Five times throughout the course, we go on a Saturday class field trip. The university provides the bus, and we all ride together. It's not all that different from grade school, except the buses are much nicer and conversations much different. Just like in the high school lunch room, my students usually sit in right about the same spots, that goes for our once a week class and the field trip bus. I don't assign seats, but as you know, humans are creatures of habit.
Today marked our third field trip bus ride. It was the same group who sat up front near me. One is a woman (A) who is quite a bit older than me. Maybe even old enough to be my mom... she's a hoot! The guy sitting next to her (B) is a junior, but I'm not certain he started college right out of high school. He has a maturity about him and he's very smart (CIS major). On the other side of the aisle, a senior (C) who I know started college a little late. He's in his late twenties, and he's already done a lot of very cool things in his life. Now he's a butcher! Next to him was the youngest (D) of this part of the group... I even had to ask her if she was twenty-one yet! She's a marine science major, president of the Scuba Club, and a budding environmentalist. Behind her was another young man (E), half in the conversation, half out and likely in his early twenties.
The conversation went something like this. I can't even remember who said what...
Look at all these golf courses. Like we need any more golf courses.
Look! There's my high school. i haven't been down her since I graduated.
Oh, I know where we are. I was over there at the casino last night. I won $500 and then I gave it back. (Translation: lost it again).
Ha ha! (points out the window to a tent not he side of the road) it's so sad what our pumpkin patches are here in Florida.
That turned into a whole conversation about pumpkin patches and apple picking up north, in places of representation like New York, New Jersey, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. I made a comment about the only signs of fall in South Florida are the fast food and coffee restaurants serving pumpkin spice everything. This took us into a lengthy discussion about food. We continued on about all the things that are better elsewhere: China Town, pizza, bagels, deli. Then it was bound to happen. The food discussion led to a booze discussion. I think we were talking about restaurants, taverns, and breweries. Bam. This was when I asked M if she was even 21. She had mentioned earlier she graduated high school in 2013 (yikes!). She assured us she was, but she had never been drunk before. The guys were flabbergasted and I told her I was impressed. A junior in college who had never been drunk before. Congratulations.
Next thing you know it was beer, root beer, birch beer, and then ginger beer. V and F starting talking about real ginger beer and how good it is, but it's hard to get it here. The brands in the store are not the real deal, according to them.
Oh man, have you ever had a Moscow Mule? Ginger beer, vodka and lime juice. It's so good, so refreshing. Change the vodka to Bourbon and you've got a Kentucky Mule. Change the vodka to tequila and you've got a Mexican Drug Mule.
Always enlightening, and ever so different hanging out with your college students. They're a lot of fun. The bus pulled back into campus and they were all making arrangements to take M out for a drink or two*. Ah, college.
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| Image from: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-the-Perfect-Summer-Cocktail-the-Kentuc/ |
*I feel the need to say these are all good "kids." None of the banter was disrespectful or inappropriate. I even felt a little like maybe V would have liked to ask M out on a proper date for that drink. But of course there was no way I was going to interfere or get involved. That's another one of the beauties of working with adult students. It's not my job to know all their personal business, as long as they act like adults.
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