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If there is one perk from my job that I absolutely love, it’s being shown small gestures by my students that tell me, in their own special way, how they appreciate what I do for them.

I once had a Thai student, who works as a chef, bring me a take-away container of delicious crispy catfish and pomelo because I mentioned it was one of my favourite dishes to eat whenever I visited Bangkok. 

A Korean student wrote me a sweet letter in her broken English and told me that if I ever needed a haircut I could come to her salon for free and she would personally give me a style and colour. 

Just last week, a shy Japanese student, who had his own music zine in Tokyo, came up to me after class and proceeded to hand me two CDs.

“I made you mix tapes,” he said quietly in his thick accent.

“These are Japanese bands I think you will like. Maybe you can make me a mix tape of bands you think I will enjoy.” 

I’ve spent most of today just listening to the songs he put together for me and enjoying his random act of kindness. The video is one of the songs he put on my first Japanese inspired mix-CD and I can’t get it out of my head.

They’re a lovely band named Quruli. 

Enjoy. 

This post was also published in The Soul Shine Project