rabi's also an artist

so, the boy in the photos a few posts ago, whose coming-of-age party i went to has been making me laugh lately and so i thought i'd share. you need to know that rabi is the sweetest, most gentle, most studious, most delightful young man and never an ounce of trouble in class. he is always paying attention, never messing around when i'm trying to teach, always has his homework in, always there, etc. and, he's not a nerd...the other kids love him cause he's so amiable. his little brother, kabi, however, is a little bugger who is easily influenced by his peers, loud and obnoxious on the bus (i'm on their route), will play tricks on his friends, etc. the night of his coming-of-age party, his friends were slipping him whiskey and cokes and by the end of the evening, after just a couple, he was puking in the bathroom! lol! it's funny how two kids from the same parents can be such polar opposites...like me and barb, i guess!! ha ha. in any case, rabi thought i was coming to the ceremony of this religious ritual and got nervous. he went up to sheela, my wonderful t.a., and told her he was nervous that i was coming because he was going to be naked...he only wanted me to come to the party afterwards. sheela couldn't believe her ears and asked him why he would be naked? he said that's what his friends told him...turns out rabi is, ...also...gullible! but, he was nervous for me to see him in his birthday suit! i guess i can't blame him, but still thought it was cute. since his party, his hair has grown back quite fully. i left one bit out of my previous explanation of the event...he had his head shaved, all but one plug the thickness of a pencil. this is done out of respect because the only time a man can have his head fully shaven is after each of his parents die. so, even now, he still has a little tail on the back part of the crown of his head. today, i was sitting next to him grading and listening to kids' presentations on this "poetry in music" assignment we're doing. he had a notebook out and was doodling. i glanced over at one time and he was drawing the puma logo off the back of the kid's shirt in front of him. another time, i casually caught a glimpse of a tank rolling over some soldiers; one more image was that of a traditional nepalese hut. he was doodling, but paying attention because he would laugh and emotionally respond at appropriate times so i let him go. the last time i glanced over at his notebook, however, he was flipping the pages and turned accidentally to a full page, large, erect penis! i couldn't help but laugh! he immediately closed his book, looked down and said "sorry, ms. kosman." i wasn't offended in the least, cause that IS what boys draw...along with tanks and guns and other boy things...but he was soooo embarrassed. he put his notebook away, set his pencil down and folded his hands trying hard to now make eye contact with the speaker despite his down turned head. i didn't say anything to him after that, but noticed his beautiful brown skin turn a shade of red i didn't think was humanly possible. awww, poor kid! too funny! i think this actually makes him even more one of my favorites! xo, janice