Sticky Rice

Bianca Palese, 134 TESS

Today (January 17th) is the anniversary of the last time I stepped foot in my own house. I’d be lying if I said the year flew by. I personally feel like every second has penetrated my skin and imprinted on my bones. During the last 12 months, I have: laughed, cried, made new friends, missed old ones, tried new things, failed, succeeded, and persevered. It’s been a lot to take in for us Group 134ers, but I’m so proud of how far we’ve come. Upon reflecting on the past year, I have gathered up 5 moments that made me think differently, and in the words of Kylie Jenner – realize things. 

5 moments from service that altered my brain chemistry:

1. The first time I had a 7/11 toasty

I would like to start a petition to bring the 7/11 croissant sandwiches to every gas station in America. I discovered that you can ask the cashier to toast your sandwich when I went to Seven with my host mom during PST and she did just that. I was in awe. My life changed. The next day I spread the sandwich lore to my friends and we went to another Seven to see if they all had this magical panini press. They did, and we were never the same. 

2. Arlek.

I have a second grader who is the epitome of “main character energy”. This boy somehow finds a way to make every lesson related to his name. When I taught food, the hint for the word “potato” soon became: “Arlek’s favorite food”. When I taught the sentence, “I like elephants,” he convinced the entire class the correct pronunciation was “Arlek elephants”. The body parts lesson ended with everyone referring to legs as “Arlegs”. He’s got a point – he’s an icon, he’s a legend and he is the moment.

3. A consultation with my elders

This is how I will know if they actually read Sticky Rice, because Barbara will kill me for referring to her as an elder (I love you Barbara you’re a fresh young queen). When I arrived at Reconnect I was so happy to be surrounded by familiar faces. The first night I caught up with some friends in the pool and we swapped stories. I was telling Barbara and Jack how I was a bit overwhelmed and exhausted by all my school responsibilities. It was taking a toll on my health. Barbara said to me, “You just say yes to everything don’t you? Say no!” Jack backed her up and they pushed it into my thick skull that I am doing a disservice to my community by not taking care of myself. It’s not selfish to take some time for self-care, it will actually make me a better teacher because I’ll have more energy in the classroom. I took that to heart and have been doing so much better since. 

4. When my Grade 5 student got kidnapped

Speaking of main characters, Future has really taken us all for a spin this year as well. He’s got a reputation with the teachers for being a bit difficult, and I can definitely see that, but overall he reminds me of Scrappy Doo and I just like him. Even when he’s disruptive in class, setting off homemade bombs on campus, and terrorizing soccer games, I still think he’s a pretty cool kid. 

So I was terrified when I received a call from my counterpart while I was away from site that he’d been missing for 3 days now. Missing? Missing how? She told me that the village was doing a sweep to find him. I was in shambles. I realized how connected I felt to these kids, and that even the ones that make my life difficult mean so much to me. Future was found later that day – a relative had come and taken him without informing anyone. I was so relieved he wasn’t hurt or worse, gone. 

5. Becoming a mom

As many of my friends already know, I am really close with my host sister’s daughter, Madell. She is almost three years old now, though we have to pretend anyone’s birthday is also her birthday because she’ll cry if you don’t sing to her, also. I am her primary playmate and babysitter and wouldn’t have it any other way. One day, out of the blue, she started to call me “Mommy” or “Maae” instead of “Pii”. I feel so honored every time she does this. I hope I get to watch her grow up for the next 30 years even if it’s only through FaceTime. 

There’s plenty more stories and funny anecdotes I can think of but those are definitely near the top. When the hard days ahead knock me down, these memories will break my fall. I’m grateful for the people I have met and the connections I’ve made over the past year. It’s only 14 more months – bring it on!

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Read Bianca’s previous articles and contributions.