email

Subject: ben
Date: Mon 25 Feb 2008 22:03:52 +000
dear mom and dad,

my hair is growing. please send me an afropick. i'd like the kind w/a fist at the end, Dave knows which store i like (a black owned business by fammart, right across from wrigley's).

the weather has been warming up and im so friggin happy!

i went to a concert w/some of the sistas last week. slum village (american rap group) came to seoul and it was such a great show. i think me and the sistas were the only black people there, a few other foreigners sprinkled here and there, but mostly korean; none of them speak any english and yet doing their best to yell out the lyrics to the songs, it was nice.

it's a new term at school now. had my last day w/Ben this week. Ben is by far one of the brightest students in that class, sometimes i feel like he's the ONLY one who listens, so i will miss him very much! he's very quiet and soft spoken tho, but incredibly respectful of me. he doesnt make jokes or get casual like the other students. although he's quick to answer class related questions, when i ask him something casual like if he had fun over the weekend, he always smiles and looks down and says, "i dont know."
i tease and ask "Ben, you dont know if you had fun?
still looking down and smiling, he answers, "yes."

during the last 3 minutes of my class, i always announce to the kids to pack up their bags, straighten the desks, be sure to do your homework and goodbye. Ben, always going above and beyond, stays an extra minute after class to walk about the room to ensure the desks are perfectly straight, pushes in each chair so that it's flush against the desktop, and picks up every single sliver of trash he sees. the first time he did it, i thought it was so awesome and told him his parents must be so proud of how well mannered he is. after a while, i just figured he's got ocd or something. i asked him if he keeps him room at home as immaculate as me makes the classroom.

"Ben, do you organize your sock drawers? So that there are the same number of socks in each row? group colors together?"
Ben smiles, looks down, and says, "i dont know."