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The one about today's hike
OK, one more story before I go to bed (I can't believe I'm still up).
So I was going to give a music lesson to the 5th grade today, but our field director thought we should take the kids out on a hike instead. It turned out to be quite the experience.
You see, our school is right at the edge of town, and if you cross the highway that runs alongside the school, you come to a meandering slope that eventually turns into a set of very lovely hills with a remarkable view of the city. So a hike up into the hills can be a fun activity that can last even one 45-minute class period.
Of course, it also can be quite an ordeal when you're trying to manage 30+ rambunctious 5th graders. The endeavor required our school's armed guards to escort us up the mountain (they must've figured the kids would eat us alive, so they came along as reinforcements). Our director lead the charge up the hill, and I covered the rear flank, making sure no one fell too far behind. For a minute or so, it actually did seem like a moment out of "Kindergarten Cop," as Pat (a former Air Force captain) led the troops in a rousing "I don't know, but I've been told..." chant. The kids had to hear it a few times to know how to respond to the "Sound off!"
We got to the point where the gentle slope turns into a high-grade ascent up the hill, and stopped there. Some of the kids--having stuck to the trail pretty well on the way up--started to wander about in a patch of light green grass just off the beaten path. Suddenly, pandemonium seized the group as a few kids began to shout: "A bomb a bomb a bomb!!!" Kids began to run in all different directions, getting as far away from the patch of grass as they possible could.
Oh, right, I remembered; this was the range where Saddam planted something like 6 million landmines to keep the Kurds from leaving the city years ago. Since 2003, the South Korean army has cleared up a good portion of the explosives, but--as Pete Wrigley once said, you can never be too careful when it comes to landmines. From where I stood, I couldn't tell if the object in question was indeed an explosive. I would've assumed that this particular hill--bare, and a stone's throw from the edge of town--would be completely cleared out by this point. And besides that, why would our director have even considered taking the kids up the hill if it wasn't safe? My guess was that it was a false alarm, but in this country, you get used to that, it seems. Either way, it was back to the trodden road for everyone. We had about 15 minutes left before the end of school, anyway, so after a few minutes' rest, we began our descent.
Now I was leading the pack, and the kids were clamoring to sing another song. Since I didn't know any good marching songs (of course, I do know some rather inappropriate marching band songs), I asked the kids to think of something. A group of students, followed soon after by the entire class, spontaneously began to sing:
We made it down the hill, across the busy highway, and back to the school. We all made it back alive! High fives and "Xwa hafiz"es ensued as the kids got their backpacks and left for home. Several left me with a "Thanks, Mr. David!"
You know exactly how I replied. "No. Thank you."
Thus ended the most memorable 45-minute hike ever. My dress shoes are now covered in mud from the experience, but to be honest with you, I almost don't want to clean 'em. Almost.
So I was going to give a music lesson to the 5th grade today, but our field director thought we should take the kids out on a hike instead. It turned out to be quite the experience.
You see, our school is right at the edge of town, and if you cross the highway that runs alongside the school, you come to a meandering slope that eventually turns into a set of very lovely hills with a remarkable view of the city. So a hike up into the hills can be a fun activity that can last even one 45-minute class period.
Of course, it also can be quite an ordeal when you're trying to manage 30+ rambunctious 5th graders. The endeavor required our school's armed guards to escort us up the mountain (they must've figured the kids would eat us alive, so they came along as reinforcements). Our director lead the charge up the hill, and I covered the rear flank, making sure no one fell too far behind. For a minute or so, it actually did seem like a moment out of "Kindergarten Cop," as Pat (a former Air Force captain) led the troops in a rousing "I don't know, but I've been told..." chant. The kids had to hear it a few times to know how to respond to the "Sound off!"
We got to the point where the gentle slope turns into a high-grade ascent up the hill, and stopped there. Some of the kids--having stuck to the trail pretty well on the way up--started to wander about in a patch of light green grass just off the beaten path. Suddenly, pandemonium seized the group as a few kids began to shout: "A bomb a bomb a bomb!!!" Kids began to run in all different directions, getting as far away from the patch of grass as they possible could.
Oh, right, I remembered; this was the range where Saddam planted something like 6 million landmines to keep the Kurds from leaving the city years ago. Since 2003, the South Korean army has cleared up a good portion of the explosives, but--as Pete Wrigley once said, you can never be too careful when it comes to landmines. From where I stood, I couldn't tell if the object in question was indeed an explosive. I would've assumed that this particular hill--bare, and a stone's throw from the edge of town--would be completely cleared out by this point. And besides that, why would our director have even considered taking the kids up the hill if it wasn't safe? My guess was that it was a false alarm, but in this country, you get used to that, it seems. Either way, it was back to the trodden road for everyone. We had about 15 minutes left before the end of school, anyway, so after a few minutes' rest, we began our descent.
Now I was leading the pack, and the kids were clamoring to sing another song. Since I didn't know any good marching songs (of course, I do know some rather inappropriate marching band songs), I asked the kids to think of something. A group of students, followed soon after by the entire class, spontaneously began to sing:
Oh come, all ye faithful!Yup, they sang the entire first verse and chorus to--of all things--a Christmas song. I tell you, if that wasn't one of the most surprising, entertaining, and downright impressive moments during my time here, I don't know what would be.
Joyful and triumphant
Oh come ye, oh come ye
To Bethlehem...
We made it down the hill, across the busy highway, and back to the school. We all made it back alive! High fives and "Xwa hafiz"es ensued as the kids got their backpacks and left for home. Several left me with a "Thanks, Mr. David!"
You know exactly how I replied. "No. Thank you."
Thus ended the most memorable 45-minute hike ever. My dress shoes are now covered in mud from the experience, but to be honest with you, I almost don't want to clean 'em. Almost.