Red, Yellow, Green, Orange, Blue Blue Blue (La Trabajadora)

Coming into this whole reunion job thing I was looking forward to nothing but a bunch of Harvard alumni spoiled brats and a paycheck at the end of the week. Get in, do the kid thing, get out, get paid. There was no way I could have known that this was going to be one of the most defining experiences of my college career.

The kids were amazing in so many ways. Of course there were a couple of cases of kids that made me want to tear my ears off and never-ever-ever-ever want to reproduce. But the kids that I worked with in blue group were kind of this little microcosm of Harvard students before they start worrying about their gpa's, extracurriculars, test scores, parental expectations, and their "futures". It was as if going to Harvard was just something you do, a given, and there wasn't any doubt that they were going to be here within the next 8 years.

Day One: Met the kids and found out that between Ying Ying and I, we had a group of 8 smart jock children from everywhere who have unlimited amounts of energy. They were also way too cool to do anything like play "Where the Big Wind Blows" with a bunch of eccentric kids in khakis and overzealous novice counselors who think that talking louder, slower, and in a high-pitched voice will make twelve year-olds like them. They were happy playing soccer in the hallway on the 2nd floor of Sever and I was happy making sure they didn't kill each other.

Day Two: Went to Canobie Lake, one of the dinkiest amusement parks in America. Of course for every ride there would be 2-4 kids out of eleven that "didn't do" those type of rides so the counselors had to switch off every ride. I talked more about football , hockey, rugby, boxing, basketball, and American football more in those times than I have all semester with the Argentinian kid who hosts the Crocs at his house every year (wtf?!). (He also told me that I knew he was coming to reunions this year and I stayed just for him...it was fate). Then of course all of the kids found their way to the candy store the last 30 minutes of the trip and collectively bought about 20 lbs of sugar to eat on the way back to the bus...which they finished on the way back to the bus. I even got to bond with one kid over severe allergies. He has a massive allergy to eggs and as he started licking a HUGE jawbreaker, that he wasn't convinced was just a massive ball of sugar, he turned to me and said "If I die, I'm sorry" and unfortunately I completely understood where he was coming from. After 3 two minute checks of death symptoms he then proceeded to wake me up six times from six seats away on the ride back to show me every time the jawbreaker did something...like change color... as jawbreakers tend to do. After they got to see an omnimax movie about the Grand Canyon that I unfortunately didn't get to see because we were an hour late and there wasn't enough room for the counselors (yay 1.5 hours of uninterrupted thesis reading!).

Day Three: Also known as DAY FROM HELL. Whale watching (sounded boring)...open candy bar(bad idea)...terrible weather... big waves (they were fun at first but after the first 15 min, not the best look)... lots of barf, everywhere. And of course, instead of turning the boat around immediately we went an hour out onto the Atlantic and therefore had to travel an hour back. I can now honestly say I've seen people turn green when they're sick. But of course the best part of this trip was one of the kids, not my kid mind you, having a huge anxiety attack. He couldn't stop shaking and ripped apart two plastic cups with his bare hands, at the same time. That was the scariest experience I've ever had working with kids and I hope it never happens again. For dinner, Harvard catering decided to put out cans of whipped cream and fruit for dessert. One of my kids had 4 cokes and two bowls of whipped cream for dinner... and there was nothing I could do about it. BUT then we went to see an exclusive Boston Pops concert that was especially done for Harvard alumni which made up for everything and made me realize (once again) the power of the Harvard name.

Day Four: Field day. A completely unstructured bad version of a carnival that lasted from 10:00am til 4pm. I spent most of my time talking to the other blue group counselor about the differences between the Asian and Black communities in America. Then it was dinner and party time where the counselors had far too much fun and the kids looked at us like we were crazy. Highlights: realizing that the Titanic song came out when these kids were 2 or younger, trying to make my dancing style G-rated instead of NC-17 (yay bellydancing dvd!), seeing the saddest attempt at the Cupid Shuffle I've ever witnessed in life, my little Louisiana boy establishing himself as the cool kid because he listens to "rap music", and (best one of the night by far) the dj playing "I Kissed a Girl" and all the kids suddenly having the urge to go outside.

Working with these kids made me think a lot about what it's going to mean to be a Harvard alumni and what kind of existence I could potentially have. These kids were educated, spoiled, and worldly at the age of 12 but they were also regular kids with regular problems questioning things like where they fit in, how cool they came off to everyone else, and how much they wanted their parents to be involved with their lives. I can honestly say it may have been one of the most interesting weeks of my life... and maybe I'll see one or two of them at my 10 year reunion and they can babysit my rugrats (which I promised them would happen). BUT (and this statement is the most important of all) I must reaffirm my vow...Whatever happens, I WILL NOT BE A TEACHER, I WILL NOT BE A TEACHER, I WILL NOT BE A TEACHER. :)

- La Trabajadora
Green With Envy Blues
Professor Ludwig Von Drake
Disney's Wonderful World of Color