Circus Circus

Last night, we attended the circus, which had come to town complete with knife throwers, jugglers, and snake tamers. It was held in a big top tent in the town park. Mike began the festivities by breaking the homemade bench we were sitting on, and landing on his back, but he was OK. We were the only ones there without children (unless you count Sam, who is really so mature for a 15 year old, I don’t even mind anymore that he’s the age of my students). At one point, the children all volunteered to go on stage to be part of a clown act, and then the performers outnumbered the audience.

The circus had the World’s Worst dog act – two poodles, one of which could do very little, and the other could do even less. On the other hand, it also had one of the best clown acts. It was just repetitive enough – the clown shouted “hoo hoo” and waved at they kids, and they repeated it. He said “Maestro music” and the band didn’t play. He got a frustrated look on his face, waved his hand in front of his body, and yelled “cha cha” and the band did start to play. After five minutes, the kids knew his lines better than he appeared to, and they shouted them with glee. The best part of his act was that he responded to them with just the right amount of surprise and delight, breaking into infectious laughter and smiles whenever they got to “cha cha” before he did.


My Favorite Clown 

We’ve worked two days on the job site, framing walls which goes quickly and makes everyone feel useful. Everyone’s hammering has improved in two days – and everyone has more room to improve.

Later today, we’re off the thermal bath and touring a castle. It’s a sleeping-in day, which means it’s 8:15, I’ve been up since 6:00, and I can’t eat for another 15 minutes.