Student Profile: Alex

Alex runs on rocket fuel, in a nutshell.  He is loud, forever wandering out of his seat, a champion nose-picker, and seems to lack a filter between his brain and the rest of his body.  I spend a lot of time tying his shoes because he doesn't seem to have mastered that life skill yet.   His English is also incredibly uneven: he can recall pretty advanced words and idiomatic expressions from the movies we watch much better than most of his peers, but when it comes to spontaneous communication with me, Alex defaults either to Korean or extremely fragmented English.

Alex is the one in the red, grey, and black striped sweater, along with the huge grin.

Despite all of this, I like him a lot.  He does mean well (unlike another Alex I had, who also ran on rocket fuel, who seemed to delight in the discomfort and rage of his peers) and he's surprisingly affectionate.  The best part, though, is that he's just so happy.  Alex always has a big cheerful smile on his face and he always looks happy to see me.   It's like everything around him is just so awesome.