A Colombian Birthday

It isn't until a special day comes along that you realize who really cares about you. I didn’t expect much to occur on my birthday this year considering how far I am from loved ones in the States. Two and a half months doesn't seem like a lot of time when thinking about building strong relationships. But I soon learned that this was a misconception I had drilled in my brain from the beginning.

I guess I never really stood back to take a look at the relationships I've established with my students and friends here in Colombia. The transition from shy to outgoing was so subtle I barely even noticed it. The first couple of weeks at school were intimidating. I mean, how could it not be when trying to fit in with six different classes of hormonal teenagers? The best thing I could do at the time was try to understand their perspective of my presence. One could only imagine the difficulty of accepting someone so close to their age as an influential figure in the classroom.

I remember trying hard to stoop to their level when teaching content and responding to questions. After all, I knew exactly how they felt with learning an unfamiliar language. It took me forever to finally be able to understand the rapidly speaking, slang-filled vocabulary of costeño Spanish. I guess I didn’t realize how much the students recognized my efforts to help them until my special day came along. From trying one method and if that wasn't working, attempting a different approach until I witnessed the flicker in their eyes that indicated they finally understood. I always refuse to show any frustration with my students because I know that would only hurt their self esteem and bring us back right to square one. The only difference would be that I would have also lost their trust as well.

This past Wednesday, I got a glimpse of how much my efforts have affected these students. I knew deep down how much I admired them but had no idea how they felt about me until that day. When I arrived at school I carried out my usual routine: say hello to the coordinator Angel, retrieve the classroom keys, unlock the door for the students and move the desks around. Only this time when I sat and waited for the students to arrive, the greeting I received was completely out of the ordinary.

Students came bombarding into the classroom screaming "HAPPPYYYY BIRTHDAYYYY BRIANNA!!!!" Engulfing me into embraces as each one toppled over the other to kiss my cheeks in celebration. As they scattered to the desks, they unzipped their backpacks to reveal all kinds of party supplies from snacks, balloons, to even a massive cake that was placed right in front of me. I was shocked to see that they actually seemed more excited about my birthday than I was. Maybe it was because they were looking to replace a regular class with a fiesta, but either way each one of them radiated pure happiness.

At first I thought it was my co-teacher Nayibe who had bought everything and the students just helped her carry the items to the classroom. After all, she and I have also grown especially close during that past two months. But when I went to thank her, she told me that it was not her who went through all this trouble, but the students. She explained that each of them had planned this event for weeks to come. Coordinating who would bring what, while successfully keeping me in the dark. I was astonished to learn that my passion for them was mutual in our relationship.

I couldn't stop repeating my thanks to them in both English and Spanish. They had succeeded in taking me by complete surprise. Easy to say this was by far the best birthday gift I received this year.