I, The Camel

After my special class with the M3 learners this afternoon, they gamely asked me to pick out a fortune card from a deck. It was some sort of a tarot that has a book of interpretation in Thai language. I picked out a card and my learner said that I should not look at at first because he is going to interpret it first.

I: You have to translate what it means in English, okay?

He immediately laughed and said, "But it's difficult teacher!" I jokingly replied that he could not go home unless he perfectly translates the meaning of the card that I picked out.

Learner: (looked at the card and I can see his great effort grasping for the right words)Teacher, you wait.

My battered mind did not immediately switch to another frequency. So thinking that it was still my science class, I immediately got confused.

I: Weight? What about you mean w-e-i-g-h-t?

Learner: No teacher! It means you have to wait. W-a-i-t.

I: I will wait. Wait for what?

Learner: Yes teacher, wait.

I: Yes, wait. But wait for what?

Learner: Wait for a long time for "mi" friend teacher. (Note: "mi" friend is the Thai term for boyfriend or girlfriend.)

I: (I laughed.) I'l wait for"mi" friend. Why? Can I see the card?

Intrigued at what the card was, I looked at it. It was a picture of a desert with a camel. He further explained that I was the camel. I couldn't help myself from laughing. In my mind: "Baw daw buhay-buhay pa ka dya hulat ko ba. Disyerto pa nga daan tabukon na. 'di bale camel man ko. Kaya mag-adapt ah, duro water reserve ko. Ha! Ha! Ha!"

I'll be No, I am waiting for somebody who is courageous and tactical enough to cross and survive the harsh desert to get to me. I'm pledging to be positive from now on. Forget about self-sacrificing, secretly hurting, one-sided, unrequited love affair. As I've said it can get so emotionally and physically draining.

So I will not be the gloomy, passive princess-in-waiting. I'll be the miss sunny-sunshine girl who actively waits, pursuing what it is that I need to do, living life to the fullest, loving my family and friends and those who need it as much as I could, and seeing life in a new light and loving it with all the passion that I can muster.

And I assure him, whoever he is, I will just be here. Properly geared and equipped for the long stretch of time. I'l definitely wait, that is what I'll do.