carmen sandiego

Ok. So my mom came up with this idea that while I am abroad, she is going to make a bulletin board for her 3rd grade class called ‘where in the world is anna marie?’

at the start of her explanation, I was kinda sketched out. Way too much focus on me. But then, when I thought of how incredibly funny the plan was – she wants to have a full-length picture of me looking all full-out touristy with my backpack so that the class can move ‘anna marie’ around this ginormous map of the world while talking ‘bout the country, landforms, lang, etc. – I told her that I was in… on one condition: she must play the song 'where in the world is carmen sandiego?' everyday. Rockapella style.

So today I went to meet the class. When they came back from PE, and I was sitting in the room, they all just starred with their jaws dropped. And then I was like ‘hey! I’m anna marie!’ You could tell they were oddly overwhelmed to see me in person, which is always hilarious since my mom has one of those projectors, and every time she pulls down the screen it shows her computer background [a picture of my sister and I] that literally makes our heads larger than life upon projection. [the 1st visit I had after she got the projector screen resulted in kids pointing and yelling ‘LOOK! IT’S THE GIRL FROM THE SCREEN!!’ It’s a hoot.]

After a period of stares, I broke the silence with a ‘tell me your names,’ all chipper-like. My mom always names people in her class, and I wanted to be able to finally put names with faces. One kid mumbles in surprise: “OUR FULL NAME?!” and then it began: Every student recited his or her entire biological name, as if i needed that much info, while nervously tapping his or her foot on the ground as though I were a live monster. Jackson Steven Smith. Sarah Glynn Sadler. John Houston Reed, the 3rd. We had a snack of s’mores and hot chocolate. I became a legend. And then I hit the road.