stuff and said they wanted to run around it four times, so I took the challenge and said I would race them. My pride was absolutely on the line and my heart started to race (I would be so embarrassing to lose to a bunch of 4th grade boys, seriously they are like 10+ years younger than me) calming my heart, I quickly devised a strategy. Take it just a bit faster than my normal jogging place and pick of the boys one by one because they all will sprint the first lap and die after that. Well, I was absolutely right in the strategy and by lap two I was in the lead. The girls were going crazy for me; when I crossed the finish line I had lapped every boy and passed numerous boys convulsing on the ground strewn about like dead bodies trying to recover their manhood. I was a hero.

Story #2 Following our little race we set up to play kickball. I rallied my team around me as we dubbed ourselves the tigers. When we were up to kick I chuckled at myself, they were using a soccer ball- suckers. So I laid into it and most definitely scored a home run. Once again I was the hero of the world. I had numerous kids ask to to teach them to kick like that, to which I happily obliged.

In summary it may sound low to race little fourth graders and then leave them in the dust or nearly decapitate a few others for the sake of a home run, but it felt so glorious. The events today made up for all those times in my sporting career when I just wasn't all that good. In the eyes of these little kids I sure am something- it is good to be reminded of that from time to time.

My last story is a classic and accentuates my experiences here in LA. Today some kids noticed my green eyes and got all excited saying, "You are different than everyone here, you don't have brown eyes." Or yesterday they began practicing for the play Wizard of Oz and the man in charge reassured the kids that they do not need to look like the characters they are playing for the show. For instance Dorothy does not necessarily have to have fair skin. I chuckled to myself after looking around- I think their is a possibility that one kids is white out of the entire 160+. Or when the girls insisted that I have blond hair to which I replied "No it is brown," but when everyone has black hair I guess my hair is lighter?? Or when I was trying to take role, I took a deep breath and began asking the kids their names, but all I heard was jibberish, they would repeat it again with a bit more enthusiasm and include all 12 of their names, "my name is Fernando Juan Sanchez.........." Trying to maintain my composure I ask once again by this time the letter of their last name and the name that appears on the paper I have. Their Latino-ness comes out when they say their names and I am once again reminded how vanilla I am. In the end, my days are very eventful, and you never know I may just pick up on Spanish one of these days.