Movie Night

I worked amongst a sea of expectant faces trying my damnedest to hook the school’s projector and speakers up to my computer. All three pieces of equipment were balanced on a wooden desk about half a foot too small on all sides, teetering on the rocky soil that made up the front of the school grounds. Students hovered around me, some offering help, some just too excited to sit still in their seats. I did what I could to keep the surrounding chaos at bay, gently swatting away tiny hands from the lens of the projector so that I could deal with the mess of cords in front of me.

Fifteen minutes later, with a large piece of white tarp nailed in place as a projection screen, the movie’s language turned to Chinese and the speakers finally working, the dozens of students quieted down into a mixture of laughter and hushed conversation as the antics of Bolt and his animated friends came to life on the screen.

Movie night occurs every other Monday at Guan Ai school and lasts for about 40 minutes. Because of these time constraints “Bolt” had been shown over the past month without finishing. On those previous days when the bell rang to signal the start of the next class, walking carefully over dozens of tiny sandle-wearing feet into the middle of the tight circle of students I hesistated for a minute or so before I paused the movie and turned off the projector. I knew that once I flicked that switch a wave of dissapointed groans would come next. So luckily today the students would finally be able to see the movie to the end and I could turn off the projector guilt free.