Faye.

Of all the swim stories that I bring home to my family, Faye might just have to be my favorite.
I was scheduled to teach a Level 1 night swim class in Texas.
I think I had somewhere around 5 kids, which is a handful for Level 1.
Also, to add to the mix I had two cousins taking the class who were from Poland.
That changed the dynamics because their parents spoke almost no English and the kids were so-so with it.
The cousins were Faye and Thomas.
Thomas was very sweet and timid around the water.
Faye.
Faye on the other hand was a firecracker like no other.
The minute Faye hit the water, another swim instructor jumped right into the pool to help me teach this special bunch.
Ultimately, one of us watched Faye and the other one of us took care of the other 4 or so kids.

Ah, Faye, she was very over-confident and loved the water
but she didn't know how to swim. Not in the least bit.
Because she did not really speak English it was impossible to get her to kick her legs or move her arms in an attempt to swim.
I literally had to just put my hands around her waist and she would spin in 360s parallel to the water.
The.
Whole.
Entire.
Class.
Sometimes I would get frustrated and I would let her go in an attempt to show her the water can be scary or dangerous.
Boy, the one bit me in the butt.
After she would half-drown, Faye would come up out of the water smiling and laughing.
She apparently loved being underwater and loved water in her mouth and up her nose.
One day she stopped her 360s to tell me something.
I told her I couldn't hear her.
She yelled.
Then I realized she was speaking Polish.
I asked her to please speak in English.
She thought I couldn't hear her.
So she hung onto me,
grabbed my ear,
literally yanked it half off,
and SCREAMED whatever she was saying in Polish.
I handed her off to the other instructor to see if she might have better luck.
No such thing.
Faye then decides she wants to get out of the pool.
The parents pay no attention and offer no help.
We get Faye back in the pool
and begin the ear-yanking, Polish-screaming routine.
FINALLY Faye's mom or aunt comes over and takes Faye out of the pool and walks her to the bathroom.
Oh.
We realize she had to go to the bathroom
but unfortunately, learning to say bathroom in Polish was not a part of our training.
We laughed and enjoyed the 2 minutes of peace, quite, and solitude.
Little Faye comes back into the water.
She is happy again.
She hops right over to me,
grabs onto me,
looks me in the eye,
huge smile on her face,
and says,
"I go potty!!"

....Potty?!
I guess she decided to save the use of that word.
For a few weeks from the point I made SURE to remember how to say bathroom in Polish.