So one of my Qatari students (the elder of two sisters) asked how old I was. I tried to be demure about it, but - persistent as any inquisitive student should be - she asked if she could guess. Intrigued and a bit tuckered out from dealing with three teenagers, I let her go ahead.
She noticed I was icing my irascible back and she remarked, I never think of you as a dancer, because you are so smart. I burst out laughing, and respond with a quizzical "Thank You?" but she assured me that it was a good thing.
Her first guess: "Well you have so much knowledge, you must be at least 30." Given it's complimentary structure, I found myself completely flattered. An interesting shift, to be sure, given that I was pretty devastated the last time a production assistant at an audition suggested my age range looked to be about 28-35.
Anyyywayy, my pupil was so shocked when she finally got down to my actual age that I couldn't help but laugh again. Made for a fun tutoring session. The openness and warmth of the Qatari culture is really wonderful. This morning their mother made us bagels with coffee and orange juice. The kids are always running to give me snacks and water bottles before I get on the elevator to leave. Heaven on the 50th floor of the Cassa Hotel!
I will miss them very much when I start the Met Opera (next week!) and they go back to school in Qatar.
In other news, even the 4 year old boy of the family has an I-pad. As you can imagine, I'm now waiting to get mine asap. :-)
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