Olfactory phantoms and sick kids

Okay, remember first year English? Well I do and I learned about olfactory phantoms. I don't remember the book it was from but do remember the prof was nasty and thought that vocab tests were essential, that was on one. I got it wrong at the time but never will again. Memories that are are triggered by a smell, for me yesterday the smell was pumpkins.

When I was in 4th grade we moved to this little quiet street in Victoria, there were other kids on the street and this one family had a boy a little younger than me. His name was Adam he had an amazing climber in his backyard and every year had a pumpkin carving party in his basement. Heaps of fun and the smell of fresh pumpkins still makes me happy. So yesterday and today I carved jack o lanterns with my kids, 6 in total! A lot of cutting but fun none the less, they loved and so did I. I still have some roasted seeds too!

My monkeys and I had a great time celebrating Halloween, complete with costumes and trick or treating in our school. We all had a blast and I must say it was fun even if they were bouncing off the walls excited all day. It's funny how at home we move away from celebrating holidays in schools and here we celebrate them till we are blue in the face even though the majority of the culture does not. Halloween, American Thanksgiving and Christmas are all a very big deal at our school. Today we had a Halloween concert, there are pictures on my classroom blog.

On a sadder note one of my little monkeys is ill, he has leukemia that is in remission and has been home since last week with fever and such. Being sick here is interesting, they have many modern medicine practices but have a strange obsession with taking anti-biotics as soon as you show signs of an illness, any illness. Luke told me that he was going to the doctor this afternoon, but then my TA told me he was going to the hospital. Both of which could be the case as many dr's practice within hospitals. Regardless of that his mom told me he would be away next week and she only brought him today because he insisted on coming. Well of course he insisted, it was Halloween after all and we have talking about it for weeks!

Anyway I hope that he is ok, it sucks that little men like him have to deal with such big issues. He is a very sweet boy, that happens to be a picture of him with the dinosaur costume. Another one of my kids had one to but wouldn't wear it and so his mom gave it to me for Ethan, I asked where she got it and she said I could have it... rich and generous parents.

It's late and I am sleepy, tomorrow I will tell you about the crazy trio who tried to convince me that Tai was there dog and I stole her... funny in retrospect.
J.